CURATING DAIRE: Civic Renewal & Adaptive Re-use through a Connected Arts based Townscape
“Curating Daire” explores the dynamic tension between urban architecture and the natural environment, with a focus on the critical loss of green spaces. The project proposes unlocking and transforming fortified barriers, reimagining urban space to improve its permeability—particularly in a ‘city of walls,’ where free movement becomes a natural outcome. This is especially relevant in Daire, where disconnection between the City and Waterside areas is expressed not only through physical barriers but also through socio-cultural divides.”
The thesis identifies a series of key moments, referred to as ‘The Field,’ aiming to reintegrate fragmented urban landscapes from the historic Diamond in the walled city centre and across the Peace Bridge to St Columb’s Park. It advocates for urban planning that opens, existing city blocks to establish new pedestrian pathways. These interventions are complemented by the greening of public spaces and the adaptive reuse of neglected structures for artistic endeavours, enhancing the civic and ecological value of the urban fabric.
‘Curating Daire’ addresses waterfront adaptation strategies in anticipation of rising river levels over the next fifty years, redefining civic spaces to be resilient and inclusive. The ‘AIRC’ project, located in the depleted civic spine bounded by city wall, Guildhall Square, and Urban Peace Park, explores the adaptive potential of conflict-related infrastructures and historical buildings—symbols of division and defence. Rather than dismantling these structures, the thesis proposes modifications to integrate them more organically into the cityscape, as a series of civic buildings allowing for display of art, as well as ecological and social connectivity. Cultivating a rewilded mindset among residents, fostering an ecological-arts district that harmonises built environments with ecological systems.
