Repository logo
 

Place of Protest: Designing for Discourse in Public Space

Date

2023-07-13

Authors

Dockrill, Kenzie

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

The act of protest exists publicly as a demonstration of opposition to an idea, judgement, or subject. Within the city, these demonstrations occupy public space and disrupt the prescribed event of a given environment to highlight the subject of the discourse itself. The event of protest, as defined in this project, is either intentionally disruptive or structured within public space. This thesis will address these two protest typologies through design implementations along a march path and a new protest park in Ottawa, directly across from the Centre Block of Parliament Hill. The design expresses both permanent and impermanent additions to the cityscape, supporting the act of protest within public spaces. Inflatable installations, permanent stages, and community space all tie together as a cohesive plan for the event of protest. The project aims to improve the immediate effectiveness of protest events while reflecting the importance of democratic, engaging, and powerful design.

Description

Place of Protest is an architectural thesis which revolves around a design for a public park focused around protest and protest-related elements. This thesis rationalizes the need for specific, pro-protest design within the city of Ottawa, Ontario, where the design is proposed. It looks at historical examples of design through a lens of protest, creating a type of antithesis to Haussmann's Paris and Egypt's New Administrative Capital. It defines types of protest and how they exist within the city scape, specifically how they can be aided through permanent and impermanent design interventions.

Keywords

protest, demonstration, adaptable, public space, park

Citation