This project explores how design can be used to redefine and reconstruct the notion of “boundaries” within the New Islington area of Manchester. The theoretical foundation draws on Donna Haraway’s concept of the cyborg—a hybrid entity that transcends the binary between nature and machine, material and virtual. The project seeks to translate this philosophical idea into architectural language, employing radical linear interventions as spatial devices to respond to the rigidity and disconnection of existing urban boundaries.
With social infrastructure as its core programmatic driver, the design reorganizes and reconnects three existing linear elements on the site, generating new spatial flows and interactive nodes. The result is a new boundary—a multi-layered, open-ended, and complex spatial interface. It retains difference while dissolving opposition, creating a public realm that embraces diversity, encourages interaction, and fosters social integration.
