The Civic Zone and Cinematic Urbanism

The thesis explores the demise of the contemporary street as experimental territory to rethink and propose a more civic and performative use of facades. The project proposes a remodelling of the street facades into linear interstitial zones that can be used for civic purposes from street level to the roof. Recognising that there is an evolving move away from large department stores and high street shopping, the project suggests that the facade zones can become an infrastructural device that can operate as catalysts to reprogram the commercial grains of the high street into more public functions at different scales. Through a New Planning Legislation, building owners allow for the design and construction, in collaboration with the state, of a special zone which accommodates civic spaces: museums, galleries, libraries, educational programmes, recreational programmes, theatres, game courts etc. The theatrical, scenic quality and experience of the street became a key driving force. Representational references and performative concepts range from the Renaissance and Baroque to modernist and contemporary ideas of cinematic experience.