Tottenham: Re[dis]covery. Architectural Intervention in a Post-Traumatic Urban Environment

Abstract

Set in 2011 following the London riots, this thesis explores the way architectural design acts as a tool of societal recovery and a catalyst for creative change in a post-traumatic urban environment. Based on the assumption that conflict was within the society itself I searched for traces of its origins in the history of the building that underwent the greatest destruction during the riots. A time-based dialectical approach to the design of that building capitalized on the therapeutic potential of the distortion left after the riots. The design method created devices as catalysts in order to frame the inquiry into the complexity of causes, symptoms and traumatic events in that particular place. The project itself presents a new scenario to stimulate further questioning rather than to suggest a singular understanding or resolution of the issues.