Architecture student Demitris Ktorides presents his research on a Cypriot town at global conference.
23 Oct 2014
A University of Brighton architecture student’s dissertation research on the loss of the town of Kyrenia, Cyprus to Turkish rule in 1974, is explored through theories of space and place, as well as questions of ownership, identity and (be)longing.
Demetris Ktorides presented his paper at the 5th Global Conference entitled ‘Space and Place: Exploring Critical Issues’ at Mansfield College in Oxford, 3-5 September, 2014.
The Greek Cypriot citizens of Kyrenia were forced to evacuate their town, leaving everything behind them and were scattered across different spaces. Although no longer attached to a physical ground, the citizens continue to connect through the ‘Kyrenia Temporal Municipality Hall’ and the internet.
Demetris explores how an architectural ‘place’ has the capacity to embody our past and future, and at the same time the power to erase them, resulting in social collapse and the historical destruction of a community. Working with interviews with the refugees, and research in their private photo archives, it draws conclusions by connecting the previous architectural ‘place’ with the consequences of its absence for the community.
