Mare, by Laurien Korst

October 2014

 

Mare
by Laurien Korst / 24 October 2014 / Conference Projects

The city is a field of narratives. Like in a narrative, the city exists through movement; the unfolding of events. Related ephemeral themes as transience and temporality are not properly captured by the formalistic and visual preoccupation of our profession (Havik, 2012). Therefore it is relevant to research the dynamic qualities of the narrative in relation to the intrinsic dynamics of urban life.

The narrative approach, linking text to representation, has been explored in the graduation thesis 'Mare'. The narratives of different characters are linked to the morphological biography of Katwijk aan Zee, a small Dutch coastal community. Recent national developments of coastal defense have a big impact on the original strong relation between village and sea. This inspired a radical, though sensitive, landscape intervention of the old urban canal. The focus is on the everyday experience of erosion, taking into account the seasons, the groundwater level and the tide.

Throughout the whole process of research and design the production of both narrative and imagination guided the project. The material notions of projection, layering and transience inspired a wayward presentation, including watercolors and several projection techniques, integrating text and image. Mare ultimately showcases how the approach of narrative-imagination will guide to a narrative urbanism, which integrates ephemeral aspects and permits versatile interpretations.

  Summary of ''Mare; an exploration of narrative and imagination, movement and experience in the search of a narrative urbanism, case Katwijk aan Zee,” graduation thesis, 2014. Presented at Writingplace Conference: 'Mare, towards a narrative urbanism', 2013.

Images by author, (Project) photography by Remco van Schadewijk, allesoverkatwijk.