Urban Voids: Re-Inventing Marginalized Space

Abstract

The depopulation of American cities has led to the deterioration and fracturing of the urban form. Population has shifted to the outer peripheries of the city center making conditions likely for voids and vacancy in the urban landscape. One term used to describe such spaces is Terrain Vaguel , a French term that defines the present vacancy of a space while also looking towards its potential possibilities. The thesis focuses on the Terrain Vague of Detroit, and attempts to utilize these spaces by exploring unconventional programs and architectural interventions that are outside the mainstream commodification of property. Various conditions of vacancy and marginalized spaces will be explored with different architectural interventions that respond to each site. This re-calibration of marginalized spaces would help better serve the public as spaces of inhabitation, which could playa significant role in the reconstruction of the city fabric.