Between the Buildings: Spatial experiments in a developing urban district for interaction and accessibility
Translated title
Between the Buildings
Author
de Reybekill, Andreas Mandrup
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-28
Pages
166
Abstract
Mellem bygningerne undersøger, hvordan inkluderende bydesign kan fremme interaktion og nærvær i overgangszoner i byen, særligt for socialt sårbare grupper. Med udgangspunkt i det under udvikling værende Sydhavnskvarter i Aarhus spørger specialet, hvordan midlertidige designeksperimenter kan rumme mangfoldige brugere uden at fastholde dem i kategorier for identitet eller funktionsevne. Studiet kombinerer en teoretisk ramme (Universelt Design, nonclusion og et affordans–atmosfære–kropsligheds-perspektiv) med stedsanalyse, interviews og spekulativt design og retter en kritik mod den performative by, der vægter æstetik og markedsføring over social mangfoldighed. Med afsæt i klassiske observationer af byliv (Jan Gehl og William H. Whyte) og i det, der ofte forbliver uset eller udelukket, foreslås tre eksperimentelle indgreb langs Recreational Connection for at skabe adaptive steder, der understøtter øjeblikkeligt ejerskab og lagdelte møder. Arbejdet peger på midlertidighed som en central strategi for inklusion – ikke gennem permanent kontrol, men ved at dyrke atmosfærer åbne for uforudsigelighed og sameksistens – og bidrager til debatten om inkluderende byrum ved at fremhæve værdien af tvetydighed, uformel brug og sanselig tilstedeværelse.
Between the Buildings examines how inclusive urban design can encourage interaction and a sense of presence in transitional urban spaces, especially for socially vulnerable groups. Set in Aarhus’s evolving Sydhavnskvarteret, the thesis asks how temporary design experiments can welcome diverse users without fixing them into categories of identity or ability. The study combines a theoretical framework (Universal Design, nonclusion, and an affordance–atmosphere–embodiment perspective) with site analysis, interviews, and speculative design to critique development models of the performative city that favor aesthetics and marketability over social diversity. Engaging classic observations of public life (Jan Gehl and William H. Whyte) alongside what remains unseen or excluded, it proposes three experimental interventions along the Recreational Connection to create adaptive places that support momentary ownership and layered interaction. The work argues for temporality as a key strategy for inclusion—not through permanent control but by cultivating atmospheres open to unpredictability and coexistence—and contributes to debates on inclusive public space by highlighting the value of ambiguity, informality, and affective presence.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
Documents