To conTribuTe To peace, one musT know abouT conflicT

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70 ReclaimingBabur’s‘LightGarden’inKabul Jolyon Leslie74 ReturntoNature Alessandro Petti, Sandi Hilal and Eyal Weizman78 Peacebreeding Arjen Oosterman

81 SEEInsert:ArchisInterventionsinSouthEasternEurope

122 TheAfghanGordianKnot Allard Wagemaker128 TheSoldier:PositivePeace Allard Wagemaker interview132 ThouShall(Not) Lilet Breddels and Arjen Oosterman134 TheEmergingCitiesofIraqiKurdistan Anna Wachtmeister140 WorkinginaPalestinianRefugeeCamp:

Talbieh,Jordan Joumana al Jabri, Reem Charif and

Mohamad Hafeda144 It’stheArchitect’sFault! Wouter Vanstiphout150 IntellectualDisasterTourism Edwin Gardner152 TheDistanceNarrows Hannes Schmidt and Sophie-Therese

Trenka-Dalton160 Colophon

12 Editorial Arjen Oosterman16 TheSocialScientist:DidSomeoneSay

Collaboration? Gerd Junne interview20 WarsoftheWorld Nik Dimopoulos and Timothy Moore22 ProvideandEnable:TheRoleofArchitects

inPost-WarRecovery Sultan Barakat 24 TheArchitect:KeepingthePace Esther Charlesworth interview28 TheAestheticofEthics Rory Hyde32 TheArchitect:SmallChange,BigResult Malkit Shoshan interview42 TheRoadtoHellIsPavedwithGoodIntentions Vincent Schipper44 There’sNoSuchThingasaNeutralState Nik Dimopoulos and Timothy Moore46 BlueFabric Pieter Paul Pothoven50 BlueVoxpop52 IntheServiceofPeace Nik Dimopoulos and Timothy Moore56 BetterSafeThanSorry:EverydayLife

inPost-InterventionarySociety Mark Duffield66 TheLawyer:TitleandRight Scott Leckie interview

conTenT

How do we materialize peace? on the level of fundamental and basic needs, global society more or less knows what is wrong, and what to to do about it. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience in relief and first aid organizations, as there is with architects. we're ready to intervene in conflict areas, to fight for peace, but what are we to do next? experts seem agreed on strategies, but are the architects and politicians ready for the long-haul?

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peace figHT Arjen Oosterman

Youdon’tneedtobeaphilosophertoseethatpeaceisstruggle.Onemightevengoastepfurther:peaceiswar.Warandpeaceareantagonisticandsymbiotic.Itmakesonewonderifaworldwithoutwarispossibleatall.If,forlackofamorepositivedescription,peaceisdefinedastheabsenceofwar,thenwarisaessentialcomponentofpeace.

Fortunatelyarchitectsdonothavetosolvethisriddle,sincetheyfightforthegoodcause.They’reheretohelp.Architectureissupposedtoaddsomethingpositiveandimproveasituation,isn’tit?Thecatchis,itain’teasy.It’susefultorealizethatthissocialroleisarelativelyrecentdevelopmentinarchitecture.Beforethemid-nineteenthcenturyarchitecture’spublicrolewasoneofcommunication:tobroadcastandconfirmorestablishaperson’sorparty’sposition.Ifarchitectureaddedtothepublicdomainorsocietyatlarge,thiswasagift,ademonstrationofkindnessandbenevolence.Itwashierarchicalandpolitical,notmoral.

Thetwentiethcenturymayhavebeenthemostviolentageinthehistoryofmankind;itwasalsothemoralage.Goodarchitecturehadtodomorethancommu-nicateandprovide,orhelpandsolve,exclusivelyservingtheinterestofasingleclient;ithadtoeducate,changeandimprove.Themoralsuperiorityofaparticularkindofarchitectureandaparticularwayofdesigning,theexistenceofsuchapositionatallwasself-explanatory,unchallengedthroughoutthecentury.Thatdidn’tpreventarchi-tectsfromcontestingtherightdirection,butthatcontestdidn’taffectthisunderlyingprinciple.That‘paradigm’lostitsmonopolyattheendofthelastcenturywhenideo-logicalclaritywithinarchitecturalpositionsblurred.ArchitecturenolongeroperatesinnameofTheFuture,nolongerknowsbest;atitsbestarchitecturemodestlyorflamboyantlytriestosolveproblemsandissueshereandnow.Andfirstandforemostittriestoserve.Eventhegoodolddistinctionbetweencommercial(bad!)andengaged(good!)architecturehaslostitsappeal.Thedeveloperisthearchitect’sbestfriendandweadmirehisorhergutsandvision.Andtheuser,let’snotforgettheuser,nolongerameekcustomerbuyingwhateverisondisplay!Architectureshouldlistenandrepeatwhatit’stoldtosay.Attheendofthetwentiethcenturyarchitecturewithoutanagendahadbecometheanswertopastcontradictionsandparadoxes.

Ifthatistoday’sreality,howcananarchitectevenstartthinkingaboutoperatinginpost-conflictareas?Howshouldhedealwithunfamiliarculturalandoftenhighlypoliticalsituations?Thesequestionsareallthemorepressingsincearchitectsgetblamedforallsortsofproblemsintheirowncountriesandcultures.Urbansocialunrest?Blamethearchitect.Segregation?Blamethearchitect.Adisadvantagedpartofthepopulation?Blamethearchitectanddemolishhisproduct.Itisprettyeasytoblamethearchitectfortensionsinsociety.Thegoodnewsisthatarchitectureseemstomatterandistakenseriously.Butifarchitecturecanhaveanegativeimpact,couldn’ttheoppositebeanoptiontoo?

Onecouldclaimthatthisisthewrongargument,anabsurdambitionarchitectsshouldn’tmaketheirown.Butwhatdoesonedowhendutycallsgiventhatconflictandpost-conflictsituationsarerealitieswhicharelikelytobewithusforawhile?Lookingatthe‘mapofconflicts’inthisissue,theirnumberincreaseddramat-icallyattheendofthecentury.Andthereisnosignofchange,yet.Toputitbluntly:itisagrowingmarketwithlotstodo.Buthow?Ifweforgetforamomentaboutthediscrepanciesthediagramonthenextpageshows,thereissomecommonsenseadvice.Therearelotsofdon’ts,whichyouwillfindthroughoutthisissue,andacoupleofclear,experience-basedrecommendations.Ittakescourage,therearenoguaranteesandtherewillbemoredisappointmentsahead,butifwe’reseriousaboutthisglobalcommunity,ifthequalityofasocietyismeasuredinitsabilitytobeinclu-siveandnotexclude,ifcaringandtakingcareisthehumanthingtodo,webetterstartfindingoutwhatarchitecturecancontribute.Particularlyhowitcanhelpwith-outintroducingmoreornewconflict.

Thisissueislargelybasedonourconferenceearlierthisyear.Atwo-daysymposium‘howdowematerializepeace’(NAI,RotterdamMay2010*)wasthekickofftoexplorepotentialsofarchitectureinthefieldofpost-conflictreconstruction.Asecondconferenceisscheduledfortheendof2011.Awareness,goodpracticeandknowledgeexchangeareallpartoftheprojectwithpragmatismastheguidingrule.Andthisisimportant,becausetheroadtohellispavedwithgoodintentions.

* The‘ArchitectureofPeace’-projectisajointinitiativeofArchis,theUniversityofAmsterdam,theNetherlandsArchitectureInstitute,andPartizanPublik.

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proViDe anD enable

THEROLEOFARCHITECTSINPOST-WARRECOVERY

Sultan Barakat

Changesinthenatureofwarfrominterstaterivalriestointernalinstabilityandcivil

conflicthaveradicallyalteredourperceptionofreconstructionandtheroleofthe

architectinpost-warrecoveryprocesses.Nolongeristhearchitecttheforgerand

executerofalarge-scalesystematicplantotransformthebuiltenvironmentinthe

aftermathofwidespreaddestruction.Inthenewcontextofstatefragilityandinternal

conflict,thearchitectmustadoptnewapproachesthataresmall-scale,bottom-up

andcommunity-driven.Inmanycasesthereisnolongeracleardistinctionbetween

situationsofwarandpeace;protractedconflictsraisethedilemmaofrebuilding

duringsituationsofinsecurityandinstability.Fragilecontextsaremademorevolatile

bythemultipletransitionsexpectedofsocietiesrecoveringfromwar,suchas

plannedtomarketeconomies,ruraltourban,orauthoritariantoliberaldemocratic.

Withinthiscontextofcontemporaryconflictthesecomplexitiesconstitute

bothdirectandindirectchallengestotheroleofthearchitectinguidinganddirecting

socialoutcomes.Thechangingnatureofconflictandthefailureofarchi-tectstomobilizehaveledtothemarginalizationoftheprofessioninpost-war

recoveryprocesses.Asharedvisionaffirmingthecentralandproactiveroleofthe

architectinpost-warrecoveryandpeacebuildingisabsolutelynecessary,andgiven

thecomplexnatureofthepost-conflictcontexts,suchvisionmustbeethicallydriven.

Localperceptionsofrecoveryfrequentlyfocusonreaffirmationofidentity

andregainingthecontroloflivesandlivelihoodsattheindividualandcommunitylevel.

However,contemporaryreconstructioninterventionsfrequentlyignorethedemands

foridentityandcontrol.Intheaftermathofwar,thebuiltenviron-

mentassumesacomplexroleinforgingidentityandempoweringordisempowering

communitiesindrivingtheprocessofreconstruction.However,acommondilemma

existsbetweenthedemandsforswiftandeffectiverebuildingandformsofrecon-

structionthatincorporategreaterprotectionforculturalheritageandfosterinclusive

identities.Experienceoverthepast50yearshasshownthatrapidreconstructionis

notwithoutrisktoqualityandresilienceaswellasthelong-termprospectsforpeace

andpeacebuilding.

ThearchitectofsweepingreconstructionaftertheWorldWarII,ormore

recentlytheBa’athiarchitectsinthewakeoftheIran-IraqWar,havebeenrendered

obsoletebythechangingglobalenvironment.Itisimperativethatanewdefinitionof

thearchitectisofferedandthatskillsaretaughtinenablingcommunitysurvivaland

supportinglocalcopingstrategies.Architectscoreanalytical,communicationand

designskillsandhavethepotentialtoconstituteadistinctcomparative

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advantageintheprofessionalfieldofreconstructionthatcanenable

architectstoassumealeadingrole.

Extendingtheroleoftheprofessionbeyondthearchitectasconceivers

andexecutersofblueprintplanstopotentialnegotiatorsofpost-conflictbuiltenviron-

mentpoliticsisimportant.Architectsarewellpositionedforthisfunctionbecause

theirtrainingrequiresskillsinnegotiatingcompromisebetweentheinterestsofcom-

petingpartiessuchasauthorities,clientsandcommunities.Theseskillsarelearned

byarchitectswhoworkdirectlywithlocalcommunitiesandareexpectedtounder-

standtheperspectiveofclients.Inter-disciplinaryandproblem-solvingskillsinherent

inarchitecturalconceptualizationandproductionenablegreaterunderstandingof

recoveryprocesses.Suchskillsofempathy,understandinganddiplomacywillbecentraltotrainingagenerationofconflict-sensitive

architectscapableofnavigatingandtransformingcomplexpost-warcontexts.

Furthermore,thereisaneedtomoveawayfromrelief-drivencharitable

actionstolonger-termdevelopmentalresponsestoconflict.Itisvitalthateffortsto

inducedevelopmentareinitiatedatanearlystagewhenresourcelevels,politicalwill,

andpublicattentionremainhigh.Assuch,earlyengagementis

essentialtoguidingthetransitionfromrelieftorecovery.However,itisimportantto

keepinmindthaturbanrevitalizationisnotrestrictedtosimplephysicalrehabilitation

ofthebuiltenvironment.Successfulreconstructionrequireseconomicandsocial

recovery.Theactiveparticipationoflocalcommunitiesintherecoveryisthecentral

pillarforsuccess.Thearchitectshouldsupportlocalizedinitiativeinaprocessof

community-drivenreconstruction.

Planningcodesandlegislationsareimportantbutaredifficulttoenforce

intheimmediateaftermathofwar.Insituationsofrapidinstitutionalengineeringand

changetypicallyassociatedwithpost-conflictinterventions,establishingappropriate

regulationstoguidetheearlyphaseofrecoverymaynotbepossible.Asaconsequence

architectureshouldbeflexibleandeasytoadapttotheday-to-dayenvironment.

Theremaynotbeadequatelevelsofcompetencytoundertaketherequiredrehabili-

tationandreconstruction.Therefore,itisimportantthatexistinglocalcapacities

arerecognizedandthatrebuildingisnotperceivedtobeanopportunitytoworkfrom

a‘cleanslate’.Alsoimportantistoinvestinbuildingthecapacityofarchitectsto

respondinanappropriateway,bothatthenationandinternationallevels.However,

trainingina‘moral’vacuumriskscausingmoreharmthangood.Theconstitution

ofanethicalcodeforarchitectsisvitaltoensurethatrebuildingmaximizesthelong-

termprospectsforsustainablerecovery,developmentandpeace,whilebeing

consciousofthecentralrolefaithandpoliticsplayinthelivesofthemajorityofthe

peopleinpost-conflictenvironments.

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itcanhaveahealingaspect.Peoplejustwanttotalkaboutthesethingsaftertraumaordisaster,andwanttobeinvolvedintheprocesswhenquiteoftenthey’recom-pletelyshutout.Idon’tthinkthatconsultationinitselfcanprovidepsychologicalmending,butIdothinkinvitingpeopletobeapartofthegeneralprocessbyputtingupplansandmodels,isapartofthatjourney.

TimothyMoore Withthisinmind:howdoesatypicalArchitectsWithoutFrontiersprojectrun?Howdoyoudeterminewhichprojectsrequireyourattention?Whatkindofpeopledoyouneedtobringtogether?Atwhatpointyoudecidetoact?

EC Theprocesshaschangedalotinthelasttenyears.Atthebeginningwewouldgetarequesttodoanythinganywhere,andwewouldtryanddoitwithnofunding.Itwasascattergunapproachingeographiczonesweknewnothingabout,onprojectswithnochanceoffunding,andwouldinevitablyleadtoaletdownforthecommunity.SolastyearwetookabigrethinkoftheinstituteanddecidedtoreduceourgeographicalfocustotheAsia-Pacificregion,particularlyNepal,India,Vietnam,andremoteindigenouscommunitiesintheNorthernTerritoryofAustralia.

Oneofthecriteriaisthattheprojecthastohavefundingforconstructionorelsewegenerallywon’ttakeit.Furthermore,althoughweofferaprobonodesignservice,twoorthreeofourprojectshaveaprojectmanagersowemanagetheconstructiondocumentationandtheprojectadministration,whichleveragesafeefor

RoryHyde Inyour2006bookArchitectsWithoutFrontiers:War,ReconstructionandDesignResponsibility,1youdiscusshowafterawarhasendedandaphysicallineofdivisionwithinacityisdismantled,oftenapsycho-logicaldivisionremainswithinthemindsofthepeople.Howcanarchitectureplayaroleinreintegratingacity?

EstherCharlesworth That’sthequestion.InfactI’veseenmoreexampleswhereittendstodisunitepeople.Youquiteoftenhavethemanmadedisasterofwar,thenthereisthepoliticaldisasterafterwardsofincompetence,andthenthere’sthethirddisaster:thedesigndisaster.Architectsneverreallythinkaboutreconstructionintermsofpsychologicalreconstruction.Theytendtogofortheclassicheritageapproach,byrebuildingwhat-it-was-where-it-was,ortheyusethefunky3Dfly-insoft-ware,whichhasnothingtodowiththeactualcontext.

Ontheotherhand,I’vewitnessedfirsthandinBeirut,Mostar,andparticularlyinNicosia,howarchi-tectsworkingininterdisciplinaryteams,withlawyers,planners,psychologists,andpoliticians,haveputtogetherlong-termreconstructionstrategies.I’dhatetousetheword‘heal’,becauseit’ssuchaclichéintermsofpostwarreconstruction,butthroughanundertakingspanningtwentyyearstodevelopandimplement,thesecollabora-tiveteamsproducedaresultonbothsidesofthedivide,inwhichneithersidewasfavored.

Ithinkwhenit’sdoneinathoughtfulandwell-consideredmannerwithotherprofessionalgroups,

THEARCHITECT

keeping THe paceEsther Charlesworth interviewed by Rory Hyde and Timothy Moore

esther charlesworth is an architect juggling the energy of a not-for-profit organization with the sustained pace of professional delivery. along with two colleagues, charlesworth set up architects without frontiers over a decade ago to provide pro bono architectural services to humanitarian causes. after traveling the cities of mostar, berlin, beirut, Jerusalem and belfast, and co-authoring a book, Divided Cities, on these observations, esther charlesworth chose to focus on the region closest to her, the asia-pacific. There is, of course, no place like home.

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Photo David C Fox

Photo Andrew Bossi

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samewayinthedevelopedworldasindevelopingcountries’.2Thus,inconditionsthatcouldnotbefurtherapart,onoppositesidesofthecultural,economicandgeographicdivide,thesamerestrainedaestheticemergesinparallel.

Butcanoneaestheticbemore‘ethical’thananother?Surelytheethicalresponsibilitiesofarchitec-tureareachievedthroughdeednotappearance.Ifaprojectisdoinggood,doesitmatterifitisn’talsolook-inglikeitisdoinggood?

TheIslingtonSquaresocialhousingdevelop-mentinManchesterdesignedbyFATArchitectsandcompletedin2006isundeniablydoinggood.Apartfromaccommodatingthosethefreemarkethasleftbehind,theprojectincludesstrategiestosaveenergy,carbonemissionsandwaterandisconstructedofsustainablematerials.Itisalsofun.Withacastellatedandmeanderingparapet,acheckeredbrickpatternsupposedlyderivedfromadandy’ssocks,andornatewindowrevealsandbalustrades,itchallengesassumptionsofwhatsocialhousingshouldlooklike.However,noteveryoneagreeswiththisplayfulapproach.AlejandroAravenaofEle-mental,whenIinterviewedhimfollowingapresentationbySamJacobofFAT,attackedtheirlyricalaestheticlanguage,arguing‘Idon’tthinkyoucanplaywiththesekindsofissues,[socialhousing]isaseriousthing’.IsAravenaright?Shouldsocialprojectsbeexpressedwithacorrespondinglanguageofearnestness?Orhasourtrainingledusarchitectstomeasureethicalvaluebyimagenotimpact?

Whenarchitectureisdeployedtothefrontlineinapost-conflict,post-disasterorhumanitarianscenario,itisnec-essarilydeterminedbylimitations.Limitationsoffunding,limitationsofpolitics,limitationsofmaterial,andlimita-tionsoftime,tonamejustafew.Asaresultoftheselimitations,builtformoftentakesonaustere,minimalandevenauthenticqualities;incasesofurgency,thereislittleroomforcapital‘A’architecture.Forthisreason,itistobeexpectedthattheportfoliosofArchitectsforPeace,ArchitectureforHumanity,orMOMA’scurrentexhibitionof‘responsiblearchitecture’1containverylittlebling.Typicallyprojectsofthistypeareconstructedoflocallyavailablematerialusinglocaltechniques,andfailingthat,thequintessential‘no-frills’choiceofthesocially-engagedarchitect:plywood.Adefaultlanguageofminimalismoperatesasa‘non-style’–anabstractaestheticlanguagethatdoesnotcarryanyassociations,butisablankcanvasforthesubsequentapplicationofother,personalandlocal,associations.Ethicshasanaesthetic.

Asarchitectsareincreasinglyinvolvedinsocially-engagedprojects,thisethicalaestheticisbecom-ingitsowndefinablestyle,andappearingincontextsthatarefarfromconstrained.ChileanpracticeElemental,whoearnednotorietyfortheirinnovativeallocationofscarceresourcesinsocialhousingprojects,haverecentlybeencommissionedtobuildoutsideofthislimitingenvironment,mostnotablyforSwissfurnituremanufac-turerVitra.Despitebeingfacedwithavastlyexpandedbudget,andtheabsenceofasocialneedtofulfill,Ele-mentalhavechosento‘approachdesignproblemsinthe

THe aesTHeTic of eTHicsRory Hyde

Journee des Baricades, a one day sculpture, Wellington, New Zealand, 2008.Heather and Ivan Morison

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13. Camp Sajkovac,Podujevo,

lead nation Czech. Rep.

12. Camp Olaf Rye,Mitrovicë,

lead nation Denmark

11. Camp Casablanca,Suhareka,

lead nation Austria

9. Camp Victoria,Ajvalija,

lead nation Sweden

8. Camp Novo Selo,Mitrovicë,

lead nation France

5. Camp Ville, Ljpljan,lead nation Finland

4. Camp Lebane,Lebane,

lead nation Portugal

3. Camp Monteith,Gnjilane,

closed in 2007

200 m/1000 ft

1. Camp Bondsteel, Uroševac,lead nation USA

2. KSF area Prishtina,Prishtina

5. Villaggio Italia, Pejë,lead nation Italy

10. Camp Kfor Pestovo,Pestovo

14. Camp Prizren,Prizren,

lead nation Germany

15. Camp Vrelo,Prishtina airport

16. Camp Sultan Murat,Prizren,

lead nation Turkey

7. KFOR base Prishtina,Prishtina

The footprint of army bases in Kosovo.

Aerial view of Camp Bondsteel, KFOR Task Force.Photo PD-USGOV

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Army base, UN headquarterKosovoSerb enclave

Serb Enclaves under Serb administrative power

NATO bases and UNMIK headquarters

Kosovo

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UNMIKUnited Nations Mission in Kosovo, main administrative power

NATO KFORKosovo Force

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A timeline of developments in Kosovo.

Berlin Tempelhof Airport, an important military site throughout the first half of the twentieth century, re-opened as a public park in May 2010. © Christo Libuda