Deconstruction, reconstruction and design responsibility

From the targeted demolition of Mostar's Stari-Most Bridge in 1993 to the physical and social havoc caused by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, the history of cities is a history of destruction and reconstruction. What is the capacity for the design profession to assist in the physical and social rebuilding of cities and communities destroyed by war and natural disasters? This paper will examine the multiple roles of design professionals (which here include architects, planners, urban designers and landscape architects) in the rebuilding of a range of cities decimated by armed conflict. By working sans frontières, I suggest that architects and design professionals have a significant opportunity to assist peace-making and reconstruction efforts in the period immediately after conflict or disaster, when much of the housing, hospital, educational, transport, civic and business infrastructure have been destroyed. The aim of my exploration is to expand the traditional role of the architect from “hero” to “social reforme” and discuss how design practitioners and design educators can stretch their wings to encompass the proliferating agendas and sites of civil unrest.1 1 Much of the fieldwork for the “Divided Cities” research that informs this paper was conducted with colleague Jon Calame, and was funded by a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Grant, awarded in 1999.