Securing Liminal Space : An Intimate Approach

Sammanfattning: This thesis derives from the comprehension that liminality has the potential for new social relations to form towards new social conditions. With an intimate approach and a deeper understanding of oneself, we can reach a more sensible understanding of others, which can bridge preconceived borders consisting of seemingly different realities that make the city a whole. The aspiration is to shift focus from the obvious preconceived reality towards a self-reflective and intimate occupation of space and being amongst each other. What architectural strategies and spaces can cater for this liminal stage to take form? To explore the concepts of liminality and intimacy this thesis investigates existing independent social operations and physical sites that through their occupation lead to new social relations and physical connections in the city. The methods are based on an inquiry of literature pertaining to this topic, practical curating of intimate space, as well as interviews and engagements with previous mentioned operations and sites. In the proposal phase three sites, or rather sets of conditions, are test cases to examine how liminal spaces can be reassured through an intimate approach within the context of Umeå, Sweden. The three sites are temporal to different extents and operate on different scales and time spans. This temporality gives the sites an uncertain character, which through the research has been found to be a potential for occupying space and use it in unexpected ways. Similar to the temporal character of the sites, the architectural strategies for giving value to these places should avoid a dogmatic and preconceived thinking of how people should use the place. If the potential lies in the undefined, then the proposal should embrace this uncertainty and thereby become facilitators of imagination and reappropriation to take form.