Reclaim the Night: Shifting Architectural Paradigms
Authors
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2024
Submitted on
2024-05-30
Abstract
With the increasing awareness within the architectural field regarding the importance of building sustainable cities for climate mitigation, aspects of safety, security, and the support of urban rights are - albeit slowly gaining traction in the professional realm - inadequately addressed. In Denmark, 70% of women report feeling unsafe at night. While the societal structures contributing to a culture of mistrust in public urban spaces during nighttime are not solely architectural, the architectural profession bears a responsibility to confront these issues, which maintain unequal experiences for many. The purpose of the thesis Reclaim the Night: Shifting Architectural Paradigms and the handbook Feminist Architectural Practice 101 is to challenge existing architectural norms and explore how architecture and urban planning can contribute to creating safer and more inclusive public urban spaces, particularly at night, for women and other marginalized people. The methodological approach of the thesis adopts a feminist perspective. Architectural investigations of nighttime safety prioritize intersectional perspectives, participatory engagement, and situated studies. The process is informed by the authors' own bodily experiences in their city of residence, Aalborg, Denmark. The results of the investigations are communicated through strategies that range from the placement and orientation of light to interventions on a higher level in municipal planning. Furthermore, the strategies and design considerations are visualized through an experimental temporary design intervention at a site analysed to encapsulate the physical environment contributing to feelings of unsafety. Finally, the thesis concludes with a brief overview of the proposed design and a reflective discussion on the applied methods, relevant literature, design-analytical processes, and participatory engagement.
Keywords
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