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Re-interpreting the

border threshold

Matt Hoffmann

primary: Daniel de Riva


secondary: Timothy Stenson

1
2
contents

1 THE BORDER
13 CONTENTION
21 THRESHOLD MODEL I
ROMAN ARCH
38 THRESHOLD MODEL II
ISLAMIC
43 A SPECTACLE AT THE BORDERLINE
45 THE WAGAH BORDER
53 HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
INDO - PAK BORDER
64 SITE FOCUS
71 WORK CITED

3
Tijuana | Baja California border
4
“The border is a divided fiction that, dependent on the desired type of spatial and social organisation,
gives rise to a particular material form. It is a place where the forces of production and migration meet
in narrow channels, forming a marginalized territory of contested enclaves, buffer zones, military areas,
protective strips and no man’s land: an intensified supply and negotiation space of geopolitical warfare.”
MONU 08- BORDER URBANISM]

5
type A

“The natural space for this transformation is the borderline,


where systems of all kinds collide and abrade, as the world type B
breaks up, not into chaos, but rather into new patterns of
order.” - Lebbeus Woods

type C

Permeability of the borderline.


A border can be understood as a division line that mediates Where these two systems of order separated by boundary
between two systems of order. It becomes an interesting con- type B collide, is at the threshold; the transitional point along
dition when we see these two systems of order colliding and the boundary that mediates between these two spaces. This
interacting within this space, rather than maintaining a strict type of boundary condition is best represented by the idea of
division. The permeability of a border can be understood first the political border, where the line of division and threshold
as an invisible line separating two systems that is sometimes points are determined by the relationship between the two ter-
developed naturally. We see this type of border existing in cit- ritories and is therefore not natural but man-made.
ies like La Boca, Argentina, with the seemingly invisible edge
that separates the space between the depressed slums and
the economically functioning district of the city. Although it is
very apparent when crossing this type of borderline that the
two territories are very different places, the line here is not
physically marked out on a map, but rather formed through
a natural process. This border conditions are reminiscent of
type A, the fully permeable line between two systems.
Borderline type B is different from the prior in the
sense of how it is crossed. Where in this case the line of
separation between these two systems is man made and can
be drawn on a map as a clear division between two spaces.

6
Borderline as political boundary
The line that divides the U.S. from Mexico has always been
as much a barrier as a border because the two nations
have little in common – neither language nor legal system,
nor standard of living. Yet our economies are closely
intertwined. Our collective view of the border shifted from
an engaging approach to a defensive one. Influence on anti-
immigrant politics. From a legal perspective, borders are
precise boundaries that delineate the geographic extent
of a government’s authority. The US – Mexico border was
initially defined by the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
which ended the Mexican War (1846 -48) and carved
off roughly one-half of Mexico’s territory for the U.S. The
Border changed again with the Gadsden Purchase of
1853, through which the U.S. acquired portions of what
is now southern New Mexico and Arizona. In terms of
relationships, culture, and economics, the U.S- Mexico
border is actually a wide swath that extends hundreds of
miles into each nation.

El Paso Bridge of the Americas


7
There are, of course, many ways in which we occupy
and control political borders. At one end of the spectrum, the
European Union encourages regional integration, seeking to
improve the movement of goods, capital, and people across
member nations’ borders. At the other end of the spectrum,
a government might develop a defensive strategy in order to
protect its territory from a real or perceived enemy. The
demilitarized zone between South Korea and North Korea
comes to mind, as does the Kashmir border region between
Pakistan and India.

Typcial Schengen border crossing borderline condition A : permeable

type A

type C
Threshold at the Korean DMZ - borderline condition B : impermeable

8
150 120 90 60 30 0 30 60 90 120 150

Greenland
(Denmark)

150 120 90 60 30 0 30 60 90 120


Alaska
(U.S.A.)

Greenland
(Denmark)

St. Pierre
Alaska and Miquelon (Fr.)
(U.S.A.)

60
Jammu and
Kashmir *
Bermuda (U.K.)

Western
Sahara
Turks and Caicos Islands (U.K.) St. Pierre
and Miquelon (Fr.)
Northern
Puerto Rico (U.S.A.) Mariana
Islands (U.S.A.)
ST. LUCIA Jammu and Guam (U.S.A.)
Kashmir *
Bermuda (U.K.)

30

French Guiana (Fr.)


Western
Sahara
Turks and Caicos Islands (U.K.)

Hawaii
(U.S.A.)
Puerto Rico (U.S.A.) Chagos
Archipelago/
Marquesas (Fr.)
ST. LUCIA Diego Garcia** Christmas TIMOR LESTE
Agaleda Island (Austr.)
Cocos (Keeling)
Tromelin Island Islands (Austr.)
Cargados Carajos Shoals
French St. Helena (U.K.)
Society Gambier Is. (Fr.) Rodriges Island
French Guiana (Fr.)
U.S.- Mexico border Radcliffe Line : India-Pakistan
Polynesia
Arch. 60 30 0 30 60 90 120 150 180
(Fr.)
(Fr.)
0 Réunion New Cale
ds (Fr.) (Fr.)
90 Pitcairn 60 30 0 30 60 90 120 150 180
Austral Is. Islands
(U.K.)
(Fr.) Chagos
Archipelago/
Marquesas (Fr.)
Diego Garcia** Christmas TIMOR LES
Greenland Agaleda Island (Austr.)
(Denmark) Cocos (Keeling)
Tromelin Island Islands (Austr.)
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used Cargados Carajos Shoals
Greenland
French on this map do not implySt.official
Helenaendorsement
(U.K.) or acceptance
Society (Denmark)Gambier Is. (Fr.) Rodriges Island
Polynesia by the United Nations.
Arch.
(Fr.)
Cook (Fr.) *Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control Réunion
Islands in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan.
The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been
(Fr.)
(N.Z.) Pitcairn agreed upon by the parties.
Austral Is. Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (U.K.)*** 60
(U.K.)
(Fr.) **Appears without prejudice to the question of sovereignty.
30

***A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and 60


the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

The initials in parentheses refer to the administering Power


The boundaries and names shown and the designations used
or the Power involved in a special treaty relationship
on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance
St. Pierre by the United Nations.
and Miquelon (Fr.)
*Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control
St. Pierre in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan.
The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been
and Miquelon (Fr.)
agreed upon by the parties.
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (U.K.)***
Jammu and
Kashmir * **Appears without prejudice to the question of sovereignty.
Bermuda (U.K.)
***A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and
Jammu and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 30
Kashmir * concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
60 Bermuda (U.K.)

10 UNITED NATIONS
Western
Sahara
A N T A R C T I
or the Power involved in a special treaty relationship
C
The initials in parentheses refer to the administering Power
A 30
Turks and Caicos Islands (U.K.)

150 120 90 Western 60 30 0 30 60 Northern 90 120 150


Sahara
Turks and Caicos Islands (U.K.)
Puerto Rico (U.S.A.) Mariana
Islands (U.S.A.)
Northern
ST. LUCIA Guam (U.S.A.)
Puerto Rico (U.S.A.) Mariana
Islands (U.S.A.)
ST. LUCIA Guam (U.S.A.)

French Guiana (Fr.)

Map No. 4170 Rev. 10 UNITED NATIONS


A N T A R C T I C0
A
May 2010 French Guiana (Fr.)
Tokelau (N.Z.)
150 120 90 60 30 0 30 60 90 120

Chagos 0
Archipelago/ Tokelau (N.Z.)
Diego Garcia** Christmas Wallis and
TIMOR LESTE
Agaleda Island Chagos (Austr.) Futune Islands
Archipelago/ (Fr.)
Cocos (Keeling)
Tromelin Island Diego Garcia** Islands (Austr.) Christmas Wallis and
TIMOR LESTE American Futune Islands
CargadosAgaleda
CarajosIsland
Shoals (Austr.) Samoa (U.S.A.)
St. Helena (U.K.) (Fr.)
Cocos (Keeling) Niue (N.Z.)
Rodriges Island
Tromelin Island
EU: Schengen borders Korean demilitarized zone
Islands (Austr.) American
Cargados Carajos Shoals Samoa (U.S.A.)
St. Helena (U.K.) Réunion New Caledonia
(Fr.) Niue (N.Z.)
(Fr.) Rodriges Island

Réunion New Caledonia


(Fr.) (Fr.)
30

9
30

The boundaries and names shown and the designations used


on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance
by the United Nations.
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used
*Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control
on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance
in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan.
U.S Customs

Mexico Customs

the limitations of current border checkpoints


10
Typical Border Checkpoint
The typical border checkpoint
offers little integration of the territories
that it mediates between. Along the U.S
Mexico border, there exists a banal space
between the U.S customs and the Mexico
customs barriers, where the threshold
does little to integrate the cultures of
the two countries with the crossing of
the boundary. Here, the border is simply
perfunctory, and the security checkpoint
is experienced as an inconvenience for
the pedestrian or driver rather than
a transitional space between two very
different cultures.

San Ysidro, San Diego Land port of entry El Paso Bridge of the Americas

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12
“Architecture searches for new modes and new typologies from the same experi-
mental potential inherent in the difficult borderline conditions themselves, then
it can become an instrument for the cultural transformations struggling today to
occur.” -Lebbeus Woods

contention:
It is along these boundaries where we consider the architectural
possibilities of international borders rather than their limitations and propose that
the nature of border itself - through certain design motives that exploit the idea
of iconography in architecture - can become a dynamic space that allows two
conflicting frontiers bounded by a borderline to coexist.

[Through a new gateway] and an interpretation of the spatial


characteristics and narratives of threshold models of the past, to those of the
current political boundary, we can better inform and educate the spectator about
the customs that they share, rather than the terms on which they differ.

13
Architecture of the threshold.

In the past, architecture in the form of a threshold, has had


the opportunity to inform the spectator of the bordering
conditions of those it separates. The Roman Arch exemplifies
this narrative quality in both its plan orientation within the
urban context and through its dynamic layout of reliefs and
inscriptions. The facade of the archway is a surface that
scripts the movement of the spectator in and around
the threshold through the specific placement of reliefs.
The threshold takes on two forms simultaneously; first as
barrier and control device to a spatial borderline. Second,
CIRCULATION
as a facilitation device generated by a specific historical
narrative, that creates a dynamic public space for the
occupancy of the spectator.

Of the two prototypical borderline significant thresholds in


architectural history, [Arch of Constantine and Brandenburg
Gate] the Roman arch provides an example of the synthesis
between boundary regulation, spectacle, and public space.
In plan, the monumental Arch of Constantine, which
commemorates war victories in it’s reliefs, is oriented in
between [but not attached to] two hills at the end of a long
axis that spills out into the piazza.

AXIALITY

Top: Arch of Constantine [Rome, Italy] Bottom:


Plan diagramming the circulation in and around the
central axis scripted by the placement of reliefs

14
Taking in account this physical detachment from different political roles in German history as a threshold.
the borderline - and flanking landscape hills, the Archway After napoleon’s defeat in 1814, and the Prussian
is representative of a PORTAL that permits circulation occupation of Paris, the Quadriga was fully restored to
both in and around it. The detachment from the borderline Berlin and Victoria’s wreath was supplemented with a
however does not limit the capacity of the structure as a new symbol of Prussian power, the Iron Cross. At this
control device between two differing conditions, in this case time only the royal family could pass through the central
between the procession beginning at the circus maximus archway as well as members of Pfuel family from 1814 to
and the public space of the piazza. 1919. The central archways was used in addition by the
When the threshold is physically bounded by the coaches of Ambassadors on single occasions when they
borderline, the structure that regulates the permeability would present their letters of credence to the monarch.
between the two spaces can be considered a GATE. The gate was used by the Nazis as a party symbol,
Bounded by the former Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate however was badly damaged in the war and through a
is one of the main symbols of Berlin and the former gate joint effort between East and West Berlin, was repaired.
into the city. The gate consisted of twelve Doric columns, During the Revolutions of 1989 and when the wall fell, the
forming five major passageways in which citizens were only gate symbolized freedom and unification and became a
allowed to use the two outermost two. Although the Gate’s gather space between East and West Berlin’s as they were
design has essentially remained the same, it has played allowed to permeate through the threshold.

Above: The architecture of the PORTAL threshold in the Above: Highlighted in yellow - the architecture of the GATE
Collosseum Valley, Rome. threshold at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.
15
[98 -117] Trajan

[117 -138] Hadrian

[161-180] Marcus Aureli

[306-337] Constantine

Left: public space in and around


the borderline PORTAL generated
through a cultural narrative of the
surrounding conditions.

Trajan [98-117]

Hadrian [117-138]

Marcus Auralius [161-180]

Constantine [306-337]

16
The threshold, as a historical model of
both a spatial regulator and narration
device, provides an example of how
facade and surface can express a visual
perspective of a set of cultural and
religious values. Similar to the ideas of
the Roman archway, the Islamic world
proclaimed their glory in a way that
outlasted both their own lives and those
of their dynasties. Akbar’s capital of
Fatehpur Sikri is a perfect example of the
use of physical forms to communicate
power. The Gate of Victory leads into
the courtyard of the Great Mosque,
containing the tomb of the city’s patron
saint, Shaykh Salim Chishti. It is the
supreme example of the symbolic
gateway in Islam, an assertion of the
monarch’s power and splendor far in
excess of any functional need.

Mughal emperor who used former


Hindu craftsman to create what is
known as Indo-Muslim architecture.

Pakistan

India

Gate of Victory, Shaykh Salim Chishti, India


17
context: the endeavor of the
new threshold

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany


18
city wall - boundary

city center
The Portal The Gate
Brandenburg Gate - Gateway

circus maximus west berlin

piazza east berlin

The endeavor of the new [re-programmed]


threshold is to utilize the ideas of past architectural
threshold models into a cohesive strategy that
simultaneously narrates, informs and interprets the
history of shared cultural conditions while operating city wall - boundary

in a current situation of conflict. The portal outlined


earlier [arch of Constantine] is a regulation device
between two spatial conditions of procession and public
space and operates within the urban fabric of the city Arch of Constantine - Portal

limits. Therefore it is most aligned with border condition


type C, which describes a highly permeable boundary

city wall - boundary

city wall - boundary


that celebrates the crossing of the spectator from
one space to another through a hierarchy of scripted
movements which correspond with the narrative depicted
in the façade. Aligned with border condition type B,
the Brandenburg gateway was once embedded in the
borderline as a regulation device for circulation into the
city and represents a valuable model for the modern
day checkpoint within a political boundary. The gateway city wall - boundary

then is a form of the portal, however shifted outward


from the center of the city binding the urban fabric
within. Distinction between the Gateway and Portal.
The Gateway in Berlin being physically attached
to the wall. The Portal more as a figure in
space.
19
The synthesis between the dynamic public space in
and around portal and the regulation characteristics of the
Gateway translated into contemporary motives can be used
to contradict the perfunctory qualities that define the
threshold at the in today’s typical border crossing checkpoint.
In order to employ an informative, narrative quality and
successful public space along the border, the two neighboring
frontiers must share certain set of cultural, religious, and
political values that can facilitate the generation of the
architecture of this new threshold. Of the three boundary
conditions, the threshold of the political boundary, rather
than the traditional boundary of the city limits, provides the
opportunity to operate within a space where the two frontiers
maintain history of values that can be exploited in the
threshold architecture while at the same time preserve the
impermeability of the borderline.

Discovering the borderline that is loaded with the


appropriate historical relationship with that of its contiguous
frontier to successfully test the thesis requires an analysis
of the four different types. Where the U.S.-Mexico border
shares a history of conflict in the late 19th century with the
Mexican-American War, it lacks the duration of time and
significance in which India and Pakistan were united, with
Hindu and Muslims living simultaneously within one frontier.

The possibilities of the Korean Demilitarized [DMZ] in


providing an adequate testing site for the threshold borderline
are limited by the extreme tension and ongoing geopolitical
issues that restrict any flow whatsoever across the boundary
between North and South Korea. Since the architecture of
the new threshold cannot operate without the presence of
the inhabitant, this borderline is highly a unsuitable context.

20
How can past
architectural models
of thresholds
inform a new way
of understanding
today’s typical border
checkpoint?

The Arch of Constantine


When analyzed architecturally, rather
than understood by its rich religious
and militarized inscriptions and reliefs,
the setting of the Arch of Constantine
articulates a relationship between the
emperor’s military victory and the fa-
vor of the sun god. – 6” Constantine’s
Arch which straddled the northern
end of the processional route called
“Via Triumphalis” and celebrated his
victory over Maxentius from 306-
312. The monument was constructed
at the end of the most significant and
straightest routes cutting through
the urban fabric of Rome in the 4th
century, marking the point where the
triumphal procession would turn left
after spilling out into the Piazza del
Colosseo, and continue on to the Ro-
man forum at a pace that was regu-
21
the elements

Colo
ssu
so
f So
l

Meta Suden
Colosseum

Arch

View of Colossus of Sol from Via


Triumphal - 835ft south of the
archway

Ci
rc
us
M
ax
im
us

the procession

Meta Sudan Fountain oriented


in front of the arch - built by the
Flavians
al umph
Via Tri

Arch of Constantine in the


foreground framing the
Colosseum
22
lated as it passed various monumental pieces of
architecture. Being situated within a valley and
linked by major roadways that extended through-
out the city, the site where the Via Triumphal
crossed through the Arch of Constantine and
met the existing Neronian paving patterns of the
piazza, was likely to be an highly populated and
trafficked area.

Although the perspectiable alignment of monu-


ments in the piazza in conjunction with the Arch
seemed to be pleasing to the spectator, in plan
their orientation was clearly misaligned. The

Colosseum

23
axis and focal point off axis shift

? ?

? ?

ancient triumphal road and the new structures in the Colosseum


valley were oriented off-axis by approximately seven degrees. The
long straight axis of the ancient road that leads up to the triumphal
arch was aligned in the 1st century within the confines of the valley
between the Palatine and Caelian hills, this being the case it was
necessary to preserve this axis and instead alter the positioning
of the Archway leading into the piazza. The flavians addressed
this issue of axiality by installing a round fountain called the Meta
-353ft
Sudans, in front of the northern façade -35ft 0 route
of the Arch past the
ftto mask thethreshold
35ft 353ft
divergence between the former Neronian grid of the piazza and
the Via Triumphal. Though the installation seemed to deal with the
Colosseum valley
issue well in perspective and upon approach, it did not suggest
anything of a military dominance that was characteristic of great
monuments in Rome. b.
framing the perspective of the
procession

Constantinian planners used these issues as a point of departure


for the location of the new arch that would celebrate the triumph
caelian hill
in battle of Constantine’s army. What filled the central portal of
the arch was crucial in the alignment in plan, and being that the
a.
Meta Suden which rested at the end of the roadway was not a
militarized monument, planners shifted the archway off axis leav-
ing the focal space of the archway in a direct path with another
ancient monument in the Colossuem Valley. Much like the rest of

24
the monuments in the valley, the bronze statue of the sun god
Sol was oriented with the existing Neronian grid and off-axis with
roadway. However, being that it was a great distance from the ?
? ?
archway [approx. 353ft], the monument alluded to be aligned in ?
perspective and filled the central archway when approaching the
Arch of Constantine from the Circus Maximus at the south end.
? ?
?

The position of the Arch of Constantine had numerous architec-


tural implications, however here the relevant characteristic is its
ability to frame a spectacle and suggest historically significant
moments in Rome’s history. Together these elements of the
archway would have likely implied a relation between the Sol and
the triumphal ritual, in that the statue Colossus would represent
the final destination of the route. Throughout the 3rd century,
emperors were often associated with Sol Invictus, or the Uncon-
quered Sun, and in relation to the civil wars at this time within the
empire, the characteristics of invincibility, eternity, and dominion
over the east, became irresistible as a model for the figure of the
emperor. – 16” Constantine’s association with the Sun god is not Colosseum valley

only evident in the numerous portraits that depict him with the
Sol’s rayed crown and the inscription : SOLI INVICTO COMITI [to
the invincible sun, companion] on three-quarters of Constantine’s
coinage, but most importantly in the underlying planning process
of the triumphal arch in coinciding with the Colossus of Sol. By
installing his triumphal arch right in front of the Colossus Sol,
Constantine transformed the way spectators saw the statue.
caelian hill
palatine hill

25
Along the via triumphal in the northward direc-
tion, as observers approached the Colosseum
Valley they were drawn into the orbit of the
distant monuments by this long, straight vista
that framed the distant monuments in the
piazza. The focalized character of the avenue
that eventually led up to the arch, was empha-
viewpoint - pause
sized by temple complexes that occupied the
steep inclines of the Palastine and Caelian Hills hills widen
that cluttered the peripheral and made the axis
of the road even more dominant. As a specta- arch colossus
tor, the approach to the arch became cinematic
in that the monuments beyond the threshold in
the piazza continued to move in and out of the
frame until approximately 115ft away when Co-
lossus of Sol would have been framed perfectly
in the tall central passageway. At this distance,
the via triumphal is at its widest possibly offering

26
space for the procession to pause and
observe the monumentality and the
framing of the two statues separated
by the inscriptions of the emperor’s
achievements on the frieze of the
Arch of Constantine.

Upon continuing down via Triumphal


and once the arch had exceeded the
view of the moving observer, the figure
of Colossus standing at an estimated
[67ft] archway 125ft would have become spectacular
[6ft] male and increasingly dominant over the
central passageway. Once released
from the threshold the view could
have been described as the climax
of dramatic spectacle of re-framing,
partial obscuring and sudeen revealing
to that of the triumphal procession.

353 ft

27
-353ft -35ft 0 ft 35ft 353ft 886ft

You saw, I believe, O Constantine, your Apollo, accompanied


d. by Victory, offering you laurel wreaths, each one of which
carries a portent of thirty years…And – now why do I say “I believe”? – you saw, and recognized yourself in the likeness
of him to whom the divine songs of the bards had prophesied that rule of over the whole world was due. And this I
think has now happened, since you are, O Emperor, like he, youthful,
-353ft joyful, a bringer
-35ft 0 of
ft health
35ft and very handsome.”
353ft - 886
emphasizes spectacle
d.

886ft
Beginning with the term; “you saw” this passage emphasizes the spectacle developed by the architectural play be-
tween the triumphal arch, the axiality of “via triumphal” and the monumental elements in Colosseum Valley.
-353ft -35ft 0 ft 35ft

d.

353ft
spectator
886ft

353ft
spectator
886ft

353ft
s
35ft

35ft

35ft
28
INSCRIPTION & NARRATIVE

The attic is brought alive by the rectan-


gular reliefs of imperial duty in war and peace that
flank the dedicatory inscriptions.
The round tondos and the attic panels
dominate the visual impression made by the monu- [98 -117] Trajan
ment. The series of eight tondo reliefs are Hadri-
anic. Hadrian’s portrait in the scene of sacrificing to [117 -138] Hadrian
Apollo on the north side of the arch to Hercules on
the south side has been transformed nito a likeness [161-180] Marcus Aurelius
from the tetrarchic period, possibly Constantius
Chlorus, Constantine’s father. The divine figures, [306-337] Constantine
especially Apollo, are examples of Roman classi-
cism. The secondary figures, especially the bearded
individuals and youths, such as the almost nude boy
of the departure scene, are also typically Hadrianic.
The trees and foliage are typical of the so-called
Neo-Attic reliefs.

Narrative: architecture of
the narrative

Constantine’s reign
as emperor
Attic

Hadrianic period Tondo


Sadness, depression Frieze
military

The Romans and the


Barbarians Column Base

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North Elevation

s
hali
iump
Tr
Via

West Elevation

the elements

Meta Sudans
Colo
[fountain]
ssu
so
f So
l

Meta Suden
Colosseum

Arch

Cir
cu
s
M
ax
im
us

30
the procession
Those on the east and Those on the east and
west ends belong to a west ends belong to a
triumphal procession, triumphal procession,
with an emperor enter- with an emperor enter-
West Elevation ing Rome, and they ing Rome, and they
overlap around the four overlap around the
corners on to the main four corners on to the
faces as far as the first main faces as far as
pilasters. the first pilasters.

Those on the east and west ends


belong to a triumphal procession, with
an emperor entering Rome, and they
overlap around the four corners on
to the main faces as far as the first
Departure from Milan
pilasters.

Tondo relief - diana - Luna

Triumphal Procession

31
North Elevation - left side

On the north side of the arch the attic reliefs bring the emperor
to Rome. At the east end he arrives. Following the standard
iconography of this scene, the emperor is accompanied by Mars
and Dea Roma. A Victory flies overhead. Two women, one veiled,
the second bearing an offering tray with fruits, stand behind. In
the background are a garlanded arch and a temple. The arch
is a quadrifons; that is, it has two major openings that cross in
its center. The pediment of the temple has a figure of Fortuna,
identified by the globe and a wheel between which she sits. There
is a cornucopia in each angle. The temple is thus identified as
the Temple of Fortuna Redux, a most appropriate divinity for an
imperial return to the city. This temple in Rome was rebuilt by
Domitian in 93.

EMPEROR arrival

Departure from Milan

Those on the east and west ends belong to a


triumphal procession, with an emperor entering
Rome, and they overlap around the four corners
on to the main faces as far as the first pilasters. Tondo relief - diana - Luna

Triumphal Procession
Those on the east and
west ends belong to a
triumphal procession,
with an emperor entering
Rome, and they overlap
around the four corners
on to the main faces as
far as the first pilasters.

32
North Elevation - right side

On the right of the central opening of the arch there are the final
pair of Antonine reliefs. First comes a scene of liberalitas, the
emperor distributing support payments to Roman citizens. Here
in action is the famous dole, which was a concrete advantage of
the citizenry of the capital. The emperor, the scale of whose figure
dwards the other participants in the scene, is seated on a high
podium. Three dignitaries are grouped around him. A slave passes
him purses of money from a sack beneath his feet. In the fore-
ground at the foot of the podium there are gathered the recipients
of the emperor’s generosity.

EMPEROR departure
Imperial generosity
Submission of the
defeated

Those on the east and west ends belong to a


triumphal procession, with an emperor entering
Rome, and they overlap around the four corners
on to the main faces as far as the first pilasters.
Tondo relief - diana - Luna

Triumphal Procession

Those on the east and


west ends belong to a
triumphal procession,
with an emperor entering
Rome, and they overlap
around the four corners
on to the main faces as
far as the first pilasters.
33
Arch of Constantine,
Rome; detail of reliefs on
east side: [T] tondo of
the Sun (Sol Invictus) ris-
tondo of the Sun (Sol ing from the Ocean in his
Invictus) rising from
East Elevation
chariot, his torchbearer
the Ocean in his char- Lucifer before him; [B]
iot, his torchbearer triumphal procession,
Lucifer before him ca. 312-315 C.E.

Those on the east and west ends


belong to a triumphal procession, with
an emperor entering Rome, and they
overlap around the four corners on
to the main faces as far as the first
Departure from Milan
pilasters.

Tondo; Sol Invictus

Triumphal Procession

34
Piazza del Colosseo

South Elevation

East Elevation

lis
pha
Trium
Via

the elements

Colo
ssu
so
f So
l

Meta Suden
Colosseum

Arch

Cir
cu
s
M
ax
im
us

35
the procession
South Elevation - left side

Returning to the left


side, we find that the
battle is over, and two
captured barbarians are
being brought before the
emperor. The faces of
the defeated warriors are
marked with the signs of
downcast resignation or
wild-eyed despair.

BATTLE ENDS

Departure from Milan

Those on the east and west ends belong to a


triumphal procession, with an emperor entering
Rome, and they overlap around the four corners
on to the main faces as far as the first pilasters. Departure for the hunt
Sacrifice to Silvanus

Triumphal Procession
Those on the east and west
ends belong to a triumphal
procession, with an emperor
entering Rome, and they overlap
around the four corners on to
the main faces as far as the
first pilasters.

36
South Elevation - right side
Presentation of an allied chieftain to the army. The
scene is a military base. The general’s headquarters, the
praetorium, is in the background. On the left, the emperor, in
a campaign dress, tunic and cloak, addresses the army from
a podium. With him on the podium is a figure which recurs
beside the emperor in each of the military scenes of the series.
Standing below the emperor and facing the crowd of soldiers
is the subject of the presentation. Being a friend of Rome, he
is a noble barbarian, but as a mark of this identity he wears
a fringed cloak. Behind the soldiers of the foreground the
standard-bearers of the army appear in their characteristic
animal-pelt headgear. They hold standards which carry figures
among which one can distinguish Victory, Mars, and Hercules.
The emperor and his general stand on a podium to
the right side of the panel. The time of battle is approaching,
and the soldiers appear with armor, helmets, and spears. In
the background there are again two standard-bearers holding
legionary standards. The “eagles”
Here, we find first a scene of sacrifice before
combat. Among the crowd of soldiers and victims the
BATTLE BEGINS emperor offers a pinch of incense over a flaming tripod. On
the right a trumpeter, facing inward toward the host, sounds
his instrument while another musician, his head wreathed,
adds the shrill note of the double flute. The general,
Departure from Milan bareheaded, mingles with the crowd. Spears and ensigns,
both the legionary eagles and the vexilla carrying a cloth from
a crosspiece, fill the background together with large wreaths
which we should imagine suspended in some way behind the
gathering. A standard-bearer, grim in his loin skin headdress,
looks out from the throng.

Tondo relief - diana - Luna

Triumphal Procession
Rome: Arch of Constan-
tine: Ext.: south face:
right side: frieze “Battle
of Pons Milvius”: from
Hadrianic monument

37
“A gate serves to admit and to
exclude. It is also a symbol – of strength,
of security, of wealth.” -2

Gate of conquests, Cairo Gate of God’s help, Cairo

In referencing the threshold of ancient Islamic


architecture, there are two major plan strategies: the
straight gate, which was primarily a passageway with importance of military architecture. The decoration
massive doors that remained transparent the majority however is tied to the broader subject of the symbolism
of the time; and the bent entrance which has obvious of gates. This is expressed in the animal sculptures
defensive uses, becoming in a few instances, similar to on the gates of Diyarbakir and on St Stephen’s Gate in
the Gate of Justice in the Alhambra, a double bent gate. Jerusalem, and seems to suggest either a magic meaning
Both types of gates have a long pre-Islamic history and of protection or a symbolic meaning of the sovereignty
although the bent gate became more common in military of individual princes. Some of the literary references on
architecture and in the western parts of the Muslim early Islamic Isfahan also suggest the idea of astrological
world, tended to be used rather seldomly, especially in symbolism. However, there is not a clear or consistent
later centuries. The interesting aspects of gates are their pattern to the visual symbolism of purely defensive gates
construction, their decoration, and the names given in Islamic lands, therefore each exception is seen and
to them. Gates serve as a view into the most common understood independently. The gate of Victory leads
construction techniques and building materials relevant into the courtyard of the Great Mosque, containing the
to their time period. It’s possible that certain innovations tomb of the city’s patron saint Shaykh Salim Christi. This
in Islamic vaulting techniques, such as the elaboration of threshold is an excellent example of the symbolic gateway
squinches and cross vaults, were the direct result of the in Islam. The Gate of Victory, like the Roman archway, is
an assertion of the monarch’s power, built in a way that far
38


The Elements of Decoration: surface, pattern and light
Islamic art is derived from decorative principles
that form the bases for all types of Islamic buildings and
objects from very different times. There is never a type
of pattern or decoration that is specific to a certain
typology of building, instead each pattern is based off
of the relevant time and place of the construction.
These patterns are applied to the traditional material
palette in which includes textiles, ceramics, woodwork,
metalwork, books. The patterns are difficult to understand
unless scaled against something that is known, and with
the introduction of color the system of interrelated
patterns becomes even more complex. Another variable
that is introduced into this complex system is light, where
the surface changes subtly as the sun moves around it
and creates the effect of a three-dimensional surface from
one that is completely flat. The decoration techniques are
also intended to hide any sign of permanent parts of a
building through the use of hangings, carpets and curtains.
Since little furniture is needed for day to day life in Islam,
mattresses for sleep can be moved around resulting in
interior spaces that are seemingly continuous. In
gerenal, “Islamic art is an art of repose, intellectual rather
than emotional, where tensions are resolved.” It is also
dynamic, in that like water itself, the patterns continue to
reflect and multiply while remaining static on the face of
the structure. Friday Mosque, Afghanistan

39
Islamic Arch. Specifically Hindu Arch.
straight gate

animal sculptures

protection

The Threshold bent gate

decoration

leads into the


courtyard

materials relevant to
their time period

Islamic Arch. Specifically Hindu Arch.


pattern relevant to
time and place
little furniture needed

multiple scales
interior space is
continuous
Decoration colors interrelated to
patters
dynamic patterns
complex system of light

reflect and multiply

hide permant parts

40
The frame

The primary unit is an arch within a rectangle,


which is a motif that is repeated through the history of
Islamic Architecture. In this image we see the arc not
only framing the shape of the top of the window, but also
repeated in the decorations in the panel above.

The Geometry

Islam utilizes geometry by transforming it into a


major art form, beginning with the circle facilitated with
ideas of repetition, symmetry and different scales to
form optical effects. Interestingly, patterns are rendered
visible only at a distance by the contrast of the plane in
the forefront or the receeding of the plane to create dept,
along with the play of light and shadow to provide a three
dimensional quality to a flat surface. The shape of the star
is significant in six, eight, sixteen or more points and can
be used equally in two dimensions or in three to transform
a dome.

Calligraphy

Inscriptions are represented by Arabic lettering


which was brought to a high level of sophistication and
varies from flowing cursive [naskhi and thuluth] to the
angular styles. The use of inscription to give meaning to
the building and clearify its function is exemplified at the
mosque of al-Aqmar in Cairo. The calligraphy in the form
of undulating bands that wrap the base of Wutb Minar in
Delhi, a characterized by the way that they mingle with the
geometric and foliated designs.

Play of Light

Below the domes, light is reflected through the


development of muqarnas cells, which can be understood
by their function of reflection and refraction. Light
penetrating through the patterned screens and glass
results in a scattered pattern on interior surfaces and
begins to dissolve the boundary between solid and void.
41
Foliation

The variety of ways in which classical vine and scroll


motifs are displayed ranges from complete abstraction to
replication of the scientific naturalism. The use of foliage
patterns has evolved from pure naturalism to a organized
and symmetrical orientations.

Water

Water is associated with ideas of wealth, fertility,


and coolness and essential to Islamic architecture. Garden
channels and pools which originated as simply irrigation,
were developed into their visual beauty and incorporated
into elaborate architectural schemes. In contrast to the
enclosed courtyard, pools provided a sense of repose and
openness. Water is incorporated in the most lavish of
interior spaces through marble channels that travel from
room to room. Patterns from the facades that surround
sheets of still water are reflected and multiplied, extending
them beyond their surface limitations.

Figures and Animals

Finding figural and animal art in Islamic architecture


is very rare, however the horses on the panel from Cairo
have been abstracted completely to the point where they
more accurately represent a symmetrical pattern rather
than a figure.

42
context: border + spectacle

43
How does the threshold act as a device that facilities
spectacle?

In the 1963 film, “Cleopatra,” The Arch of Septimius


Severus provides the stage for the elaborate entrance of
the queen. The scene depicts the idea of a spatial hiearchy
in the threshold, where the dancer’s and performers enter
through the two smaller archways building the suspense
in the central archway for the main event, the entrance
of Cleopatra. Here, the threshold represents a model
for inhibiting celebration, and spectacle facilitated by it’s
orientation in plan as well as section.
Plan of Roman procession

Cleopatra enters Rome


44
In the context of the tense relationship between India and
Pakistan, the Wagah border spectacle reveals how the
threshold along the borderline, can be a dynamic and trans
formative space that mediates between two very different
cultures. The celebration that occurs here, displays both
military prowess and a respectful understanding of the
bordering countries cultural values.

View as spectator at Wagah Border during the closing of the gates ceremony
45
Aerial view of Wagah Border, Pakistan

The mulit-threshold
layering and expansion
space between these
layers results in a highly
versitile space that can
be inhabited by citizens
from either country.
Traditionally, the space
is programmed for the
“lowering of the flag”
ceremony which occurs
everyday, however it
has the potential to
become an even more
dynamic space if we
exploit it composition.

46
Pakistani threshold at Wagah Border Indian threshold at Wagah Border

India

India

Pakistan

Pakistan

47
RWANDA
BURUNDI I N D O N
UNITED REP. Chagos
OF TANZANIA Archipelago/
SEYCHELLES
Diego Garcia** Christmas

MALAWI
PAKISTANCOMOROS Agaleda Island (Austr.)
Cocos (Keeling)
Tromelin Island Islands (Austr.)
Cargados CarajosraShoals
h Border
Crossing
Wa
ZIMBABWE MOZAMBIQUE Rodriges Island Amritsar
MADAGASCAR
MAURITIUS
Lahore Réunion
(Fr.)
SWAZILAND

LESOTHO INDIA

boundaries and names shown and the designations used


his map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance Aerial view of the two poles: Lahore, Pakistan and Amristar, India
he United Nations.

tted line represents approximately the Line of Control


ammu and Kashmir Theagreed
wagahupon by Indiacrossing
border and Pakistan.
is composed of three be inhabited by citizens from either country. Traditionally,
final status of Jammu
thresholds that align yet
and Kashmir has not beenthe center axis of the road itself.
along the space is programmed for the “lowering of the flag”
eed upon by the parties.
The central threshold composes the hard border, as it is ceremony which occurs everyday, however it has the
ppears withoutthe legaltoand
prejudice physical
the question boundary that stems from the 3,000
of sovereignty. potential to become an even more dynamic space if we
mile fence that separates the two frontiers. On either exploit it composition.
A dispute existsside of this
between thresholdoflies
the Governments another
Argentina and layer of boundary that
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
is specific to the interior of the country that it represents.
cerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
Each layer can be understood as a striation of borderline
organized
initials in parentheses hierarchically
refer to the administeringand on a unified axis.
Power
Between the two terciary
he Power involved in a special treaty relationship thresholds is a transitional zone
that we can describe as a space “where uncertainties
meet, interact, fuse or are repelled.” [Woods] The
occupent of this zone has not yet completed the transition
between two systems and patterns of order, but instead is
left in a grey zone of transition.
The mulit-threshold layering and expansion space between
these layers results in a highly versitile space that can
48
PLAN | WAGAH BORDER CROSSING

India customs building

Pakistani Administration Building

Permanent bleacher seating

Pakastani Threshold Indian Threshold


zone A zone B

Permanent bleacher seating - India

Permanent bleacher seating National border Pakistan | India

Plan: Wagah Border Crossing, Pakistan


49
placemark elements

green marble

height of placemark - dominence


embedded frieze

1a 1 1b
threshold borderline threshold

borderline (I)

50
seating elements

1a
level A A.
1
elevated balcony - not for public
1b
seating hierarchy

threshold borderline threshold

level B bleacher style public seating

ground or temporary chairs


borderline (I)
level C

threshold elements minaret, dome, cupola


islamic architecture

modernist architecture
space for high ranking officials
military officers
high ranking officials balcony
threshold height - india

threshold height - pakistan

space for public access


public accessway

51
ceremony

Indian population

Pakistani population

Pakistan India Pakistan India

daytime

Indian population

Pakistani population

Pakistan India Pakistan India

52
context: Indo - Pak History the
common ground

53
1206-1526CE
MUSLIM PERIOD
Delhi

Muslim rulers controlled North India

Muslim
Most of the craftsmen were Indian

Indian

INDO-MUSLIM architecture.
Indo- Muslim architecture did not appear
as fully developed importation but was the
Arabian
result of a style that evolved over hundreds Sea
of years. During most of the time Delhi was
Bay of Bengal
the Muslims’ capital city, and the styles
that developed there influenced provincial
art, though it was not entirely a one-way
process. The early Muslims in India were
a very small ruling minority, and it became
apparent that their architecture would
reflect an indigenous Indian style, since
most of the craftsmen were Indians. Since Indian Ocean
the development of the Indo-Muslim style is
best seen in the city of Delhi, examples of
architecture are limited to these areas.
Delhi Sultanate
54
Not only were Indian builders were devoted to a tradition
totally different from that of Islam, but their methods of
construction were different. From a very early period they
seemed to have mistrusted and avoided the arch because
of their feeling that it lacked repose – that “the arch never
sleeps.” Because of a preference for a post and beam type
Persian Empire of construction, Indian builders did little experimenting with
different building methods. When the Indian craftsmen
wished to form an arch he used a corbelled arch or dome.
When the Muslims decided to construct the great arched
Delhi Sultanate screen to the Quwwatul-Islam mosque, this was the method
employed by the Indian builders.

To these various types of buildings the Muslim brought


the structural arch, the dome, geometric design, inlaid
ornament, and script. India contributed colonnaded
courtyards, balconies supported by brackets, wide
overhanging eaves, floral decoration, and an organic quality
inherent in all Indian design.

A few years after the Quwwatul-Islam Mosque was built


The Muslims were united by a single religion however a new arched screen was added. It was constructed of
they came from various different countries and different newly quarried stone and is one of the earliest examples of
backgrounds. “Their art was eclectic – a fusion of elements Indo-Muslim architecture. The façade of corbelled arches
2
from the countries they had conquered” however the suggests the work of Indian craftsmen, and the shape of the
main foreign influence that Islam brought into India was ogee arch ties back to ancient Indian origins. The screen is
Persian. It was primarily the combination of Indian covered with elaborate ornament, both Indian and Muslim.
and Persian elements that produced the Indo-Muslim The decorative script from the Koran is Islamic and the floral
architecture. The imported form must be accepted and ornament is Indian. The Indian craftsman has combined them
integrated by the original country if it is to develop into a into a unified composition.
significant architecture. Indo-Muslim architecture, or the
fusion of imported and indigenous forms and techniques, was
developed in India, and therefore belongs to India.

Some of the earliest existing Indo-Muslim buildings are in


Delhi. Islam’s first building requirement was a mosque, and Indian craftsman combines the Koran and the
this was accomplished by dismantling Hindu temples and floral ornament into a unified composition.
reassembling the stone in the form of a mosque. In the
process, craftsmen were responsible for removing figures
carved by the Hindu idolaters. In Delhi, a great screen
of Muslim design was placed in front of the liwan of the
Quwwatul-Islam mosque, crafted and translated to Muslim by
Hindu.
55
HINDU TEMPLE MUSLIM MOSQUE
Colonnaded courtyards Structural dome, arch
Balconies supported by Inlaid ornament and script
brackets Geometric design
Wide overhanging
eaves
Floral decoration
Organic design

Minaksi Temple, gopuram Indo-Muslim Mosque at Delhi, Quwwatul-Islam


56
“Because of a preference for a post and beam type of construction, Indian builders did little experimenting with different
building methods. When the Indian craftsmen wished to form an arch he used a corbelled arch or dome. When the Muslims
decided to construct the great arched screen to the Quwwatul-Islam mosque, this was the method employed by the Indian
builders.” 2

Indian

Quwwatul-Islam Mosque. Arched screen details Muslim


57
1206-1526CE
Mughal Empire
The Jahangiri Mahal is often compared with the Hindu The border designs, the slender decorative quoin with its
palaces of the Rajput kings and is cited as a transitional crown-like top, the contrast of the small dome with the
building, having both Hindu and Muslim elements. There is no swelling form of the large dome, the angularity of the vertical
doubt that he Jahangiri Mahal is as much Hindu as Muslim, facades, and the functional water spouts are clearly resolved.
but this is also true of other Akbar buildings. “It is interesting to note that scholars point out the Indian
character of the small dome and the Persian design of the
The front façade is made up of a series of decorative arched large one as an example of a perfect blending of the two
niches, a popular device in early Mughal architecture and different traditions.
often identified as being of Muslim origin. The projecting
balconies, the supporting brackets, and the stylized lotus
forms under the balconies are also Indian characteristics.

On the interior, there exists an example of the attempt


to synthesize Muslim and Indian art. The interior court is
basically Indian, having a wide roof overhang, heavy brackets,
projecting balcony, and massive pillars.

On the Roof terrace of Jahangiri Mahal is a massive open


pavilion. The huge pillars and kiosk are reminiscent of Indian
design.

58
Jahangiri Mahal, Indian ornament Jahangiri Mahal

Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula, ornate gateway Taj Mahal - Indian small dome - Persian large dome
59
Trade and Travel: Markets and Caravanserais
Arabs and non-Arab conquests were originally nomadic and
inherited a tradition of travel establishing the idea that the
wealth of cities depended upon the transport of goods over
long distances. The pilgrimage or hajj, was imposed upon
the Faith of Islam and was one of the most powerful motives
of all for travel. Therefore the two classes of travelers
from Islamic countries were merchants and pilgrims, who
required more frequent places for rest and shelter in the
harsh conditions and inhospitable countryside. Caravanserais
became relevant in this landscape; as places along main
routes where men and their animals would be safe for the
night, and where they could be sure of food and water.
Rulers, the state or rich patrons would fund the construction
of these enclaves. Turkish for caravanserai, the two Sultan
Hans outside Konya are examples of these prestige buildings
constructed in the early 13th century. In Anatolia, between
Konya and Aksaray is the largest caravanserai on that road
dating back to 1229. The decoration and contrast between
the deeply cut stonework and the plain ashlar are typical of
Sejug art at its most sophisticated state.

The archway or portal, with its pointed opening


containing a muqarnas vault represents the shape of the
ancestral dwelling of the nomadic Seljuq tribes their Central
Asian homelands. On the road, that the caravanserais
themselves, their urban equivalent, the khans, and the
markets should be built on a correspondingly communal
scale, and features such as watchtowers and marker posts
be developed to a degree without parallel in the West.
Towers were built, and represented figures in the landscape,
comparable to the modern day lighthouse, which served as
directional elements for travels. For these travelers, tents
were a form of shelter found through Islamic history and is
60
still used today in many areas, topkapi palace is, in a sense architectural styles of the region and era, and the exteriors
an assemblage of glorified tents. The camp near Mecca, gave no indication of the inhabitants cultural and religious
camp Arafat, is considered a tent-city, combining pilgrims uniqueness. The interior of the caravanserais, however,
from different countries living in demarcated areas of their represented Hindu microcosm within their Islamic host
own. societies. The Diwali celebration in Tashkent in 1895, the
Hindus celebrated this holiday by abstaining from drinking
Dmitriev’s research has disclosed nine caravanserais alcohol, maintaining a strictly vegetarian diet of ceremonial
inhabited by Hindu merchants in nineteenth-century Bukhara, Indian cuisine, illuminating the caravanserai with hundreds
including Alimjan, Abdullajan, Ibrahimjan, Serai-I Kalan, of petroleum lamps, and enlisting musicians, singers and
Serai-I pOi Astan, Amir, Tamaku, Karshi and Fil’khana. Sadr dancers to perform devotional songs. In Bukhara, the
al-Din Aini mentions three specifically Indian caravanserais Muslim population had a tradition of allowing, and even
in Bukhara during the late nineteenth century. In 1863, participating in, Hindu religious celebrations. For example,
Armenius Vambery suggested that here were approximately prior to the commencement of some festival activities in
500 Indians residing in Bukhara, and later Ghulab Khan Bukahara, farmers are reported to have brought their cows
estimated that there were 400 Hindus and 200 Indian to Indian caravanserais so that the Hindus could sprinkle
Muslims in Bukhara, the Muslims living in caravanserais them with dry red dye and pray near them. In return, the
other than those inha . Indians fed the cows cotton seed, an unusual delicacy for the
animals. In an Indian caravanserai in Bukhara, diwali was
In some locations Indian merchants congregated in documented as having been celebrated where the holiday
urban neighborhoods, but the vast majority of references was populary referd to as Id-I Charaghan (Festival of Lights).
are to Hindu merchants living in specifically Indian
caravanserais. These structures conformed to the standard

61
POST PARTITION OF INDIA: CONFLICT TIMELINE

After India’s independence from Great Britain in 1947, the Indian subcontinent was partitioned into
Hindo-dominated but nominally secular India and the Muslim state of Pakistan. The ruler of Jammu
1947 | and Kashmir decided to accede to India in return for military assistance. This event caused severe
rioting and conflict because the Kashmir valley was predominately Muslim, therefore Pakistanis still
believe that Kashmir should have been their territory.

In October 1947, India and Pakistan went to war, just after Pakistan supported a Muslim insurgency
1947 | in Kashmir. The war ended on January 1949, and the LOC [Line of Control] which was formally known
as the ceasefire line, was established. The location of the borderline was determined where the two
1948 | sides topped fighting, however the referendum was and has never been held.

In April 1965, a clash between border patrols erupted into fighting in the southern end of the border-
line, in the Rann of Kutch. Later, Pakistan launched a covert offensive across the ceasefire line into
1965 | Jammu and Kashmir. In 1966, India and Pakistan signed a declaration, committing to solver their
conflict using peaceful means. They resumed to their boundaries before the war.

indo Pakistani relations decended when Pakistan descended into civil war after East Pakistan
demanded autonomy and later independence. India invaded East Pakistan in support of its people after
1971 | millions of civilians fled to India. At the end of 1971, Bangladesh was created out of East Pakistan.

Armed resistance to Indian rule broke out in the Kashmir valley in 1989, with some groups calling for
independence and others calling for union with Pakistan. India accused Pakistan of supplying weapons
1989 | to the militants. During the 1990s, with the emergence of militant Muslim groups, the movement’s
ideology became essentially Islamic in nature.

62
India and Pakistan set up low-level meetings to defuse tension over Jammu and Kashmir. The
diplomatic push became more concerted a year later and an agenda for peace talks was agreed
1997 | on. Also in 1997, Pakistan suggested that the two sides meet to discuss restraining nuclear and
missile capabilities.

Fears of a nuclear confrontation grew, after both sides conducted nuclear tests. The US ordered
sanctions against both countries, with several European nations doing the same. Tensions were
1998 | reduced early the following year after the two sides signed an accord pledging to intensify efforts
to resolve all issues – including that of Jammu and Kashmir.

Conflict again erupted after India launched air strikes against Pakistani-backed forces that had
infiltrated Indian-administered Kashmir. Fighting built up towards a direct conflict between the two
1999 | states and tens of thousands of people were reported to have fled their homes on both sides of
the ceasefire line. Later that year, General Musharraf led a military coup in Pakistan.

Tension along the ceasefire line continued. In October 38 people were killed after an attack on the
Kashmiri assembly in Srinagar. A month later, 14 people were killed in an attack on the Indian
2001 | parliament in Delhi. India again blamed Pakistani-backed Kashmiri militants. A dramatic build up
of troops along the Indo-Pakistan border ensued.

63
SITE

INDO - PAK BORDER ZONE

1947
Lahore

Kasur
1971
Firozpur

1981 PAKISTAN
Delhi

1997

1998
INDIA
1999 Kar achi

2001

TENSE RAD CLIFFE REGION: INTERNATIONAL BORDER BETWEEN INDIA


AND PAKISTAN

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ARCHITECTURE


TO MEDIATE, INFORM, EDUCATE.

64
KASUR

PAKISTAN

FIROZPUR
INDIA
Distances:
Kasur-Firozpur [25 km]

65
INTERNATIONAL BORDER

OPERATING AREA

THRESHOLD A

THRESHOLD A

Site : Kasur-Ganda
66

Hindu Facade Muslim Facade


It is important that the space
for this new spectacle, created
through the expansion of the political
border between Indian and Pakistan,
takes a stance on the orientation
EXTERIOR condition
of the architecture in relationship figural figural geometric geometric
to the inhabitant, the geographical
location, the landscape of the site
itself and the newly introduced
program. The intermediate zone
between the distinct thresholds native Interior facing condition
Interior facing condition
to India and Pakistan should be seen
as a contemporary environment Pakistan threshold
India threshold
that promotes the qualities and
characteristics shared by the two
countries through a modern setting
translated from a historic past exterior facing condition exterior facing condition
when the two frontiers were united.
In understanding the secondary
threshold devices on either side of
the border, it can be determined that
they offer two surfaces oriented in an Hindu Facade Muslim Facade
opposite direction from one another,
one facing inward toward a native
culture and the other facing toward
a foreign culture and inhabitant. This
observation is true with a typical
orientation of the threshold device, INTERIOR condition Indo-muslim Indo-muslim Indo-muslim Indo-muslim
with the archway spanning the gap
and the front and back facades
parallel to the border. The two
facades facing toward the interior of
the border expansion space have the
capacity to express a message to the Interior facing condition Interior facing condition

foreign spectator, while the outward


India threshold Pakistan threshold
facing facades embody an opportunity
to communicate with the native
spectator in a similar way.
exterior facing condition exterior facing condition

67
tan
Pakis tan
Pakis

India
India

permeability

Rotate
threshold

tan
Pakis

exchange spectacle

68
DAY BORDER OPEN

Pakistan India

Pakistani shared Indian


spectators spectacle spectators
screening

MARKET

MARKET MARKET

GARDEN
GARDEN
permeability

PRIMARY

GARDEN GARDEN

MARKET MARKET

tan
Pakis
GARDEN

India

NIGHT BORDER CLOSED Pakistan India

spectacle

Pakistani shared Indian


spectators spectacle spectators
screening

SCREENING

Pakistan India

69
borderline
kasur

70
WORK CITED

1. Allen, Margaret Prosser. Ornament in Indian Architecture. Newark: University


of Delaware, 1991. Print.

2. “Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning


(9780500278475): Ernst J. Grube, James Dickie, Oleg Grabar, Eleanor
Sims, Ronald Lewcock, Dalu Jones, Gut T. Petherbridge, George Michell:
Books.” Web. 10 Dec. 2010.

3. Berg, Eiki, and Henk Van. Houtum. Routing Borders between Territories,
Discourses, and Practices. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2003. Print.

4. Claridge, Amanda, and Judith Toms. Rome. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.

5. DeBardeleben, Joan. Soft or Hard Borders?: Managing the Divide in an


Enlarged Europe. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate, 2005. Print.

6. Durth, Werner, and Günter Behnisch. Berlin Pariser Platz. Berlin: Jovis,
2005. Print.

7. Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture: Form, Function, Meaning.


firozpur Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2000. Print.

8. Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Art and Architecture. New York: Thames and
Hudson, 1999. Print.

9. India Pakistan. The World Bank. Sustainable Development Policy Instiute. By


Shaheen R. Khan, Moeed Y. Bokhari, and Shoaib Aziz. 2005. Print.

11. Levi, Scott Cameron. The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and Its Trade:
1550 - 1900. Leiden [u.a.: Brill, 2002. Print.

12. Rehfeld, Ekkehard. BorderLine. Wien: Springer, 1998. Print.

13. Rumley, Dennis, and Julian V. Minghi. The Geography of Border Landscapes.
London: Routledge, 1991. Print.

71
India Pakistan. The World Bank. Sustainable Development Policy Instiute. By Sha- India Pakistan. The World Bank. Sustainable Development Policy Instiute. By Sha-
heen R. Khan, Moeed Y. Bokhari, and Shoaib Aziz. 2005. Print. heen R. Khan, Moeed Y. Bokhari, and Shoaib Aziz. 2005. Print.

72

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