Distorted Cities How can Gaian Entities & Actor Network Theory Shape an Architectural World? Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia -IAAC Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities Thesis Paper

Abstract

The objective of this study is to involve architecture and its planning abilities, to face the irregularities that have proliferated over the current geological epoch, the Anthropocene, and to grow and evolve together with the rest of the disciplines who tackle its actual problems. By embarking upon the duality that architecture is constantly involved in relations with the physical environment and repetitively reassembled into a social construct, it seeks to portray a grounded reciprocal dialogue with the agencies of these two systems in order to create a sustainable habitable environment for nonhumans and humans. This premise is backed by two essential theories which each describe one constituent of the above-mentioned duality. The Gaia theory, of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, which shares a novel knowledge upon the animate beings and the physical territory of our planet, and the Actor Network Theory (ANT), mostly in accordance with Bruno Latour’s work, which describes the social or natural world as a world assembled of constantly, ever changing, in associations, actors. Furthermore, the following research is applied on two selected urban spaces of the capital city of Kosovo, Prishtina. The first territory is the old Bazaar of the capital, and the second space is the Railway Station of Prishtina and its surrounding territory. Additionally, the existing state of these case studies aims to inform, through the systemic knowledge of the two theories, the architectural decision making, in order to generate a striving, livable atmosphere for all beings.

Full text

Distorted Cities
How can Gaian Entities & Actor Network Theory Shape an Architectural World?
Author: Engjëll Rodiqi
Supervisor: Jonathan Minchin
“
When the blood in your veins returns to the sea, and the earth in
your bones returns to the ground, perhaps then you will remember
that this land does not belong to you, it is you who belong to this
land
”
Native American Wisdom
Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia - IAAC
Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities
Thesis Paper

2
Content
Acknowledgments …………………………………………………………………………………6
Glossary ……………………………………………………………………………………………….7
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………..9
Methodology.,………………………………………………………………………………………12
Part I – Discovering the two theories
……………………………………………….15
Chapter 1: Tracing over our roots ……………………………………………………….16
Picking a spot to land ……………………………………………………………………….17
Gaia, the physical environment and its life ……………………………………………..18
A symbiotic evolution ………………………………………………………………………..21
Living in the hot compost ……………………………………………………………………23
Chapter 2: City associates …………………………………………………………………..26
Relations in the urban fabric ……………………………………………………………….27
Tracing associations …………………………………………………………………………29
Architecture composed of humans and nonhumans …………………………………..30
Chapter 3: Architect as a representee …………………………………………………33
Uncertainty of our current perspective ……………………………………………………34
Impacts from city developments …………………………………………………………...36
Giving voices to silent actors ………………………………………………………………38
Part II – Discovering the relational form
………………………………………….41
Tracing relationships based on two case studies ………………………………….42
Gaia and ANT in our cases ……………………………………………………………….43
Introduction to the city of Prishtina and the two case studies ………………………..44
The Capitals architectural culture …………………………………………………………46

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Case study 1: Old Bazaar of Prishtina ………………………………………………...47
Tracing the territorial actors ………………………………………………………………..48
Time as an actor, 1st actors …………………………………………………………..48
Merchants, 2nd actors …………………………………………………………………50
Daily visitors, 3rd actors ………………………………………………………………56
Bazaar structure, 4th actors …………………………………………………………..60
Dominant objects around the site, 5th actors ………………………………………..64
Street infrastructure, 6th actors …………………………………………………….....68
Municipal policies and stakeholders, 7th actors ……………………………………72
Products, 8th actors ……………………………………………………………………74
Utilities, 9th actors ……………………………………………………………………..76
Gaia agency, 10th actors …………………………………………………………….78
Living entities ………………………………………………………………….79
Soil volume ……………………………………………………………………83
Water cycles ………………………………………………………………….84
Exchange of gases ……………………………………………………………86
Conclusion of Actors ………………………………………………………………………...88
Case study 2: Railway Station of Prishtina …………………………………………..92
Tracing the territorial actors …………………………………………………………….….92
Time as an actor, 1st actors …………………………………………………………..93
Long-term residents of the surrounding area, 2nd actors …………………………...96
Short-term visitors/human occupants, 3rd actors ………………………………….103
Railroad structure, 4th actors ………………………………………………………..106
Dominant objects around the site, 5th actors ………………………………………110
Street infrastructure, 6th actors ……………………………………………………...115
Commercial and social activity, 7th actors ………………………………………..117
Municipal policies and stakeholders, 8th actors …………………………………..118

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Utility infrastructure, 9th actors ……………………………………………………...120
Gaia agency, 10th actors …………………………………………………………..122
Living entities ………………………………………………………………..122
Soil volume ………………………………………………………………….124
Water cycles ………………………………………………………………..125
Exchange of gases ………………………………………………………….126
Conclusion of Actors ……………………………………………………………………….127
Part III – Discovering an enlarged architectural discourse
…………..131
Translation to architecture ………………………………………………………………….132
Prishtina Bazaar …………………………………………………………………………….132
Summary of the incentives ………………………………………………………………..137
Translation to architecture ………………………………………………………………….138
Prishtina Railway Station ………………………………………………………………….138
Summary of the incentives ………………………………………………………………..143
Part IV – Discovering a hypothetical intervention
…………………………144
Re-thought proposal of the Prishtina’s Bazaar …………………………………….145
Environment morphed with actors ……………………………………………………….146
An upgraded Bazaar ……………………………………………………………………...147
Axonometric perception …………………………………………………………………..148
Bazaar structure …………………………………………………………………………….150
Gaian agency ………………………………………………………………………………151
Re-thought proposal of the Prishtina’s Railway Station ………………………..153
Environment morphed with actors ……………………………………………………….154
An upgraded landscape ………………………………………………………………….155
Axonometric perception …………………………………………………………………..156

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Territorial structure ………………………………………………………………………….158
Gaian agency ………………………………………………………………………………159
Part V – Discovering the conclusions
…………………………………………….160
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………...161
Appendix …………………………………………………………………………………………..163
References …………………………………………………………………………………………169

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Acknowledgments
During my stay in Valldaura Labs together with my colleagues we were constantly discussing
strategies on how to approach to the upcoming planetary and social challenges. At the time we
were finishing the 1st part of the master’s program in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities,
and were frequently asking question on how our planning decisions will face the upcoming climatic
anomalies. Different topics were discussed such as: energy efficiency, water management, material
sourcing, or even what would it mean to erect a novel infrastructure in our cities. Therefore, for the
following research I would like to thank the Valldaura team of professors, coordinators, directors,
and fellow colleagues in helping me, through our conversations, to discover a novel terminology
which I aim to apply in the discourse of architecture. Specifically, for the development and the
actual work on conducting the following research, I want to highly thank my thesis advisor, Professor
Jonathan Minchin, who with constant dedication followed and guided me towards finishing the
research. Also, I am thankful to Filippo Vegezzi who participated in co-mentoring the study. I will
forever be grateful for these months of debating and enriching the topic with such great friends.
Continuously I would like to thank Vicente Guallart, and Daniel Ibañez whose guidance was crucial
for the direction of the project. Additionally, Fabio Capra Ribero, Laia Pifarré, Bruno Ganem, Marc
Garcia, Gustavo Escudero and Pilar Fontanals who provided care and plenty advices. To then
continue with my fellow students with whom we debated our thoughts and perspectives, many
thanks to: Bartłomiej Najman, Dafni Vakalopoulou, Rebecca Baierwick, Ignacio Reyes Solis,
Paulina Sevilla, Yangchuan Tian, Fatemeh Nejatii, Marilia Sofia Fernández Lockwood,
Amrithavarshini Prabhuram, Kevin Xi Lin, Akshay Sunil Mhamunkar, Mona El Batrik, Philipp
Wienkämper, Christa Hörburger and Diego Díaz.
I would also like to show my appreciation towards the authors of the literatures upon where I have
found inspiration for this study, Bruno Latour, Lynn Margulis, James Lovelock, Daniel Kiss & Simon
Kretz, Jane Jacobs, Christoph Alexander, Thomas S. Kuhn, Kevin Lynch, Donna Haraway, Kate
Raworth, Shefki Stublla, Kai Vöckler, and Marcia Bjornerud. Because of their literature review I was
able to assemble these thoughts and turn them into my first research.
Since the scrutinizing of the topics occurred in my hometown Prishtina, I want to sincerely thank my
close family for their support and advices, both professional and personal. I would like to
additionally thank the anonymous participants in the surveys of the two selected case studies, who
shared their opinions and helped enrich the analysis. My gratitude goes also to the interviewees
who helped to develop the perspective of the scenarios: Baton Arifi, Gazmend Selimi, Elvida
Pallaska, Iliri Gjinolli, Visar Geci, Bekim Ramku, Adrian Berisha, and Ardita Jakupi.
Last but not least, I want to show a particular appreciation to my friends, Philipp Wienkämper and
Christa Hörburger, for it was a collective journey that we shared, and through one another we
managed to finalize the end result and generate our individual researches.

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Glossary
Actor –
Is a term from semiotics covering both humans and nonhumans; an actor is any entity that
modifies another entity in a trial; of actors it can only be said that they act; their competence is
deduced from their performances; the action, in turn, is always recorded in the course of a trial and
by an experimental protocol, elementary or not [Definition retrieved from the Glossary of the book
Politics of Nature – How to bring the sciences into democracy – Bruno Latour] (Latour, 2004).
Actor Network Theory (ANT) –
Is a theoretical and methodological approach to social theory where
everything in the social and natural worlds exists in constantly shifting networks of relationships. It
posits that nothing exists outside those relationships. All the factors involved in a social situation are
on the same level, and thus there are no external social forces beyond what and how the network
participants interact at present. Thus, objects, ideas, processes, and any other relevant factors are
seen as just as important in creating social situations as humans [Definition retrieved from
Wikipedia] (Actor Network Theory, 2022).
Anthropocene –
Is a term widely used since its coining by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in
2000 to denote the present time interval, in which many geologically significant conditions and
processes are profoundly altered by human activities. These include changes in: erosion and
sediment transport associated with a variety of anthropogenic processes, including colonization,
agriculture, urbanization and global warming; the chemical composition of the atmosphere, oceans
and soils, with significant anthropogenic perturbations of the cycles of elements such as carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus and various metals; environmental conditions generated by these
perturbations — these include global warming, ocean acidification and spreading oceanic 'dead
zones'; the biosphere both on land and in the sea, as a result of habitat loss, predation, species
invasions and the physical and chemical changes noted above [Definition retrieved from the website
Anthropocene.info] (Anthropocene, 2012).
Architecture Paradigm –
From the definition of a “paradigm” by Thomas S. Kuhn, where he suggests
that some accepted examples of actual scientific practice – examples which include law, theory,
application, and instrumentation together – provide models from which spring particular coherent
traditions of scientific research [Definition retrieved from the book The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions – Thomas S. Kuhn] (Kuhn, 2012). Architecture also has its own paradigms.
Collective –
To be distinguished first of all from society*, a term that refers to a bad distribution of
powers; it accumulated the old powers of nature and society in a single enclosure before it is
differentiated once again into distinct powers (the power to take into account*, the power to put in
order*, the power to follow up*). In spite of its use in the singular, the term refers not to an already-
established unit but to a procedure for
collecting
associations of humans and nonhumans [Definition
retrieved from the Glossary of the book Politics of Nature: How to bring the sciences into democracy
– Bruno Latour] (Latour, 2004).
Humans and Nonhumans –
Human being and every being on the planet which is other than human,
biological or material.

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Gaia Hypothesis –
This postulates that the physical and chemical condition of the surface of the
Earth, of the atmosphere, and of the oceans has been and is actively made fit and comfortable by
the presence of life itself. This is in contrast to the conventional wisdom which held that life adapted
to the planetary conditions as it and they evolved their separate ways. This describes the original
Gaia hypothesis which we now know to be wrong. Life does not regulate or make the Earth
comfortable for itself. Lovelock now thinks that regulation, at a state fit for life, is a property of the
whole evolving system of life, air, ocean, and rocks. This could be called Gaia Theory since it has
a mathematical basis in the model Daisy world and because it makes testable predictions [Definition
retrieved from Glossary of the book Gaia: A new look at life on Earth – James Lovelock] (Lovelock,
2016).
Modern –
Designates not a period, but a form of the passage of time; a way of interpreting a set
of situations by attempting to extract from them the distinction between facts and values, states of
the world and representations, rationality and irrationality, Science* and society*, primary
qualities* and secondary qualities*, in such a way as to trace a radical difference between the
past and the future that makes it possible to externalize* definitively whatever has not been taken
into account. Whatever suspends this passage without replacing it is
postmodern
. Whatever
replaces the passage of modern time by taking into account again what has been externalized is
nonmodern
or
ecological
[Definition retrieved from the Glossary of the book Politics of Nature –
How to bring the sciences into democracy – Bruno Latour] (Latour, 2004)
.
Old Bazaar of Prishtina –
The first case study of this research paper. Designates the location and
the history of the oldest standing Bazaar in the capital city of Kosovo, Prishtina. The structure is
associated with having cultural, social, economic, and educational characteristics.
Railway Station of Prishtina –
The second case study of this research paper. Designates the location
and the history of only Railway Station in the capital city of Kosovo, Prishtina. The structure and its
surroundings are associated with having economic, cultural, commercial and residential
characteristics.
Relational Form –
The way that the totality of interactions between human and non-human agents
takes shape and acts upon the environment. Form, as a cultural concept, also determines what is
part of the relational construct, that is, it defines the system boundaries [Definition retrieved from
the book Relational Theories of Urban Form: An Anthology – Daniel Kiss and Simon Kretz] (Kiss,
Kretz, 2021, pg.21-22).

9
Introduction
With the rise of the Anthropocene (from Greek - Anthropos) or the era of the human, it has become
evident that its geological impact is depleting the surface of our planet. This new power proliferates
with the request of a constantly growing population to be fed and live a life following a modernist
perspective, has been devastating upon the physical environment and its living tissue. Our
civilization’s demand that follows a limitless desire to possess capital, cannot be sustained by our
limited planet, thus why the planet is reacting towards this humanly driven ecological mutation
(Latour, 2017). One of the main causes of the exploitation of the nonhuman, and sometimes even
the human, are our cities, who continuously grow and grow to bare within themselves our lifestyle
and its commodities. Additionally, they have been increasing the border between what is the
substance to life and our artificial separated habitats. These conditions are making the human being
unaware that they are not the sole actors on this planet, rather than just a recent naïve creature,
who seems want to become distanced from the actual complexity of the Earth and get lost in the
possessing world of capitalism. However, the material or the biological systems which we so
effortlessly exploit is one of the primary substances that sustain life itself. It is a part of a planetary
system, composed of not just the physical environment but of the living beings too. Together they
give to our Earth the name of a living planet. In their constantly shifting and intimate relationships
these two substances produce the conditions to host an animate world favorable to all. This perverse
situation is exactly why it makes it so important to ask the questions, how are we, human beings,
going to exist through our cities and with whom are we going to share the planet's territories?
In order to answer these questions, I believe that we have to slow down before concluding an
architectural intervention that creates an enduring structure on the material and living world, and to
additionally reflect upon the duality in which architecture discipline is involved. From this duality,
as it was articulated in the book of ‘Relational Theories of Urban Form’ by Daniel Kiss and Simon
Kretz, we can withdraw that the architectural discourse is indeed interwoven between bringing the
physical material of the environment into a space and it being represented in the humanly
assembled social world (Kiss&Kretz, 2021). Meaning that everything elaborated by this profession
has a material formulation, bound to a physical environment, and an ability to act in the social
dimension, an actor (Kiss&Kretz, 2021). Moreover, the Anthropocentric issues are grounded,
situated and experienced by the whole earth, consequently, to tackle such difficulties it might be
important to recognize the ground, or the territory where they are being revealed [the physical
environment] and their action which is traced on a social space [the social reassembly]. Rejecting
their significance in our daily architectural planning, the final architectural result could thus be
manipulated towards a professional misuse, which might further preclude a healthy ecosystem and
our social dimension.
A starting point in order to try and answer the question how are we terrestrials going to live in our
planet’s territories is to retrieve the relevance of these two core axes in the discourse of architecture:
the physical-material and the societal exposure. The former theory gives a new vision to the
relationships of the nonhuman world, or the physical environment, and its living entities. Adequate
theory to explain this and to try and portray the physical environment, upon which architecture
could be constructed, is the theory of Gaia (Lovelock, 2016). The latter theory reassembles the
social fabric to portray empirically its action generated by constantly engaging actors. For such

10
explanation, in order to understand what the social world is assembled of, Actor Network Theory
(ANT) has been chosen because it enlarges the social knowledge by tracing the activity generated
by human and nonhuman actors.
The theory of Gaia is a novel perspective which embraces the Earth, how the planet has evolved
till the day, how it evolved due to constant material exchange, and how it lives due to these exact
exchanges. Gaia theory, assembled by the British scientist James Lovelock and American biologist
Lynn Margulis, describes life as an interwoven, symbiotic process, where the whole surface of the
earth together with its living entities form a single cybernetic system, a mega-organism, or a living
planet (Lovelock, 2016). By discovering this grounded environment, and learning from the relations
and actions distributed by life itself, we can create a novel view, a novel understanding between
ourselves, physical surface, living entities, and the architectural project which is landing there.
Instead of metamorphosing our environment for the benefit of an egocentric mind, perhaps our
projects can be built considering the impact such architectonic decisions have on Gaia. Then, the
purpose of embracing Gaia, in the words of Lovelock, would be to see it as “
a guide on the best
way to live with the Earth
” recognizing it as “
a super-organism composed of all life tightly coupled
with the air, the oceans, and the surface rocks.
” (Lovelock, Gaia, pg. XVII). This theory then allows
architecture to question its relation towards the Gaian view of life and physical environment of our
planet. The latter theory of ANT, is a redefinition of sociology, which continuously expands by
tracing social ties, ties which are bonded between nonhuman and human actors by their social
associations. Here, the concept ‘Actor’ is defined as
“anything that does modify a state of affairs
by making a difference”
(Cvetinovic, 2017, pg.142). With the ANT methodology, these actors can
be discovered, traced and translated, from a specific point in time and space, their constant
associations between them can be enlarged and measured, to be brought into a network, or a
mesh, which Latour calls ‘collective’ (Latour, 2005). By tracing the actors and their actions, it
becomes possible to form a collective, a net which is constantly molded and shaped by the actors
themselves, not limited by the informer (Latour, 2005). Hence, this methodology can be used to
trace the associations between nonhumans and human actors to further examine the collective
dynamics of any urbanized space together with their participation in the totality of planet Earth.
Since our urbanized spaces are interwoven in a totality of relations between the humans, material
formation and living beings (Kiss& Kretz, 2021), this study analyzes these two theories as supportive
resources to understand more deeply the impact that architectural construction has on the physical
environment, and the social associations which a city becomes a part of. These are two theories
which match the significance of two relevant axes in architectural discourse. The theories are self-
explanatory; however, it is the relationships that appear specifically in particular situations in our
urban fabric that interest us. We can start to progress forward by defining the sort of the
relationships that could be traced upon an urbanized and architectural environment. What is this
novel relational form in architecture composed of? Which are the relationships that determine an
architectural proposal? Who could be the actors that determine the action in space and time? And
most importantly, can our empirically traced knowledge of these relations be of assistance to the
final architectural proposal?
To find the answers, for the continuance of this research and with the aim of tracing these
relationships, I will land into two case studies of very different typologies. Both of the selected

11
territories are in the capital city of Kosovo, Prishtina. The first zone is that of the old Bazaar of the
city, a cultural, social and economically significant part of Prishtina. The second is a longitudinal
territory which follows the main Railway Station of Prishtina and its railroad structure, which contains
social-economic-commercial principles for the capital. Two above mentioned selected spaces, the
old Bazaar and the Railway Station of Prishtina, could be considered as representatives that
maintain a distorted typology of architecture of the city of Prishtina. Because of their existing
conditions, the relative lack of maintenance and support of involvement by the governmental
stakeholders, they emerged as two spaces, with a high potential to evaluate the outcome of the
research, and to examine how that result, in the future, can influence the final layout of an
architectural plan. The following research aims to track the actions which emerge from these two
specific sites, value the relevance of their actors, determine if their scrutiny to provide an improved
relation to the Gaian world and test if these actors can be a guideline for future architectural
decision-making, that supports the systems out of which Gaia depends on.
The results from the case studies could reiterate how the problem erected by the Anthropocene has
made us question the way our urbanized and architectural spaces will exist in the future. By
depending on the relations that appear between the human and nonhuman we ought to understand
the total assembly of actors in our planet and their implication in architecture. Therefore, to be able
to test this hypothesis, I will primarily elaborate the two theories of Gaia and ANT, and observe
their impact in the architectural world. This is achieved in the first part of the essay, see Part I.
Secondly, the two case studies will try to explain, based on their empirical analysis, what sort of
relations are appearing in an actual territory (Part II of this essay). Thirdly, after having assembled
a version of the collective, or the totality of interacting actors deriving from the two case studies
simultaneously, I will try to determine a translation in the architectural language. The goal of this
part is to give voices to the recently mute actors of the territories, and generate an architectural
analysis that goes towards the benefit and prosperity of these actors (Part III). The Part IV follows
the analysis of the actors, and seeks to determine how this space could be created within the
architectural project. Finally, a comparative analysis has been conducted to perceive if the two
theories, of Gaia and ANT, are helpful to create a friendly environment to all terrestrial’s urban
environments and to determine if indeed by gliding on this duality of architectural discourse, and
backing them up with two scientific theories, we are capable of enlarging the paradigm of
architecture. The conclusion of the study is that definitively, the Gaian entities and decisive actors
look to embark on the architectural project and shape it with their voices and significance.

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Methodology
The objective of this study is to involve architecture and its planning abilities, to face the irregularities
that have proliferated over the current geological epoch, the Anthropocene, and to grow and evolve
together with the rest of the disciplines who tackle its actual problems. By embarking upon the
duality that architecture is constantly involved in relations with the physical environment and
repetitively reassembled into a social construct, it seeks to portray a grounded reciprocal dialogue
with the agencies of these two systems in order to create a sustainable habitable environment for
nonhumans and humans. This premise is backed by two essential theories which each describe one
constituent of the above-mentioned duality. The Gaia theory, of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis,
which shares a novel knowledge upon the animate beings and the physical territory of our planet,
and the Actor Network Theory (ANT), mostly in accordance with Bruno Latour’s work, which
describes the social or natural world as a world assembled of constantly, ever changing, in
associations, actors. Furthermore, the following research is applied on two selected urban spaces
of the capital city of Kosovo, Prishtina. The first territory is the old Bazaar of the capital, and the
second space is the Railway Station of Prishtina and its surrounding territory. Additionally, the
existing state of these case studies aims to inform, through the systemic knowledge of the two
theories, the architectural decision making, in order to generate a striving, livable atmosphere for
all beings.
The hypothesis behind this research is that by landing and conducting a situated knowledge of the
physical environment from the perspective of Gaia Hypothesis and by involving the Actor Network
Theory (ANT) to form variants of collectives which encounter the architectural project, we can
enlarge the context of the architectural paradigm in order to face the anomalies generated during
the Anthropocene. The research question of this study is therefore: ‘
Can the architectural paradigm
be enlarged, if we expand the knowledge of the physical environment it encounters to the theory
of Gaia, and if we additionally increase the social collective, which the same project meets, by
learning from the methodology of Actor Network Theory (ANT), in order to face the anomalies
generated during the Anthropocene?
’
Besides the literature review, this study uses case study method for the research. The cases have
been identified in Prishtina, the Capital of Kosovo. First case is the old Bazaar in the city and the
second case is the area close to the Railway Station. These empirical studies have been explored
with three methods: surveys, interviews, and observation. Opinion from the users, who are mostly
non-professional in the field of architecture, has been collected via the structured survey specifically
prepared for each category. Therefore, four different standardized surveys have been prepared to
be conducted with the direct actors who utilize the locations such: merchants and customers
(Bazaar) or inhabitants and the walkers (Railway Station). In total 86 surveys have been conducted
with the citizens. The respond rate for the surveys was very high above 50%. In addition to the
surveys, an interview with professionals have been conducted seven architects and one public
servant have been interviewed. The interview has been prepared in an open-question format. The
template of the surveys and the interviews are presented in the Appendix.

13
The structure of the study follows particular steps (Figure 1.). At the beginning, two basic theories
of Gaia and ANT are presented following by the theoretical explanation of the key elements of their
impact on architecture. In the next stage, the empirical elements from the case studies are presented
and discussed. Finally, these elements have been compiled to connect the cases with the theory and
thus define impact on architectural settings.

14
Fig 1: The structure of the study

15
Part I.
Discovering the two theories

16
Chapter 1
Tracing over our roots
The inquiry of this study starts with presenting of two theories that are considered applicable in
increasing the prospective of the architecture. The first one, Gaia Theory, explains our entire Earth
as biologic system. The second, the Actor Network Theory covers importance of tracing the
stakeholders and their relationships in defining architectural decisions.
The following chapter focuses on the relevance of Gaia theory, and to what extent it connects the
living world to our species. By turning towards this theory, we may be able to find a possibility to
additionally expand the knowledge of the architectural discipline and the architectural associations
towards deeper perception of the material world and the living entities that are residing there. In
this paper, the Gaia theory has been reviewed from the perspectives of the French sociologist and
philosopher Bruno Latour, Donna Haraway, and the scientific theories of ‘Gaia’ that have been
developed by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis.
James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis explained a distinctive connection between the physical
environment of the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere of living beings. The main argument of these
scientists is that our planet is more than just an inert or physical object, and on the contrary, it is a
multiplicity of constantly proliferating living organisms. By explaining the world in terms of the Gaia
theory they created for us a possibility to return to the Earth as a living thing or the entity that is
causally related to hosting our life.
From the sociological perspective, Latour explains the deep relationship between the Gaia’s
hypothesis and human society. His motive is that knowing and understanding Gaia will help create
a novel perspective of the world in which we belong. In order to discuss and animate Gaian actors,
Latour and Haraway proposed the term ‘worlding’, which expands the notion of an actor towards
a “multiplicity of existence … multiplicity of ways they have of existing” (Latour, 2017, p.35). This
extension imposes the terrestrials to remain active in a constantly changing environment filled with
various human and nonhuman actors in their multiform of existences, meaning that it is their activity
which maintains the current conditions of our planet, and gives it the title of a living planet (Latour,
2017). Among his major arguments, which are crucial for this inquiry, Latour explains that the
debate on ecological destruction has been present for a long time and it remains active today. Such
debate is constantly supported by scientific facts and documents, from the beginning of the
“industrial area” or since the start of the Anthropocene - the era of humans. With these anomalies,
the human species has gone beyond its ecological crisis, for we now lean towards a “profound
mutation in our relation to the world” (Latour, 2017, p.8). Our scientific discoveries proved that
because of these mutations the Earth, or Gaia, is reacting to our actions and we, through these
activities, are directly manipulating the regular feedback loops responsible for a fluent continuation
of chemical, physiological processes that support life (Latour, 2017). Therefore, in order to seek a
reciprocal and resilient life on our planet, it becomes of crucial significance to learn from, or support
and understand, these discoveries.

17
We might ask then, why should we embrace the relevance of Gaia theory for architecture? Because,
the space, the soil, or the material surface which we want to occupy or land upon in the architectural
positioning with our buildings, is always open to the multiplicity of worldings that reside in those
territories. Through methods of observation, it becomes possible to empirically identify the layers of
life and our physical environment which are a part of any form of a group of actors. In this space,
all the actors and their agency become significant. They act as long as they exist. Additionally we
can reveal their properties, and further be able to translate their necessities through research,
language, and description. Therefore, in order to grasp their modes of being we ought to reposition
ourselves laterally so that it becomes conceivable to trace and follow their actions from a closer
perspective.
Picking a spot to land
Where to land? Where to come back? What is this world upon which we have embarked? To
figure out a landing spot, which means to define our standing policies, it is important to differentiate
between the two current directions the human perspective is heading, the regressive or progressive
orientation. On one hand, the regressive front is the direction defined as archaic, or the one that
portrays people who are stuck with the old methods of the world. Well on the other hand, the
progressive orientation, that can be called a vision of the future, is a modernist perspective towards
where the world “should go” in order to achieve continuous progress. The former can be called the
Local, or the Land of old, and the latter the Global, a unifying modernist perspective (Latour, 2018).
The local attractor is conservative with standpoints that reject the globalizations aim. The people
following this path can be referred to as humans going against progress, people who are denying
the means for development and, furthermore, they are at risk to be labeled as old fashioned. From
the perspective of the second attractor, which chooses the path towards globalization and progress,
the problem appears that this vision of orientation defines a globe which is too small to be able to
grasp all the agencies of earth, since the earth is too complex to be framed into one unifying image.
Latour further states that the problem with this viewpoint is that the globe, or the globalization of
our planet, is viewed from nowhere, or more precisely from an outside perspective, similar to the
satellite image of the blue planet, instead of being observed and analyzed from a situated ground
which provides more factual reasoning of its multiple compositions (Latour, 2016).
Both these actors are presenting two different extremes that are not contributing for the harmony of
our living. To find the answer where we ought to land, we should be escaping from the Galilean
universe, from that of a view of the Earth as a cartographic globe, towards a different perspective
of our planet (Latour, 2016). We ought to turn towards the soil and its extension, or a thin grounded
layer on the surface of the Earth which we perceive not from the outside but laterally standing on
the planet. This thin layer, also called in theory ‘
The critical zone
’, is the space a few kilometers
thick, where life proliferates through time, and simultaneously has become able to create its own
adequate living conditions. This is the land to spot for the third attractor beside the local and global
ones. This is the ‘Terrestrial Actor’ who is presented in the figure 2 as one who delivers new way

18
of observing the Earth, since it is grasping the multiplicity of entities from a grounded perspective
and not from an outer viewpoint.
Fig 2: Latour’s diagram on the 3 attractors (Latour,2018) [Edited by the author]
From the perspective of the third attractor, or the one that integrates more realistically our states of
affairs, it becomes important to explain in more details about the micro and macro relations of the
multiplicity of agencies, which through their symbiotic evolution and reciprocal processes helped
create the living conditions and allowed life to thrive on our planet. Such a perspective is genuinely
explained in the studies of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis where they frame their research
towards the theory of Gaia.
Gaia, the physical environment and its life
What is Gaia? How can a planet be called a living entity? What is it composed of? Who are its
agents? In order to expose the relevance of these questions we turn towards the major discovery of
this cybernetic system assembled by the British scientist James Lovelock, together with the American
biologist Lynn Margulis. Their groundbreaking contribution is thus divided into two subchapters in
order to understand our living planet from two different viewpoints. The first perspective is based
on the hypothesis with the aim to follow a generalized macro view of the planet, involving the total,
physical space and living entities (Lovelock, 2016). The second view is of a closer inspection, a
micro analysis conducted with the purpose to explain how the evolution of life came to be a crucial
part of these life sustaining feedback systems (Margulis, 1998).
The Gaian hypothesis was discovered while at the time Lovelock was working at NASA’s, Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with the astronomer Carl Sagan and the philosopher Dian Hitchcock,
trying to find ways to detect life on Mars. They discovered from studying the gas composition of
different planets that there must have been some force which helped maintain a living habitat on
Earth throughout millions of years, something which was not occurring in planets such as Mars or
Venus. Life was revealed as that factor, together with the physical environment, as a self-regulating

19
entity. This discovery was then named by Lovelock’s friend, William Golding, after the Greek
goddess of the Earth, Gaia (Lovelock, 2016).
Why is this subject of significance? It is to comprehend our human part in this cybernetic system of
life and Earth’s surface. Furthermore, to realize and question the upcoming architectural activities
which influence, and are a part of, these planetary exchanges. Additionally, it is important to help
understand and provide further research on the impact that the enormous construction activity has
on Gaia.
James Lovelock in order to detect the cause of life on Earth decided to view the atmosphere of the
planet from a top-down perspective, to further question the composition of the air. Together with
Dian Hitchcock he started analyzing the relations between the chemical composition of the planet’s
atmosphere, with the degree of solar radiation and the presence of oceans and land masses on
Earth’s surface (Lovelock, 2016). Their results were that the atmosphere was being manipulated
from life itself on the surface of the earth. Lovelock adds that “the persistent state of disequilibrium
among atmospheric gasses was clear proof of life’s activity “(Lovelock, 2016, p. 6). Life on Earth
therefore created an atmosphere as its extension, through borrowing and releasing gasses to
accommodate their required conditions (Bjornerud, 2018), or homeostasis, differently from Mars
where its atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide with no resemblance to Earth’s active state of
gaseous exchange. Their further research stated that the entire range of living matter, algae,
animals, trees etc., constituted a single living entity, together with the material surface of the earth,
became capable of manipulating the Earth’s atmosphere to suit its terrestrials’ necessities (Lovelock,
2016)
Fig 3: Image of the Earth System Science (ESS) as a synonym to researching Gaia. (Earth Labs, 2013)
Lovelock defines Gaia as: “
Complex entity involving the Earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and soil;
the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an optimal physical and chemical
environment for life on this planet. The maintenance of relatively constant conditions by active control may
be conveniently described by the term ‘homeostasis’ “(Lovelock, 2016, p.10).
This claim that the entire living

20
matter can manipulate the atmosphere to create a fit environment for its growth and prosperity is
indeed a groundbreaking hypothesis. It consequently binds us both biologically and physically to
the origin as a human species as well as to the impact humanity has upon our own Earth.
Likewise, it denies de-animation of the planet by silencing the actors, and according to Latour,
“
Lovelocks objects have agency, they will react – chemically, biochemically, geologically – and it
would be naïve to believe that they are going to remain inert no matter how much pressure is put
on them
“(2018, p.77). Hence if the constant extraction of greenhouse gasses, the occupation of
natural lands for food and cattle production, mining of materials, are indeed of an effect on a
planetary scale, our responsibility for not interfering with these terrestrial living processes is un-
discussable. Moreover, our relationship to the rest of the living organisms, organisms which are a
direct influence to the creation of the living conditions of the earth, such as, trees, planktons, sea
weeds, entire oceans, etc., becomes reciprocal in order for mutual prosperity.
The power to maintain a comfortable habitat for life is what interests us and, therefore, goes beyond
us. Indeed, humans in the Anthropocene, have changed the atmosphere and the land surface of
the planet more than it has changed by itself in millions of years, making our interventions and our
forms of lifestyle a planetary scale force which has been influencing significantly life, and its
physiological processes (Lovelock, 2016). Nevertheless, we will forever be a part of her entirety
and that the need to question our decisions which become part of the disequilibrium appears
relevant. As Lovelock beautifully stated “
our contract with the Earth is fundamental, for we are a
part of it and cannot survive without a healthy planet as our home
“(Lovelock, 2016, p. XIV).
It thus becomes evident that it is in this thin layer, which wraps around the earth, where the worldings
are situated, a collective of agencies is constituted of both humans and more importantly the
nonhumans, and their life processes contribute to the prevalence of life. We can undoubtedly realize
that we have always been a part of this exchange between living entities and physical environment,
and that exchange after it created a habitual surrounding led way to the evolution of millions of
species, and in a relatively short time, only thousands of years ago, to us the homo sapiens too.
Indeed, the name critical zone stands behind its meaning, for it is in that space where living
conditions emerged through symbiotic evolution. It is the part where everything around us becomes
animate, and continuously supports itself. Hence, if the power of our species grows to a geological
force, simultaneously grows our responsibility to maintain the Earth's homeostasis (Lovelock, 2016).
Then, Gaia can be called as the totality of all living beings together with the matter of the surface
of the Earth. She consists of flowing and feedback of millions of bodies. Because these bodies are
present everywhere, on the planet, they become obtainable to grasp and explore in swamps, soil,
oceans, forests, every space of the Earth’s surface. In every ability of a being to manipulate their
physical environment for creating its own habitat is a part of this entity, making Gaia indeed
omnipresent. She resides in our cities, in agricultural lands, and also in the extraction pits where
every material is harvested to be manipulated for human usage. Her revealed presence makes these
territories come to life, not that they have magically started breathing but because they are part of
the complex living relationships. Paradoxically, through our ignorance, we tended to manipulate

21
their intimacy for our personal benefit. However, now, Gaia is finally among us, with us, and us,
we are a part of her, and depend indisputably on her wellbeing.
To continue to deconstruct the Gaian theory, rather than viewing it from a top-down perspective like
Lovelock did, American biologist Lyn Margulis (1998) focused her studies in a bottom-up analysis
of the microorganism’s symbiosis responsible for the evolution of life on our planet. This approach
helped grow the theory of Gaia from another, complementary perspective.
A symbiotic evolution
As we have seen so far, life is a part of a process of constant gas exchange. It was observed by
viewing the planet from a satellite perspective, where the chemical, biochemical, geological
exchanges were calculated in volumes encompassing the whole Earth. This creates an extension of
the atmosphere as a capsule therefore we speak of homeostasis, or the activity of living things to
maintain their living conditions. In order to understand the current homeostasis, we need to grasp
how life happened to evolve to the complex organisms we know of today.
Different from the previous reflection, biologist Lynn Margulis gave support to the Gaia theory from
a micro view point. Her research was focused on understanding how organisms live in symbiosis,
or how their evolution depended on this exchange of matter, which continuously led to the
proliferation of life. According to Margulis, Gaia is a symbiosis where all the organisms are
touching because they are involved in the same physical environment (Margulis, 1998).
Margulis claims that life evolved from “the smallest life-forms of all, bacteria” which is also a
necessary requisite for the evolution of life on Earth (Margulis, 1998, p.5). She further notes that
many living beings in symbiotic relationships are omnipresent even to our observation. A great
example is legumes and a nitrogen fixing bacteria rhizobia, together through symbiosis they
participate in chemical and nutritional exchange. The result of such association created nodules in
the plant's root, where the bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia that is then used as
a nutrient by the plant. This relationship furthermore relates to the above-mentioned processes
occurring in the theory of Gaia, where plants as living entities are participating their part of
chemical exchanges, which in planetary scale, together with other living beings, compose the
atmosphere necessary to sustain our lives.
As a result of permanent symbiosis, Margulis adds another term to the discussion of evolutionary
notions, that of ‘Symbiogenesis’, which refers to “origin of new tissues, organs, organisms, even to
novel species” through constant and repeated symbiosis (Margulis, 1998, p.6). She further stated
that bacteria were the first to originate, and through bacterial symbiogenesis, they morphed into
complex cells with nuclei which further evolved to more complex organisms, making the bacteria a
common ancestor to plants, animals, and fungi (Margulis, 1998).
Margulis also defined Serial Endosymbiosis Theory (SET). According to this theory, free-living
prokaryotes bacteria came together to form larger prokaryotic cells which eventually evolved into
mitochondria, and possibly to the plantae, animalia or fungi (Margulis, 1998). The two structures
in physical contact merge and form a more evolved individual, which then through continuous

22
symbiogenesis and millions of years lead to evolution of the living beings as we know of today.
Further, the term serial refers to an order in the evolutionary sequence, meaning that it is possible
to understand the specific order in which these entities emerged (Margulis, 1998). This process is
presented in Fig.4, where different abilities of bacteria arose to provide the desirable services for
multi-cellular organelles. This process of merging, grouping up, converting to larger holes, led to
the creation of novel organisms all the way to the human species as we know today.
Fig 4: Serial endosymbiosis theory (SET (Margulis, 1998, p.31)
Therefore, these intimate relationships play a significant role to the scientific understanding of the
evolution of life and of us humans, making us indeed earth-bounds and creatures of the Earth. They
might enlighten to us directly the complexity and multiplicity of evolution which is constantly
occurring in every part of the planet. Furthermore, we can track these exchanges and observe its
impact on the Gaian functionality. Earth, in the biological sense, has a body sustained by
physiological processes, making it the steward of life, rather than us humans (Margulis, 1998).
Lovelock discovered that life creates its environment for its own survival, using atmosphere,
hydrosphere and geosphere to circulate elements required for life and collaborated with Margulis
to explain the presence of reactant gasses on Earth (Margulis, 1998). Specifically, it was a question

23
of methane, a reactant gas which Margulis explained that was produced by bacteria, bacteria
which live in soil or cattle rumen, where cows, bulls, calves released this gas through their mouths
(Margulis, 1998). Because this gas was reactant to oxygen and produced carbon dioxide, and
was further kept continuously through the years, it led to the realization that life truly produced a
stable atmospheric composition.
With the post-industrial time irregularities multiplied, we are only causing damage to ourselves and
the mere surface which we contact. By now, life has evolved through 3000 million years, and
survived threatening extinction. As Margulis stated: “Gaia incorporates the ecological crises of her
components, responds brilliantly, and in new necessity become the mother of invention” (Margulis,
1998, p.120). Thereafter, we cannot destroy Gaia, we will simply experience her reaction to our
actions, or by citing again the words of Margulis:
We people are just like our planet mates. We cannot put an end to nature; we can only pose a threat
to ourselves. The notion that we can destroy all life, including bacteria thriving in the water tanks of
nuclear power plants or boiling hot vents, is ludicrous. I hear our nonhuman brethren snickering: “Got
along without you before I met you, gonna get along without you now,” they sing about us in harmony.
Most of them, the microbes, the whales, the insects, the seed plants, and the birds, are still singing.
The tropical forest trees are humming to themselves, waiting for us to finish our arrogant logging so
they can get back to their business of growth as usual. And they will continue their cacophonies and
harmonies long after we are gone.
(Margulis, 1998, p.128)
Margulis, Lovelock and Latour have helped enrich the territory we will be sharing below with millions
of actions, actors, material exchanges, and laid an important framework of the values we as humans
have to take upon in order to ensure our reciprocal prosperity. Additionally to these theories and
the Latour’s philosophy, another dimension, important to cover the entire context of Gaian theory,
was developed by Donna Haraway. She draws upon the ‘situational knowledge’, or the focus on
the earth-bounds as realistic structure prior to making our decisions, and thus drives importance to
strive for a healthier future, living together in our damaged planet.
Living in the hot compost
As it has been stated above, we have identified looking upon the Earth in a novel format as the
integrated complex entity that has capacity to host living in itself. We have been tending to move
away from a simplified and conventional view that directs us toward extinction and concentrate on
relationships that maintain our planet and its ecosystems harmonically. The wellbeing of our planet,
therefore, depends on allowing the entities responsible for the creation of life to continue their work
uninterrupted.
Haraway (2016) adds to the previous perspectives by persuading that in order to live in the
troubling times created by the Anthropocene, we must learn how to stay with the trouble and face
our actions. Staying with the trouble requires not reactive behavior but proactive concentration on
the situation, the actors and their relationships occur. Thus, she distinguished the concept of ‘situated

24
knowledge’ as absorption on the entangled reality and not on the matters that are derived by human
interests.
These interconnections are described by Haraway with the notion of string figures, where the
connectives of species are represented with string-like networks, to represent their interweaving
upon our planet. Fig.5. show this idea of strings that connect humans with other entities that play
their roles in the Gaia environment.
By grounding to a place, or by landing in it, or situating oneself upon a territory, we open up the
view towards many previously unseen bodies, bodies which tended to be neglected but now are
reacting and stating their presence as powerful as ever. Thus, we ought to become capable to trace
our string associations and are able to discover our relationships to the living world and the systems
which are responsible for the maintenance of life on our planet.
.
Fig 5: String Figures or relationship among the terrestrial entities (TU Berlin 2021)
***
To conclude, our current ways of lifestyle are causing more damage than anything that has been
experienced in the last millions of years. To quote from Bjornerud (2018), “We accelerate into
landscapes and ecosystems with no sense of their long-established traffic patterns, and then react
with surprise and indignation when we face the penalties for ignoring natural laws.” Civilization is
at risk, but so are multiple species which vanish from existence yearly, due to our machine-driven
modernist lifestyle. Our cities are influenced by these anomalies, such as increased population,
degradation of land, depletion of resources, accumulation of wastes, pollution of all kinds, abuses
of technology, climate change, and destruction to biodiversity.
Well, if indeed the support of civilizations and our world as we know of today depends on the
wellbeing of multiplicities of entities around the planet, then architecture as a leading discipline for
the definition of our cities, has to play its role in carefully articulating its relationships with such

25
entities. It has become crucial for the enlargement of architectonic discourse, to learn how to stay
with the trouble and embrace the diversity of activities present on our planetary surface, or inside
the critical zone. In short, we can realize that these processes are defining their presence, their
reaction has started to be felt, and Gaia is woken and experienced alive. Therefore, acceptance of
keeping a healthy ecosystem that sustains the chemistry of the planet should be our most important
priority even in architecture. It might be that in understanding such relations and whilst considering
these feedback loops which are generated by Gaia, together with the impact a city has on them,
we can learn on how to live together and regenerate the degradation which is occurring thus far.
Here then, Gaia can be a teacher to the architectural discipline for it provides the fundamentals of
the physical material out of which an architectural project is constructed. Likewise, it might help to
bring forth the connections and the reciprocity which a project creates with the rest of the
environment, an environmental ecosystem of nonhumans and humans which is so crucial for
planetary sustain.
“We did not think of the great open plains,
the beautiful rolling hills, and winding
streams with tangled growth as wild. Earth
was beautiful and we were surrounded
with the blessings of the Great Mystery.”
- Luther Standing Bear (Luther, 2006)

26
Chapter 2
City associates
Increase of the human population to almost 8 billion, has amplified the burden on our planet or
upon the Gaia system. Through fast changes, a simultaneously novel relation has occurred between
the human societies and the world on which these societies depend on. In this relatively complex or
chaotic environment, cities have become one of the leading factors of resource extractions and
environmental pollution. Thus, supported by our illusion that human society is separate from the
entities and presence of Gaia structure, the rapid enlargement of cities is causing negative
exponentially influencing effects.
Humans in the last hundred years have shifted progressively towards cities. Due to economic or
other motives, people moved from the countryside to the urban areas. The consequence of this
migration is the reduction of rural inhabitants and heavily congested cities. Under these
circumstances, the balance that might be assumed from the Gaia perspective has been undermined
because the cities are heavily materialized. Economic pressure on cities causes their urban planning
to prioritize technical solutions and neglect natural factors making them the sources of pollution,
social pressure, and large consumers of the ecosystems. Hence, the deployment of the ecosystems
which maintain Gaia, might be equally damaging to the sustainability of our civilization, therefore,
relations between the city and the occupied physical environment now come into play as a very
critical issue.
Such complex and rapid change of our cities has been driven by our policies and decision makers
and therefore it is dominantly caused by human factors. Architecture is indeed socially formed, and
it also informs social behavior, therefore it becomes constantly transformed by social activities
(Fallan, 2008). These features of architecture as social endeavors imply necessity to also involve
appropriate social theories in the process of architectural design and decision-making. Because the
building occupies the space and thus influences the environment certain design standards are
required to be applied again causing the impact on the system. This theory, where the actor as a
decision maker or the actor as influencer of the system enlarges the span of observation, might give
us an empirical understanding on what the society is assembled in terms of Gaian features.
Consequently, the connection between the ANT and architecture supports a possibility to relate the
presence of the social realm in architectural discourse as well as to take in consideration material
elements that influence architectural design. From this perspective, the erected physical construction,
utilized by an architectural drive, forms a participation in both the physical, social and non-human
world. The initially mute objects, become active and seek their place in the decision making of our
society. Hereafter, the three crucial theories proposed by Vitruvius, strength, utility, and beauty, are
expanded by the knowledge about this architectural complex world from the perspective of ANT.
Hence, the interest in this study is on how a city is structured of these many relations amongst human
and nonhuman agents and how they constitute a social activity that might be beneficiary for the
architectural solutions. To understand our cities and what goes on, in their perverse behavior it can

27
be important to look closely at the most ordinary scenes and events, and attempt to see what they
mean and whether any threads or principles emerge among them (Jacobs, 1962). In this
perspective, three major topics are elaborated below, the relational aspects within the cities, how
ANT as a method traces associations between actors, and the final composition of human and non-
human interconnections.
Relations in the urban fabric
A city's value follows us daily. The life within such limits provides the required spaces for the human
actors who spend most of their lives following activities generated around such environments. It is
within these very borders that materials and social relationships fall into contact and develop a
human habitat and contribute to a symbiosis between the environment’s human and non-human
actors. Kiss & Kretz (2021) developed a relational theory of architecture where the city as a general
form is made of relationships between humans, living beings and material elements. They put into
words the defining relationships occurring within the city as:
“The delicate relationships between material form, function, and beauty, everything has
both a material formulation related to sensual experience and a social dimension (agency)
associated with the way it impacts the actors engaging in relationship with it”
(Kiss &
Kretz, 2021, p. 21)
And they further define relational form as:
“The way that the totality of interactions between human and non-human agents takes
shape and acts upon the environment “(
Kiss & Kretz, 2021, p. 21)
Based on the Kantian duality of meaning, hence, we have a play between the material form, which
is entwined with the action of the environment, from which it derives, and its interpretation, or
experience in the social dimension (Kiss & Kretz, 2021). The physical material before it is shaped
into its final form, which is defined by the architectural planning, originates from the world of Gaia,
making its agency a part of this complex system, out of which a physical transformation is
conceivable. In addition, simultaneously, that material is further experienced as an actor generating
action amongst the social associations, which can be traced in relation with the actors it comes into
contact with.
Such impacts of interactions could be traced by addressing agency therefore, it becomes essential
in the discourse of architecture to expand the values of the environment and its social dimension as
decisive elements in the urban frame. Introducing the novel discovered agents of Gaia, and
assembling their position within the urban elements becomes a much more cohesive plan for the
organization of cities and to tackle the currently orthodox planning which might have been leading
towards climatic disturbances. Urban parts now don’t just grow individually rather they question
the approximate symbiotic relation between one another.
The city now begins to be articulated as a mesh which is composed of the relations between actors
that generate their action as it is practiced by its multiplicities (Smith, Doel, 2011). Additionally, the

28
associations which derive from this system can be traced and their impact upon the environment
can be simultaneously observed. A relation which, if valued based on its positive or negative
impact, could expand our knowledge upon the Gaian system, and provide reflection for our actions
in relation to her. Furthermore, by increasing the number of actors which define the knowledge of
our social dimension, the earth, its entities and materiality which resides outside the human cognition
are embraced equally regarding the future decision making. The static objects are now behaving
through communication in a new social collective.
Such approach and reflection can lead to the formation of improved landscapes, and through
situated knowledge and reflection of such cities, as Haraway states, might increase the value given
to the nonhumans. At parallel, the crucial growth which sustains life on Earth can be enriched and
not taken for granted, and a novel image of a regenerative city might appear, one which is in
harmony with its physical environment rather than in dissonance.
Fig 6: Physical environment and the social assembly constituting it. (Author credits)
For instance, the image in fig 6, taken from one of the selected case studies, shows connections
between a physical environment and the presence of a social spectrum. People use infrastructure
for particular purposes and develop green areas within the urban settlements. Even though they
might not be considered sustainable, or Gaian friendly, they still provide the starting points out of
which our association to the rest of the world can be followed and later tackled to be improved.
There is an abundance of involved actors that can be traced through our cities. The
overconsumption, the electricity which lights our light bulbs, water that is used to flush our toilets,
the bus that takes our youngsters to school, all such agency now is realized to constitute both a
material and social dimension. Therefore, to elaborate on this relational approach it could be
beneficial to trace and bring forward the actors which generate a vivid surrounding, and to try and
understand their relationships upon the network they constitute. To realize this reasoning, in the
following subchapter the Actor Network Theory, or a method to trace the actors within the social
activity has been detailed.

29
Tracing associations
If sociology defines living formations, then architecture could be the tool kit to help create habitat
to host them. By living together, in the new geological epoch, as previously acclaimed, is essential
for the continuation of life on our planet, then the architectural knowledge might benefit from its
expansion as well as its involvement in developing these associations. Thus, a balanced
communication between the social and architecture becomes crucial to the growth and continuation
of all life.
The Actor Network Theory (ANT) consequently provides a steady methodology of tracing the
weaving of threads, associations, or strings, of varied social actors within our world (Latour, 2012).
Hence, by following and positioning oneself in the action generated by the actors from a traced
network, an enlarged view can be represented to help understand the originality of one territory.
This can be achieved by taking no shortcuts in a quick definition of what something is, rather than
by continuously tracing actor after actor, and discovering how they expand within the created mesh
or networks (Latour, 2005).
The ANT seeks to redefine the notion of social relationships, by making it trace connections and by
giving to the actors the strength or ability to make up their own worlds, to catch up from their
inventions, collect novel appearing participants and learn what they constitute collectively (Latour,
2005). By slowly tracing actors we can observe their connections which might further lead to a
coherent understanding of our cities and to define the entanglement of relations which is emerging
from an urban example (Rydin, 2012).
Hence in the ANT, actors define their own associations, an actor is acting together with other actors,
and through their continuous action which is borrowed, distributed, influenced, dominated,
translated, generates the so-called collective results (Latour, 2005). An actor is “anything that does
modify a state of affairs by making a difference” (Cvetinovic, Nedovic-Budic, Bolay, 2017, p.142).
Nevertheless, the collective that is assembled by actors is never definite. It is constantly changing,
being updated and rearranged. It can encompass a local neighborhood or the larger environment.
It is in this constant shift of action that architecture might be able to prosper and understand the
associations occurring in our cities, how they create an image of it, and what sort of impact does
that action imply on Gaia. According to Latour, the action generated by the engaged actors should
be treated as a node, of many sets of agencies, which together with other entanglements render
vivid the expression of actor-network (Latour, 2005). The networks assembled can be constantly
discovered and its dynamics could be traced to help form understandings of our social world, or
even beyond, by tracing the ties which connect humans to nonhumans, to even planetary
boundaries.
ANT further allows the integration of objects to form the collective. Things now become actors in
the theatrical stage together with the other animated actors. ANT extends the list and modifies the
shapes and figures of those assembled as participants. Now then objects which can be traced in
terms of relations enter in the accounts, making the tracing of associations go beyond, into empirical
feedback (Latour, 2005). Further then, human and nonhuman entities help construct the collective

30
which we want to trace, providing a methodology to follow the many entities through their network
and their links. This is done by slowly tracing actors and paying full attention to their actions,
expanding the aim to allow actors to portray and define themselves in order to better understand
their assembly. Their collective further creates the network which constantly upgrades, is redefined,
constantly expanded or shrunk. Further it is important that in order to trace the network or the action
amongst actors a point-to-point connection is necessary to be physically traced and recorded
empirically (Comber, Fisher, Wadsworth, 2000).
Fig 7: An example of a network of actors in one of the selected case studies. (Author credits)
As an example, the previous image of the Bazaar in Prishtina where groups of various actors can
be observed as interwoven in numerous entanglements, aiming towards one version of the
collective. The photo 7, shows diverse actors playing different roles in one location and how culture
or economic and regulative factors influence the surrounding. All these and other features should
be carefully considered during the architectural planning in order to constitute a more coherent
whole.
If indeed ANT helps to create a more complete understanding of the social world, it can equally
help architectural research discover the ties that objects or subjects in specific territories have within
the city as a tackled field (Marshall, Staeheli, 2015). This slow journey of tracing associations, even
though constantly interrupted, interfered with, disrupted and dislocated, helps generate the
connections which can provide a vision for the function of our cities and additionally create resilient
habitat for all entities.
Architecture composed of humans and nonhumans
Architecture is a utility that follows our history and our life. It is part of our living system or the Gaia
and definitively influences it with significant impact. The relationship of architecture to the Gaia,
thus becomes unwavering. It is us who depend on the wellbeing of this system, and not the Gaia
on our manipulative action.

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The cities are also sources of emotion and experience (Lynch, 1960). Up to a certain level, they
form our personality and bring ourselves toward certain boundaries. Nothing is experienced by
itself, but always in relation to its surroundings. We shape our cities; therefore, our cities shape us,
said W. Churchill. If indeed this is true, the creation of healthy relationships in our urban networks
becomes crucial. Much can be done and our cities have plenty of room to be improved.
As humans we need to change an approach towards our attitudes in developing the cities.
According to the British economist Kate Raworth (2017), the linear strategy of economic
consumerism shifts with the climatic regime too. She proposes a generative and distributive
economy, not the linear one of constant extraction and waste producing. She is fond of a circular
one, where the relationships of the environment and the social world are reciprocal. Our cities,
which are part of this environment, should follow the same regenerative pattern. Instead of linearly
consuming and wasting agency of Gaia, they can take but most importantly they can give, so that
the systems are not pushed to their limits. Shift of our cities from a disconnected entity towards a
network or a mesh, spider web of associations, enables action generating relationships that grow
in symbiosis. In symbiosis both parts share and receive, there is no one sided growth, contrary to
the current paths where much more is taken than given back. That is why architecture is in action,
through its material constituents, actors involved in its surrounding, nonhumans residents around,
and various locations it occupies. It is here, in these spaces, where heterogeneous networks are
generated and tracing of multiple interactions become possible. (Murdoch, 1998).
The urban structure of our cities is definitely a complex system but there are the actors who determine
the action and this action might be directed appropriately rather than through quick narrow-minded
decisions. Human approaches and attitudes that define decisions should not be isolated from other
actors. Encounters between ANT and architecture can benefit the thinking of complex interactions
between people, cities, and things, between matter and its social representation (Fallan, 2008).
The role of the architects has been widening and has become more complex in terms of the design,
collaboration with other engineering and non-engineering fields, an undertaking of administrative
measures and application of holistic ideas to enable ecological balance are crucial now more than
ever. Hence the world which the architect interacts can be assembled of many actors, each creating
their own interaction and gathered in collectives, which the architectural project further becomes a
part of, or a node amongst many others in our cities and beyond it. According to Alexander (1977),
when we construct our cities, it might be more sustainable to build with an idea of repairing the
world around it, and within it within the network, never in isolation. In order to create a more
coherent whole our aim should be related to humans and nonhumans, to the city environment and
the physical web of ecosystems in harmony with Gaian laws of sustainability and resilience.
The Fig.8 gives an example of what sort of actors can be perceived in a park that wraps around
one of the neighborhoods of our city Prishtina. Again, here the node is simply appearing as an
image, but the distance out of which these actors spread certainly occurs beyond its limits. One
small park encompasses not only trees and visitors, paths and benches but also health impact,
movement of microorganisms, air purification, and transformation of other sorts.

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Fig 8: nonhumans and humans’ atmosphere (Author credits)
Hence, a simple positioning in one part of any particular urban or non-urban territory can guide
us, through the presence of actors there, towards the cohesive whole of our planet. So far, the
proposition that a knowledge of the territory upon which an architectural project will embark and
thorough tracing and discovering of the active actors present, help create a Gaian friendly
construction and cities has been authenticated. The next chapter explores more answers to this issue
by reiterating the position of the architect upon the physical and social world.

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Chapter 3
Architect as a representee
“The man who sat on the ground in his tipi
mediating on life and its meaning, accepting
the kinship of all creatures and acknowledging
unity with the universe of things, was infusing
into his being the true essence of civilization.”
- Luther Standing Bear (Luther, 2006)
Until now, it has been discussed how our world, both physical and social, is constructed of
intertwined relationships of many forms and formats. It has been stated through Gaia hypothesis,
that the entire planet generates a unique system which maintains the atmospheric conditions to
allow life to proliferate. By landing on an earth, now observed through a different perspective, it is
becoming imaginable to embrace the multiplicity of entities that are part of the planet’s surface.
Additionally, it might become more possible to affect our decision-making with the significance
which these beings and their environment portray. Well on the other hand, to manifest that the
society can be assembled out of actors who generate their own collective, and further entwine our
cities to the rest of the planet. Hereby, come the questions: could an architect encounter the
reference our world shares, and try to include such references on hers/his projects? How can the
architect position herself/himself towards the necessary changes that civilization could take, in
order to survive its own behavior? Or can an architect expand the knowledge of the problem which
humans are causing on our planet and move beyond the design? Furthermore, can ANT contribute
to expanding the discipline of architecture in order for our cities to become friendlier with Gaia
laws?
After confronting Gaia theory and Actor-Network theory, the following chapters seek to discover
the possible associations between the two disciplines and how they can benefit the architectural
profession by using the ANT methodology in order to involve Gaia in architectural projects.
Furthermore, it seeks to position the architect as a representee of the worlds we occupy by hers/his
finalized project. The architect therefore, might go beyond a person who simply manipulates the
physical and social environment and could become much more accountable.
Such tendency brings the architect, as a professional person, who contributes to the wellbeing of
these systems, to be a pursuer of developing Gaian welcoming cities. Here, all the facts and values
can be embraced from other professions, especially the results of scientists who were the first to
signify the occurrence of climate change. By embracing this information and seeking their
consulting, the reconfiguration of our cities in relation to the rest of the planet, could be pursued by
architects. Evidently, the architect can become a mediator between various disciplines and the
construction of an urban environment. At the same time, the knowledge of other various fields and
their research becomes an asset upon planning policies. This then possibly can be integrated upon
municipal guidelines to further help face the planetary challenges through the modification of cities.

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However, before we suppose that an architect can become a representee of the nonhuman and
human world, it might be important to reflect about the geological age on which our planet is
currently passing, called the Anthropocene. Here, unlike other geological epochs which were
originated by nonhuman phenomena, this epoch is awakened by the increased human activity
which acts as a geological force on our planet.
Uncertainty of our current perspectives
The Anthropocene, as an era, has brought to us an immense change in perspectives. As epochal
change, which distinguishes after the Holocene, the period of time started since the last ice age
caused that now humans have become the geological change-makers in the planet Earth, rivaling
the great forces of Nature. The Anthropocene is a sign of our power, or as it was written by the
French historians Christophe Bonneuil and Jean-Baptiste Fressoz: “the impoverishment and
artificializing of Earth's living tissue, permeated by a host of new synthetic chemical molecules …
a warmer world with a higher risk of catastrophes, a reduced ice cover, higher sea-levels and a
climate out of control” (Bonneuil & Fressoz, 2017). This makes the Anthropocene a phenomenon
characterized by an increase of population, agricultural activities, industrial growth, massive
deforestation, mineral extraction, poor waste management and a mandatory GDP growth. These
anomalistic activities present in the 21st Century more than ever call for new environmental
humanities in order to rethink our relationship to the Earth and of the ways we cohabit the planet
with other terrestrial species. The human presence in this geological age is evident from the
following figure, where the Earth's natural cycles have been accelerated by human activities
(Bonneuil & Fressoz, 2017).
Fig 9: Earth System Trends. Source: “The Shock of the Anthropocene” (Bonneuil & Fressoz, 2017 p.11)

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Even though humans have been roaming the planet for thousands of years, it is in the recent
hundreds of years that our power has been expressed to rival the forces of nature. There are various
claims to when this geological epoch has started. Some say that the beginning of the Anthropocene
occurred with the European conquest of America, marking the start of a globalized world. Others
propose a starting date of 1784, the year when James Watt patented his steam engine, a start of
the industrial revolution and carbonizing of our atmosphere by the combustion of extracted coal.
Another date possesses equal significance, that of 1945 which also marked the Great Acceleration
or an entry to a thermo-industrial society which relied mostly on fossil fuels. (Bonneuil & Fressoz,
2017)
However, by emerging as a geologically powered species, and by causing linear damage to the
planet’s ecosystems, we have indirectly declared war on Gaia. It is in this war where the earth
systems, have started to react towards these impacts that the Anthropos has exhibited throughout
the last hundred years. Primary causes which lead to war, so to speak, are greenhouse gasses
which are constantly emitted by human activities, also the main cause of the rise of the planet’s
temperature. The collapse of biodiversity which is bound to the destruction of earth's ecosystems,
crucial areas for the sustain of Gaia, irregular human driven biogeochemical cycles of water,
nitrogen and phosphate, elements which in the planetary feed-back loops are as important as that
of carbon, as well as the devastation of terrestrial ecosystems which are turned into artificial lands
for pasture, cattle growth, crop-land and our enormous cities (Bonneuil & Fressoz, 2017). Hence,
the manifestation of such activities is leading to an increased climatic anomaly which we are
experiencing all over the world, ice melting, increase of sea levels, biodiversity loss, ocean
acidification, irregular climate loops, increase of summer fires etc. Additionally, modernity in the
Anthropocene greatly created a separation between nature and society, through its linear and
inexorable progress that deems regressive the ones who question the industrial-consumerist mindset.
But it is our activities in the globalist modernizing front that do not challenge the market-based
consumerism, as well as our colonial approach that claims the occupation of territories which host
biologically crucial entities. As long as we continue with the same steps, a relative collapse is
extremely possible (Bonneuil & Fressoz, 2017). This is why it is important to rethink the past, and
our approaches in the Anthropocene in order to open up to the future.
If we move beyond the modernist perspective that views our planet, as a dead and inert rock, or a
public space which belongs to the humans for manipulation, we arrive at Gaia which portrays the
world as a collective where every species claims their part in the system in order to generate the
living conditions (Lovelock, 2006). The theory of Gaia, which encapsulates Earth as a living
organism consisted of feed-back loops, here then simulates the essential link between the Anthropos
and other living beings, as well as it can potentially reintegrate the theory at the heart of our
conceptions of freedom, history and democracy, in order to face the emerging challenges (Bonneuil
& Fressoz, 2017). For the welfare of the masses of humans and the multiple living beings residing
on Earth, we all require a healthy planet. That is why our next steps, in major disciplines, have to
be thoroughly considered, in order to not increase the consumerist relation and damage to Gaian
tissue, but rather work towards regenerative and distributive design.

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Since the human or the Anthropos seeks to reside in cities and accustom to a modernist growth, it
increases the relations which now derive from the human cities and their surroundings, out of which
it crucially depends, simultaneously marking an interesting partnership to be tackled in future
planning. By following the prerequisite to question how architecture and our cities grow together
with Gaia, and by understanding the history which has brought upon the current state of the art,
we can reposition ourselves in order to regenerate the highly fragmented planetary landscape. The
profession of architecture could restore and reconsider its planning decisions, as well as expand its
discourse for a kinship between the built environment and the Gaian entities residing in it. By
understanding the mistakes of the Anthropocene, and by landing in a Gaian territory which hosts
life we can start to trace and rethink our decisions that inform the construction of cities. But now
instead of erecting linear, progressive, modernist cities, we ought to slow down and include the
multiplicities which reside in all of the traced networks, striving with the concepts of ANT and Gaia
towards enlarging the context entwined in architectural projects.
Impacts from city developments
Because the Anthropocene is characterized with the rise of the human onto a geological power,
there is an expansion and growth of planetarian spaces which support this development. It is our
cities that are the major factors responsible for such extension. Hence, a city besides its internal
actor relations, more than ever expands its roots towards its external physical world. Therefore, in
order for a city to function and maintain the welfare of the humans residing there, it influences
deployment of biological, chemical, physical materiality of the ecosystems. Considering that
through such ecological communities’ life on our planet persists, the material exchange between
cities and the outer natural world might become more sustainable if they grew reciprocally instead
of progressing linearly, as it occurred in the Anthropocene. Some key factors that impact
development of our cities are inadequate infrastructures, selective social spread, incoherent public-
private partnerships and poor maintenance (Bolay, 2006). Additionally, the relationship with the
natural environment multiplies in terms of energy consumption, transport, building material,
biodiversity loss, etc. Cities are big consumers of fossil fuels which are a primal cause of Climate
Change and the disturbance of planetary ecosystems. These colossal furnaces fed off coal, natural
gas, petroleum is currently crucial for providing electric energy and warmth to our human habitats.
A process evidently damaging to the planet, however, currently it is almost a human right and
necessity. Our entire homes and habitats depend on this energy release. Kitchens, bathrooms or
other parts of buildings each provide sockets and light to pass the electricity needed for the function
of our technologies. Not to mention the intense amount of heating required to keep the interiors
warm and cozy during colder times and colder and cool during hotter months. On one hand we
have an ever-increasing demand for energy, well on the other, a release of dangerous gasses to
the atmosphere of our planet.
Another factor that is dominant in our cities is transport. The growth of our cities, and a unification
of the world through quick modes of movements, has increased the vehicles used for transportation.
The communication and transport movement has been more than ever, a crucial requisite for
connectivity of our “modern” lifestyle. Even though a major pollutant and cause of planetary

37
irregularities, human species still deeply rely on this process. Therefore, a question of the
arrangement of these modes of transport and valuation of alternatives can benefit a reduction of
our dependency on them. Cities in the 20th Century have been constructed following the roads as
a primary necessity. The space in cities is used dominantly for car transportation and little is then
moved for pedestrians or cyclists, although many countries have started creating policies where
cars are not the main protagonists. Alternative solutions to reduce cars, such as a well scrutinized
public transportation, railway connections, bike lanes etc. are desirable, however lack of initiatives
and awareness create unfriendly and unhealthy city environments today. Human activity through
cities has expanded towards lands too. Growth of the urban areas is continuously transforming the
natural land into an infrastructure. All this requires extraction of the natural systems in order to make
space for living.
The dominating material for buildings is cement. The cement contributes almost 6% of greenhouse
emitters and impacts negatively on the Gaia (Ali, Anwer, & Alwi, 2015) As construction material it
has been especially in the past 100 years, vastly used for the quick construction of habitable
concrete landscape to cope with the rapid growth of human population (Ali, Anwer, & Alwi, 2015).
Cement also possesses negative attributes for it directly engulfs the soil, and causes a permanent
suffocation of the earth (Scalenghe, Marsan, 2007). This material hence, clogs the natural drainage
of the water, furthermore, increases the flooding risk in clogged areas of the city, creates a heat
island effect which directly influences the residents occupying city landscapes, reduces the amount
of soil, where Gaian agents and biodiversity could thrive, all together having an impact on the
creation of artificial landscapes of the cities as well as eradicating properties for the countless
nonhumans previously residing entities within such territories (Artmann, 2014).
Fig 10: Prishtina concrete jungle (Credit: Ilir Rodiqi)
There is also indirect impact from the enlargement of the cities in higher consumption which then
causes increase of use of agricultural land, cattle industry, material mining, etc. Such human
activities are then impacting the wellbeing of our planet, deforestation, clothing industries, waste
management, over consumption of life-stock etc., and cause a direct effect on Gaia. They all share
a similarity of deriving from a consumerist perspective supported by the immense growth of human
demand through cities.

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Hence why, upon any given situation which is generated from the architectural perspective some
questions must be asked, in order to rethink our relationships to the environment and their wellbeing.
Where are the resources of the materiality coming from? What is the plot which an erected structure
is required to be populated of? Who are the present beings which occupy these spaces? What is
the energy requested for the maintenance of a building? What is the source of that energy? What
are the relationships between the novel-built environment and the Gaia entities? Such questions and
others might help the architect create a better understanding of the relationships that hers/his project
is entangled upon, and aim to create a more Gaian-friendly city.
For this reason, the battle of defending the remaining ecosystems and to further restore the ravaged
ones is fundamental. There can be no more depletion of natural-habitat anywhere, for if they are
constantly destroyed the impact on climate change proliferates and becomes unstable. Additionally,
our cities aim could be to regenerate the habitats which host natural entities. This could be achieved
in small scale or even regional management. And as we discussed in the first chapter it is through
these agencies that life can thrive and maintain its balance in the Planet Earth. Consequently, an
architecture which does not consider the impact that its creation possesses upon these actors, will
only lead to an increase of instability for the overall encompassing value which we need to address
for a healthier prosperity of life on the planet.
Giving voices to silent actors
If human growth will reach approximately 9.7 billion humans in 2050, and if a healthy life is
required for their prosperity, we will have to constantly be adapting and creating the much-needed
infrastructure to abide by these needs. This means that, if not managed properly, an extra amount
of load and energy will continue to excel upon the earth system for providing these appeals.
Therefore, to make sure that a shared growth is achieved and maintained in the upcoming years,
decision makers need to understand as well as consider the territorial values each territory possess.
There should be an addition in the tool kit of the architect. Hence why, the architect as a professional
who is constantly engaging in the analysis of the parcel, as well as a professional who understands
the life and origin of materiality, can extend her/his knowledge by closely and thoroughly observing
the occupied territory and measuring its buildings impact upon its terrestrial residents. Now to
achieve this close observation we would have to expand on the qualities that we are trying to
discover, nevertheless, an approach such as might lead to a more equal representation of the
agency residing on earth, parallel, providing the much-needed infrastructure for the adequate
growth of humans together with nonhumans.
In accordance with Latour’s strategy to increase a democratic representation of the agency of the
Earth, by valuing a situated knowledge of the territory, the architect can have a voice into the
representation of the action that he discovers through her/his positioning. Here then the professional
architect could be a part of a delegation, through the mobilization of research, technology,
instrumentation and expertise, so that the members who are a part of that team could speak and
respond to the quality of results. (Latour, 2017).

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Fig 11: A delegate of nonhumans
Latour (2017) stresses the necessity to give voice to the silent or non-human actors. The representee
converts hers/his observations to a voice capable of making itself understood by other
professionals, allowing an opportunity to represent the nonhumans like water, forest, or the material
extracted. A delegate or a representees job is to defend the originality, power, and the interest of
the beings on whose behalf this professional speaks, so that they can truly represent their necessities,
their requests, their participation in these territories. Hence why, situated knowledge is much more
supporting since it is grounded and located somewhere, rather than nowhere, or observed from
afar (Latour, 2017). Furthermore, by using the already accumulated knowledge the architect can
become capable to construct and work with natural compositions, thus to create beneficial
environments to both humans and nonhumans.
Here then, couldn’t perhaps the architect through his representational tools help visualize the many
overlapping silent agents which reside on specific territories, give them a human voice together
with other delegates, and defend the many terrestrials which are usually kept silent, and further aim
to ensure their survival for the benefit of a collective entity? Can the architect generate situated
knowledge deriving from hers/his plots of work? Can she/he voice the discovered agents which
tend to claim their part in the network of Gaia? Architects might be able to contribute here and feel
the limits of a situated knowledge, discover and trace the multiple layers which reside on these
territories. And to move it further through the expressive skills of such a profession, an architect can
participate in creating a three-dimensional geological map of the complex presence of terrestrials.
Gaia is reacting to our actions; it is why we ought to rethink how we position ourselves in relation
to it as architects, professionals, human beings. Together the profession of the architect might help
to discover a new Earth, contribute to its tracing, redrawing and absorbing newly discovered lands
that are so crucial to the prevalence of life in our planet, in Gaia.
To try and understand how these relationships and associations behave and create action in the
mesh, network, web, I will try to wrap all of the above principles and apply them in two specific
case studies in the city of Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo. My hypothesis is that through such
research, of various encompassing knowledge and understanding, and through the principles of

40
the ANT as a method to trace actors, we will be able to generate a design which improves the
relationships our cities have with Gaia. Even though this scale of intervention is relatively small
compared to the level of impact which needs to be generated in order to halt our misdeeds, the
principles and the fundamentals of the methodological approach aim to be scalable. The goal is to
suggest a method which in different cases will yield various results but of the same goal, to create
Gaian friendly cities by discovering its entangled relationships. Perhaps when it is further used by
different architects the results would vary even more in terms of design, but its principles of including
the multiple entities of territories upon which Gaian elements rely are never to be neglected. The
foundation of such a method should be so that it releases the imbalanced distribution of our actions,
provides enriching opportunities for thriving for all of the actors present, as well as it becomes a
crucial policy for the shift of our modernist perspectives towards an earth-bound one. Together, it
will help to achieve the final goal of providing healthier life for nonhumans and humans, as well as
a thriving possibility for Gaia.

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Part II.
Discovering the relational form

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Tracing relationships based on two case studies
We have thus managed to relate the two theories with the dichotomy that entails the architectural
discourse and give an answer to the question about our living as terrestrials in our planet. The
Gaian theory as a concept which introduces a lateral, situated, more grounded view of Earth,
embarks to explain who are the terrestrials, their multiplicities and what is the material world created
of. Whereas the Actor Network Theory reassembles the social world by including the vast relations
amongst many human and nonhuman actors and enlarges the societal fabric to regulate the outside
world which we are a part of. From this we can determine that what gives relevance to these
theories are the relationships which generate action in order to remain active. Both theories are
interwoven with vast continuous intermingling, sharing, displacing, transforming of energy and
material, therefore deriving an action which encapsulates their significance.
The enrollment of these associations amongst actors and their interactive dialogue is what brings
attention to particular territories. Henceforth, in order to progress further to explain if these
movements of relationships ought to benefit the architectural decision-making we have to land
somewhere. By landing in a specific place and in a certain relative time we are situated in the act
which is produced there amongst its present actors. It is that action that is characterized with its
unique agency and therefore allows it to be observed analytically by tracing and marking the
vastness of relational form.
The landing is done within two territories in Prishtina, Kosovo. The city of Prishtina can be referred
to as a fragmented city. Different architectural styles, different governments and their legislative
controls led to a development of urbanism influenced by the momentary incentives and decisions.
This might have caused a fragmentation of the city, where the planning occurred to fit the time
rather than to be assembled as a coherent whole. The discontinuity of Prishtina is evident from a
walker’s perspective, where neighborhoods are acting independently; roads divide from the block
and lack communicative spaces.
As a matter of exploration, two following case studies appeared to possess high potential for
proving these abnormalities. They represent the best and worst of Prishtina. The best because they
carry significant cultural, economic, social relevance, and the worst since their potential is not being
used to the necessary level. Instead, the fragmentation divides each of them further within
themselves, and through the rest of the urban structure of their surroundings. The first case study
selected is the currently oldest Bazaar of Prishtina and the second case, with a completely different
typology from the Bazaar, is Prishtina’s Railway Station. In order to try to envision what is the
composition of these two territories and what sorts of relations pertain there, the essay aims to
juggle with the two proposed theories, by using ANT and Gaia to discover the entities associations.
The first and foremost important step is to concentrate on these territories, to position oneself there
and start studying their configurations. By then deploying the methodology of Actor-Network, try to
arrange the world of actors which exist upon and aim to discover their entanglements. The discovery
of these many actors and their bringing to question what is their voice, hypothetically will provide
a vision for the necessary architectonic intervention, it should be impossible to do so without such

43
voices. It is why, now we ought to find out if the two theories benefit the discovery of the worlds
that are existing. As well as to question, how, what, would be the proper way to create a project
which supports all actors? How will such a project co-exist? And, how could this potentially lead to
a more ecological architecture, which does not damage the Gaian tissue?
However, before jumping to the first case study, the two theories will reoccur in order to state their
aptitudes and their positioning in this architectural realm. First, come Gaia theory as a start to land
in these spaces rather than viewing them from an outside perspective. Though, when included in
the tracing of such entities, Gaia will appear as a powerful actor, with its nodes and relations
emerging and spreading far from the two case studies territories. Second, is ANT and its slow
process of tracing associations amongst the discovered actors, which will then reassemble the social
actants deriving from both the Bazaar and the Railway Station territories and translate their
relevance in the architectural discourse.
Gaia and ANT in our cases
By landing in two Prishtina cases, we can start the difficult process of tracing and observing who
are the entities which already reside there and how they participate in the thriving Gaia system.
We then might start to acknowledge that that territory is richer in life forms than we anticipate in
our everyday life, and it is exactly then that we have embraced some of the agents of Gaia. Agents
that are speaking, growing, rolling, blowing and creating this complex system through their constant
exchange of attributes. Finally, then since we have arrived somewhere, and we have acknowledged
that this place is indeed new to us, rather than concluding its substance, we can begin the slow
process of tracing, counting, bringing in a map the multitudes of nonhuman and human living
beings that are popping out like mushrooms on decaying matter.
Moreover, in order to understand the associations of actors ongoing in the old Bazaar and the
Railway Station of Prishtina, the methodology of ANT might be convenient to assist in their
discovery. This method provides a ground to help trace actors, or things that act and cause an
effect, to then create an assembly of them into a first collective.
The utilization of such methodology is of importance to ascertain the key relations that occur in the
case studies. This is because it is in those connections and actor groups that the sites communicate
and express their requirements and traits. Furthermore, after tracing and understanding the action
deriving from the actors, an inclusive project proposal could be addressed by an architect. Now
she/he is not simply designing a shortsighted project, rather the design is made to derive from the
voice of the actors who are constantly in a process of transformation.
The reason why the traced actors are divided in groups, is to ease their tracing. These groups can
be traced and observed either by spokespersons, like the merchants in Bazaar, or by an observer
(municipality) who is enrolled to follow the action of these actors. Therefore, in order to start
perceiving and discovering the actors which produce an effect or action within their mesh of
entanglements, I will try to categorize groups of similar identity. Hence, a pattern could identify the
actors and simplify their sighting as well as categorization. Note that the actors do not necessarily

44
imply a concrete object or a human/nonhuman agent, they could be decisive results that encourage
an activity, such as an historical background, or a law in the municipality.
Before a detailed explanation of the process of discovering the associations in the two case studies
in Prishtina, might it be relevant to form a brief understanding of the features of the city of Prishtina?
What are the forces that create its environment and what sort of transformation does its architecture
produce via actors?
Introduction to the city of Prishtina and the two case studies
Prishtina is the capital city of Kosovo. It is located in the mid-east part of the country and has direct
communications with other parts of Kosovo and neighboring countries. It has a beneficiary
geographical position. The city stands in the middle of the Kosovo highland in a valley surrounded
by several hills. Facing South the railway connects the city to Skopje, Thessaloniki, Athens and even
Istanbul, whereas in the north it connects to the city of Belgrade and the rest of Europe (Stublla,
2018).
The archeological discoveries and history of Prishtina explain that the city has experienced various
geopolitical and economic interests, throughout the centuries. Empires such are Hellenic, Roman,
Byzantine, Slavic, Ottoman have passed through this territory claiming the ownership, however also
showing that a coexistence of cultures is possible. The early recognized settlements in the area of
the city date back to 2nd Century BC, where the Illyrian tribe of Dardani was inhabited. Here, the
most prominent archeological discovery from the time is of the Queen on the throne (fig. 12), which
is currently the emblem of the city of Prishtina. Throughout history Prishtina hasn’t been a major city
in the region, up until the XIV Century it was a small village, it then developed into a town, up until
the XX Century when it became the capital of Kosovo.
Fig.12: Queen on the throne (Goddess, 2014)

45
As years progressed and due to a good geological location, the city expanded and became a
center for craftsmanship, trading, and agriculture, factors that influenced and improved its economic
status. We can see the geopolitical map of Kosovo and Prishtina in the following image, located in
the South-Eastern part of Europe, and in central territory of the Balkan Peninsula (Stublla, 2018).
Fig.13: Map of Kosovo and Prishtina highlighted in red (Edited by the Author)
The city together with the country of Kosovo have experienced throughout times different cultures
which are now evident in its architectural scene. Through their presence, rulers of the country led to
the fragmentation of vernacular urban culture. However, the mark of this governance is still evident
in the architectural theme of the city where Ottoman housing and socialists’ blocks constitute the
main character of the urban frame. In the last twenty years, since the end of the war in Kosovo, a
new pattern of modern and rapid expansion of the city characterizes the architectural scene.
City of Prishtina nevertheless, has a feeling of its own. With the majority of the population in Kosovo
being younger than 35, the streets are very lively and always full of people. This results in a good
quality in sports, music, culture and social spheres, where everyone constantly attends events and
together produce a lively atmosphere for the capital. Famous pop stars Dua Lipa and Rita Ora come
from this city before they moved to the United Kingdom.
However, Kosovo being a young country, the unsolved political dispute with the country of Serbia,
has kept the country somehow isolated from the rest of the world. With limited access to the EU visa
regime, its residents still experience a lockdown and a frustration towards the outside. I believe that
this issue could be further manifested towards the architectural perspective, where short-term, profit
driven construction is favored over a coherent form of the city. Yet, observing different factors and
different perspectives of its citizens it is difficult to conclude on what are the reasons for the currently
fragmented development of the capital. Therefore, in this essay instead of concluding scenarios
which try to describe the architecture of the city, an analysis of its actors and forces which shape it
are to be tackled in order for them to generate a new perspective for Prishtina.

46
The Capitals architectural culture
“An antique city with no antiquity”, are the words of the writer Shefki Stublla (Stublla, p69). From
the view of heritage, currently the most prominent architectural style is that from the ottoman rule
which now stands as the oldest part of the city. The dominant feature of this architecture is the low-
rise housing, up to two floors, with their huge gardens covered in trees, flowers, roses. The old part
of the city is also characterized by mosques and few other types of buildings. These views gave
Prishtina a style common amongst the Ottoman tradition, and due to its relatively small urban sprawl
made it a peaceful, green, and quiet rural town of Kosovo. As time proceeded the Ottoman empire
fell and, in the 20th Century, Kosovo became a province of the socialist Yugoslavia. This new
governance acted brutally towards the architectural tradition and initiated a new urban
development strategy after 1953. Driven by Belgrade architects, their vision was to ruin the old
part of the city, the dominant Ottoman dwellings, in the name of progress and modern development
(Stublla, 2018). At that time the government paved the way for a new “modern” architecture on
the grounds of many historical buildings which stood before. Old city territory used to be with many
stores, artisan traditions, and religious presence of Catholic Church and Jewish synagogue in the
center of the city. Such developments led to the capital losing a strong part of its identity and started
to develop as a new city. All this activity created the present mixture of architectural styles, as it is
portrayed in the following images which shows the three dominant architectural cultures. Ottoman
housing, 20th Century modernist expansion, and the latest developing occurring over the past 20
years (see fig. 14).
Fig.14: Map of Prishtina and the location of the Bazaar of the city (Edited by the Author)
Therefore, in order for us to determine the relational form appearing in the urban spaces of cities,
we finally ought to visit the two selected territories and conduct the tracing of actor’s associations

47
that emerge whilst situated. Here then, the remaining cultural landmarks ought to be treated as an
integrated vital node which generates decisive relations and a starting point for an improved
architectural discourse, aiming to turn Prishtina into a Gaian friendly city of the upcoming century.
Case study 1.
Old Bazaar of Prishtina
The first case study is the Prishtina’s old Bazaar. It is located roughly 5-7 minutes away from the
main square of the capital, as well as in the core of what is left of the oldest part of town territory
of Prishtina. Bazaars played a determinant node in the context of the city during the Ottoman rule.
Due to the presence of such culture in Kosovo, the Bazaar helped advance the city of Prishtina into
the capital we know today. It supported the growth of the city economically, culturally and socially
through the engagement of people in the act of trading. Even though the original oldest part of
Prishtina has been destroyed, to make room for modernization, there is a part which still prevails
and constitutes of many remarkable landmarks. The Bazaar of Prishtina was crucial to the program
of this historical area, having moved there in the 20th Century, now it continues to serve the tradition
of merchandise and brings daily encounters within it. In the following map, we can see the location
of the Bazaar within the urban context. Its location is central, and so is its significance. Here then,
we can land and position ourselves, in order to observe as much as we can the action which is
created. Having in mind the actors who derive from the site are the main protagonists, then comes
the architect as a narrator of their voices, and never the other way around.
Fig.15: Map of Prishtina and the location of the Bazaar (Edited by the Author)

48
Tracing the territorial actors
The Bazaar describes a situation of an abundance of actors constantly overlapping with each other
in the exciting environment of market trading, with hundreds of visitors passing daily, either for
shopping fresh local food, or experiencing the usual café talks with the local residents and the
merchants. It is indeed an exciting and vivid area, with a lively spirit and many faces. However,
sadly it also fails to provide the appropriate urban setting, technical and hygienic conditions and
safety measures.
The process of tracing actors of the Prishtina Bazaar was done through observation, reflection,
interviews, and surveys that have been conducted within the territory of the Bazaar. First, the actors
are grouped in assemblies which constitute similar attributes. For example, one group of actors is
merchants who work and occupy the workspace of the Bazaar. Here each person can be
considered one actor for himself. These singular actors share the common attribute of arriving there
every single day, working in a similar schedule, engaging in the process of trading. The second
technique used in tracing the following actor groups, after discovering and forming the first
knowledge that was retrieved by each actor group, is to record a two-dimensional map which is
further highlighted in nodes showcasing their reach and multiplicity. Each group is color coded to
portray their unique span and to additionally show how far and how complex the actors could be.
The study has identified ten groups of relevant actors: time, merchants, daily visitors, Bazaar
structure, dominant objects around the site, street infrastructure, municipal policies and stakeholders,
products, utilities, and the Gaia agencies. Bellow, the results of the study are presented in detail for
each of these groups of actors.
Time as an actor
Although, the oldest discoveries on buildings in Prishtina and the region date all the way to the
Illyrian, Roman or Greek periods, dominant architecture comes from Ottoman Empire that was
ruling Kosovo for five hundred years. For this reason, in the city of Prishtina, we see various
architectural traits from the oriental style. They nevertheless spread the character of a vernacular
architecture which could be traced around the neighborhood where the bazaar stands. Key
buildings from this period are the Mosques: The Big Mosque, the Mosque of Çarshia (‘Çarshia’
was the old area of the city which occupied the center, together with the old bazaar, and many
markets), and the Mosque of Jashar Pasha. These monumental buildings are surrounded by many
other old low-rise houses that follow ottoman patterns. This social, cultural and economic space can
be observed in the picture bellow. The highlighted buildings in red (from the bottom up) show the
row houses were the old time Bazaar stood, the Çarshia Mosque & Mosque of Jashar Pasha.
Other qualities that went with the life around such culture was, care and protection that was devoted
to the natural. According to local historian Shefki Stublla, an old saying in Prishtina was: “
if you
were to cut one tree, you shall have to plan three more
” (Stublla, 2018, pg.327). A value which
improved the urban quality, visible in the above areal image where trees which are visible in dark
black, occupy area equal to housing roofs (Fig 16.).

49
Fig.16: Map the old town of Prishtina and the location of the Old Bazaar of the city (Edited by the Author)
The bazaar was a pivotal area in the cultures influenced by Persian philosophy. Since Persian
impact spread throughout the Middle East, it became valuable to the previous Ottoman Empire. The
presence of a market or bazaar for trading and as a social environment was a fundamental part in
the growth of the city. It has been frequently used and helped enrich the economic stability of the
area. Prishtina as many other cities have had the main bazaar in its center. It was covered from the
outside and had three main professions that were associated with it, craftsmanship, trading, and
agriculture. This composite of buildings was rich in smells of coffee, herbs, tees, and in colors from
its various materials and products (Stublla, 2018). Each group of products had its own street, in
order not to mix their qualities. One street was famous for its artisans, the other for the charcoal
products, the next one was busy with textiles, and even one street was devoted to the Jewish
community who had their synagogue there too (Stublla, 2018). The bazaar of fruits and vegetables
however was separated from other commodities and located in the exact same location that it
stands today. However, its current conditions do not represent the qualities that the past bazaar
used to have. It is now a space of unhealthy circumstances where cars and traffic and mixture of
products causes more harm rather than bring benefits.
Fig.17. Images of the atmosphere in the Prishtina old town area (Old Bazaar, 2014)
Therefore, the timeless impact these cultural, social economic and architectural elements have had
on the city, make apparent that the existing conditions can benefit so much and learn from the past

50
structures and behavior of the residents of Prishtina. In the old times, the Prishtina inhabitants were
taking care not just of their private housing, but managed to grow a city through the mutual
communication with one another but also by preserving the natural systems as their support for
calmness and a communal life. Such abilities could serve in today’s time when we ought to
approach the challenges of 21st Century and thus making the history of the Bazaar a valuable actor
for further architectural decisions.
The bellow map presents the nodal system that traced historical time relations of the existing Bazaar.
It shows that site surrounding of the Bazaar might be considered as one whole of cultural values of
the city. This fact then can be one argument to plan this area in the direction of cultural preservation
supported with natural features that will bring the atmosphere of tranquility, social activity and
relaxation from heavy traffic. Heritage buildings might be incorporated into a cultural whole and
time-sharing customs of natural living can be spread through.
Fig.18: Time actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar. (Edited by the Author)
The actor of time might be used also for urban application of the elements that have been discussed
previously about Gaia and ANT as they will be discussed in the last presentation of the agents. By
reducing the infrastructure and replacing it with natural habitat the area can be also intervened
with locations for composting, carbon capture means, water collection in artificial ponds, and
similar interventions.
Merchants
Decisive actors, who do not just shape the area but give spirit and life to it, are the traders and the
merchants who occupy the Bazaar’s stands to generate for living. The structure of the Bazaar would
not have a long life if it wasn’t the people who take care of it. All the smells, voices, textures,
feelings, connections, conversations, sounds come to be experienced by the presence of the people
who have come there to work. Their smiles, a crucial habit of a merchant, give the welcome and
the spirit of an active bazaar. Without these actors any bazaar would be empty and fail to serve

51
its purpose. After having landed in the Bazaar of Prishtina, one is greeted by the voices of these
people and surrounded by their offerings and service of quality crops and other products. However,
it is as you walk the main street of the bazaar, that you start noticing a peculiar phenomenon. The
road, which is meant to serve the communication of traffic and pedestrians, is occupied completely
by merchants who have taken with their improvised stalls and are selling their products right there
next to the traffic. The following image expresses the scenery and the many actors interwoven in
one square meter of the road.
Fig.19: Busy Street adjacent to the Bazaar
Although, the Bazaar is right there from the street, located with the only purpose of enabling the
process of merchandising, why aren’t these people inside the Bazaar object? It is because the
current conditions of the Bazaar of Prishtina are miserable. The existing structure is close to
collapsing, but is avoided by the work of the merchants who improvise structural elements. Bazaar’s
roof is pierced with holes, and covered in plastic cardboards and textile to dismiss the rain from
entering the spaces.
The few people that reside there depend on trading of textile and non-organic products because,
the level of pollutants is beyond the conditions to store organic matter. Rodents walk freely and
consume the goods and the bazaar is filled with mouse traps to limit their expansion. Clearly,
working conditions as such do not provide the minimal requirements for a healthy object which is
supposed to serve as a trading center. It is why given these extremely bad conditions, the merchants
are forced to occupy the street. Nobody should be put to work there. Then the side-effect of this
conditions is manifested outwards, leaving a little to no room for a proper flow of the visitors and
other traders, creating a conjunction that afterwards creates a dissatisfaction for every person that
visits the area.

52
Fig.20: Actual state of the Bazaar
If it wasn’t for the merchants who bring goods from the region to supply the people of Prishtina, it
might be possible to say that the area would be out of use, or given for development of profitable
apartment dwellings! Hence why, the remainning merchants do not just merely work there but their
presence helps the trading spirit of Prishtina Bazaar prevail in todays time. The space of the building
and the occupancy of the merchants are in a symbiotic relation together, if one fails to provide a
feedback, the other suffers too. This is voiced by the concern of these groups who admit that the
current structure is failing to provide basic conditions.
Conducting the survey to retrieve information from the merchants was aimed to understand how the
present conditions shape and influence the daily life for each of them. It became fundamental to
become acquainted with the daily experience of everyone in this group of actors, and ascertain the
circumstances upon which they work, to truly understand what were the pragmatic experiences of
these people.
The survey helped to create the first acquanitance with the merchants. Primarily, the principal
information was the background and who the merchants actually were, what was their age, gender
structure (all merchants of the Bazaar in Prishtina where man), where they came from, and how did
they travel to their jobs in the bazaar? Secondarily, the survey would help withdraw how these
group of people felt about the overall conditions of the space around the bazaar, its strucutre, the
traffic, the security, maintenance, and the enviornmental conditions around.
During the visit and start with surveying, some of the traders in the bazaar, showed slight frustration
and reacted with grief. One man in particular, was noticeably frustrated with the fact that the
bazaar has reached its present state, that the municipality of Prishtina, as he claimed failed to invest
in providing a basic, healthy, comfortable area for the main marketplace of the capital. The
discouragement was evident throughout most of the surveyed merchants. Their satisfaction with the
existing state of the structure was to a minimum, as we shall see in the following charts (fig 21).

53
Charts are presenting the frequency of answers related to particular question or problem. Values
are distributed from one to five where number one shows the lowest grading. Similar feeling was
portratyed towards the surrounding infrastructure which involves access, entries, spatial layout and
the traffic piercing through the bazaar road. Regrettably, majority of results was unsatisfactory,
except for the presence of traffic wherethey didn’t experience substantial dissatisfaction. The results
started to show a clear pattern, working conditions are unacceptable, and the main requirement
from these actors was a newly established marketplace, which provides conditions, safety, warmth,
and comfort for everyone who comes upon this territory.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation about the existing state of
the Bazaar
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of spatial organization in
Bazaar
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of traffic
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of spatial security

54
Fig. 21. Results from the survey with merchants
The tables above are self explanatory. Almost never a merchant was fully satisfied with the discussed
matters. The worst evaluation was given towards the existing state of the Bazaar. Evidently, such
conditions are dreadful and they should not remain as such. A more positive feedback was
generated towards the maintenance of the Bazaar and the environmental protection. This is
however, the bare minimum a municipality could do for a functional business, take the trash once
a week which is being accumulated and clean the road from pollution.
The age of the merchants differed from 20s to late 60s, with a dominant group of middle age male
actors (fig 22.). Each worked a substantial 6 days a week in a time span from 8:00 until 19:00 on
average, meaning that the bazaar almost everyday experiences vital action with people coming
from all around the region of Prishtina.
Fig. 22. Age graphicon
Next part of the survey was to find out the living locations of the merchants. Almost every person
came from different zones of the municipality of Prishtina. Almost half of the people reside in the
capital while another group of these actors travels daily for several kilometers, from theneighbouring
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of Bazaar maintenance
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of environmental
protection
0-24
5%
25-34
5%
35-44
45%
45-54
25%
55-64
15%
65-74
5%
75-100
0%
Merchants age
0-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74

55
places of the municipality. Nodal map presented in the bellow image of Prishtina shows the villages
and towns where merchants live.
Fig. 23. Residency graphicon
The actors represented through the group of merchants are one of the main stakeholders to be
listened during the desing briefing. This group of people possesses the strength to identify the
problems. They depend on a reciprocal wellbeing between them and the surrounding. Together
with the other group of actors they possess a strong voice which portrays the necessities of the
Bazaar.
To involve the merchants’ culture, habits, needs, and practical means, the architects has to consider
the span of their activity. In the figure 24 that represents the node diagram to portray the traveling
distance it is visible that the merchants travel to the job from different locations. The map is
strainghtforward but the information from it might be usefull to regulate appropriate measures for
the Bazaar’s conditions and structure such as: traffic to and out the city, the parking area near the
Bazaar, and fulfilment of everyday needs such as food, hygiene, and rest, etc. The desing of the
Bazaar should also take in consideration trading behavior and traditions of these people.
Fig.24: Merchant actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar (Edited by the Author)
Prishtine
60%
Vushtrri
5%
Podujeve
10%
Bardhosh
10%
Llap
5%
Bernice
5%
Tenezhde
ll
5%
Merchants residency
Prishtine
Vushtrri
Podujeve
Bardhosh
Llap
Bernice

56
Daily visitors
The third, powerful group of actors, in a direct relation with the merchant’s, is the consumers or the
visitors of the Bazaar. They are not merely audience but a group of actors that shapes and gives a
sort of life to the environment. Without them, the merchants would be idle! The bazaar is process
of exchange and sparks the phenomenon of social interaction, economic exchange, and cultural
communication. Through these activities the bazaar gains its life, its spirit and its significance. The
conversations are vast, and so are the people, different generations come together to assist one
and other, where the seniors try to pass their knowledge to the younger on how to pick fresh
products, moms and daughters pick their choice of cloth for homemade tailoring, and the elderly
take a break in one of the tee stores next to the bazaar building. All this action creates a beautiful
and active atmosphere.
Thus, it becomes evident that the human’s actors which give liveliness and function to bazaars are
not only the merchants but also the consumers who benefit from purchasing their stock. Their
importance becomes crucial, since they are the ones who relate the area of the bazaar with the
city. They use other infrastructure which a city provides to travel and arrive to this space. Here
public transportation plays a vital role since the dense urban environment around the bazaar
provide little to no space for parking. To reduce the car activity in a surrounding area, something
that can be considered advantage or disadvantage, might create frustration for the visitors who
need to carry the food in long distances to the bus station or the parking. The actual situation is
very challenging because the focus on more pedestrians in changing the environment should not
neglect the issue of parking places around and the connections with the public transport.
As in a case of merchants, the customers require that Bazaar areas are in good conditions. They
request spacious and good organized market, clean and healthy environment, release from
vehicles, etc. The disappointment can be traced to the consumers, people who arrive from one up
to 4 times a week at the bazaar to purchase fresh ingredients. Their opinions of their experience
are mandatory to understand the situation of the existing state.
Fig.25: Interaction between a merchant and a consummator
The survey followed similar pattern as the one done with marchents with slight adaptations of the
questions. The sample was balanced between female and male actors. Primarily, it was important

57
to recognize the people who arrived at the bazaar, their gender, age, profession, the neighborhood
of their residence, how frequently they visited the space and what was their way of movement? This
way we could have a better understanding towards who these people were. The secondary
incentive to be obtained was, similar to the previous group, an evaluation of the existing state of
the Bazaar. With no surprise and as we shall see in the following charts, the answers are quite
similar with little to almost none 5-point evaluation in any of the categories. The figure bellow shows
the results of the survey about the age of the visitors in the Bazaar. Six groups are identified. The
majority of the consumers in the Bazaar with age from 55 – 74 are elderly people and represent
60% of the buyers (fig 26). Middle age consumers from 35 to 54 are the second dominating group
with 25%, and the last group is youngsters aged from 0 to 34 participate as minority with 15%.
All these categories have to be considered during the design of the market, especially the aged
group. To enable proper conditions in order to accommodate such groups of people, it is necessary
to follow the necessary technical standards.
Fig.26: Age graphicon
Next figure presents the data about the way how users are approaching the Bazaar. The following
pie chart shows that 65% of participation arrive at the bazaar by walking. One third, rely on public
transportation, buses or vans and only 5% are coming by cars. Traveled distances are from one to
several kilometers. Traveling conditions as well are carrying of the goods in short and long distance
has to be considered during the planning and preparation of the new structures.
Fig.27: Transportation graphicon
0-24
10%
25-34
5%
35-44
10%
45-54
15%
55-64
20%
65-74
40%
75-100
0%
Age of the consummators
0-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
Feet
65%
Bus
30%
Car
5%
Method of arrival to the Bazaar
Feet
Bus
Car

58
As we move ahead to the evaluation of the existing state of the Bazaar, it is clear that the feedback
received from this group of people is also dominated by negative opinion. Clearly, the Bazaar
space currently lacks the proper service for such people, and it is making their experience tougher
than it should. Users are satisfied neither with the existing situation nor with spatial organization of
the place. All answers, not only the situation but also the traffic regulation, dominated by worst
grading (see the following diagrams):
0
5
10
15
20
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of spatial organization in
Bazaar
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation about the existing state of
the Bazaar
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of environmental
protection
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
12345
frequency
Value
Evaluation of territorial maintenance

59
Fig. 28. The results of evaluation from the visitors
The following image (Fig.29) shows the exact nodes that people travel to arrive for the bazaar’s
services. Human actors who represent the visitors rely on the services of the bazaar not just from
the city of Prishtina, but throughout its perifey and surroundings too. Each and single one of them
is willing to take the time, either on foot or by public transport to come to such a place and engage
in its many opportinities. Their movement is a crucial part of the well-being of the bazaar, and their
voices signify a strong message towards how the current conditions are. That is why these powerful
voices ought to not remain mute or neglected, rather than it might be profitable, for a project.
Considering that the bazaar within its own spirit contains social, cultural and economic values
which are contained by its many people, an improved intervention would need to take this into
account.
Fig.29: Consumers actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar (Edited by the Author)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of traffic
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
12345
Frequency
Value
Evaluation of spatial security

60
Responses from the surveys show that the bazaar needs adjustments and a long-term solution in
order to fulfill the basic requests of these actors. With improved conditions, things would take
another path, one towards collective prosperity and a healthy merchandising atmosphere.
Bazaar structure
The structure and infrastructure of the Bazaar are non-human or material actors. This is when things
start to get tricky and objective, since we are not dealing with human actors but rather then with
silent nonhumans. We start to observe material actors rather than living, nevertheless, they too
provide the communication and the voice what they try to portray.
Observing the structure which is providing the space for the Bazaar we noticed the irrational,
ruptured, crumbling apart state of which it stands. The roof is punctured and the coverings are
improvised with materials which are not aimed for a roof system. The space itself easily flooded
and absorbs moisture that stimulate different pests and rodents. In general, the present work
conditions which encompass the structure of the bazaar are on the brink of collapse. Bellow images
give some examples of this situation. However, as was observed by the first groups of actors, the
structure follows history of bazaar and it is at the outstanding location. Besides the surrounding
areas that have been changed with high-rise buildings, the old town is still mostly residential housing
with building up to 4 floors. Since the life and existence of the Bazaar is left in the hands of the
people who occupy it for work, the unplanned construction occurs through their own initiatives, with
little to none support by the governmental institutions. This is why, the people who visit daily, either
to trade or purchase, the structure that provides the working conditions for the action to be ongoing,
is of primary concern.
The interiors of the Bazaar also lack the required hygiene to sustain the fresh quality of goods.
There is lack of clean and open space where free movement could take place from the visitors.
Without an adequate system to sustain the processes, there is little to no healthy life.

61
Fig.30 & Fig.30.1. Images of the inside of the Bazar of Prishtina
Most of the respondents, both from the merchants or the visitors, were in fond of building a new
structure for the Bazaar. They prefer an appropriate atmosphere a marketplace deserves. The
second most frequently used answer was an improvement of the spatial organization, meaning that
each product is sold in its own specific location, and there is no interweaving of hard materials with
organic ones. Nevertheless, this is hardly achieved within the existing conditions, therefore these
two answers ought to help one another, and create an improved bazaar.
New Bazaar
80%
Better
Organization
20%
Banning Cars
0%
What has to change in todays Bazaar?
Feedback from Merchants
New Bazaar
Better Organization
Banning Cars

62
Fig.31 & Fig.31.1.: Opinion from the Merchants and Visitiros regarding the structure of the Bazaar
Merchants are less concerned of banning the cars and they are prioritizing new structure and also
asking for better organization. The consumers, are also not very aware or revolutionary to ban the
cars but still 5% of them have been declared for the area without heavy traffic. They also prioretize
new structure but with more emphasis on organization comparing to the answers of the merchants.
The Bazaar’s structure as an actor in itself describes the challenges which the area faces, and the
opportunities if tackled moderately and properly. It is important to note that without proper
governmental support, presence and decision making there will be no constructive improvement.
Fig.32: An existing corridor in the Bazaar
The improved version of the bazaar, can be perceived by analyzing the current utilization of
existing spaces. A particular phenomenon which is currently relatively functional is the movement
of humans around the spaces of the bazaar. The key starting point upon entry to the site is from the
New Bazaar
50%
Better
Organization
40%
Banning Cars
10%
What ought to change in todays Bazaar?
Feedback from Visitors
New Bazaar
Better Organization
Banning Cars

63
main street “Iljaz Agushi”, which serves as a connection bridge to the multiple entries to the market,
hence, if a reduction of car movement is achieved, the street becomes a crucial area for the lateral
circulation of people, and the multiple direct accesses to the object. Going then inside the existing
bazaar object, the corridors serve an adequate function, they successfully move people from one
edge to the other. Here, there is one north-west entrance that is very important because it links the
Bazaar with another streeet in completely opposite side.
Fig.33: Bazaar mobility (Edited by the Author)
The fig 33, shows entries to the bazaar, the points where traffic could be blocked to remove the
car presence, in blue the “Iljaz Agushi” street, and red the border selected of the bazaar.
Simultaneously, these strips support trading and activity. On each side of the passage, are small
stores, which merchants rent to trade and expose their goods. This characteristic is fundamental
upon every bazaar example, therefore, the existing scenario of human circulation is relatively
effective, and could be maintained. Thus, a novel structure can be erected learning and adapting
these principles, providing an improved structure, and at the same time keeping the existing identity
which the people are accustomed to. Movement of people is evident in the above images. Despite
the miserable conditions the corridors inside the bazaar are functional. Yet, the new corridors
should maintain the desired space for multiple people, and preserve a strict border between the
corridor and the market spaces. By following the regulative dimensions it is possible to evade human
congestion in these areas and continue a fluent flow of visitors.
The reach of the bazaar structure affects everyone who comes there to work, purchase, relax, or
even socialize. It further affects the relationship to Gaian entities, due to the physical element that
it possesses as a construction. Hence, a generalized feedback retrieved from analysing this group
of actors would be that a new Bazaar as a structure would perhaps serve best. One that has a
proper organisation, is structurally safe, isolated from the climate, reduces the movement of cars
and gives priority to humans and living entities to grow.

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Fig.34: Structure actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar. (Edited by the Author)
Besides an unregulated plan, the current state exhibits many answers and points out key
opportunities which can help an improved bazaar emerge. A bazaar should be considering the
present action, the present solutions, the benefits and the voices of the many actors which reside
around. This way the next version of an improved state, would not feel alienated to the public,
rather the old communicates how the new ought to progress, together with the novel factors.
Dominant objects around the site
When we look for the forces or agents that act upon the surrounding territory of the bazaar, a
category which require separate analysis are the architectural objects around the site. These could
be categorized into two groups with different typologies which are in close proximity to the Bazaar.
The first and the most frequent group are the residential housing. These buildings are dominating
around the Bazaar. They are usually up to 3 floors height and date after the WWII period. Since,
these houses have been designed and build without appropriate standards and high architectural
principles, and also because their distribution is not following organized urban pattern, they usually
create a monotonous character of the area (fig 35.).

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Fig. 35. Dominant old housing around the area (Credits: Ilir Rodiqi)
Fig.36: Ethnographic Museum of Kosovo (Museum, 1950)
The second group consists of important landmarks which are located within the area. They are the
oldest surviving architectural objects of the city. Besides the previously mentioned mosques, one of
the most important objects is so called “Eminxhiku” that has great importance for the Prishtina
heritage. In this house is today the Ethnographic Museum of Kosovo (Fig. 36). To these objects it is
necessary to add the group of buildings that has architectural significance. They are municipal,
educational and social buildings. Examples of such objects are the Clock Tower, ‘Sami Frasheri’
High School (figure 37.), Museum of Kosova, or the main building of the Prishtina Municipality.
Together all these objects shape the historical part of the city, an area which is defined as the eldest
of the capital, a value which makes their relevance and nearness to the bazaar develop an intimate
relationship.

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Fig.37: Sami Frashëri Highschool and the Clock Tower in the back (Oral History, 2010)
These buildings, in a collective, produce the unique character which portrays the first steps of the
urbanism of Prishtina, they connect the city through multiple neighborhoods, and most importantly
provide a direct linking to the main square and the city center. Then, by accounting this territory as
the source of remarkable landmarks, the bazaar interwoven with these objects becomes more than
just a mere building. They become an assembly of reciprocal facilities which together can provide
the spirit of the old town of Prishtina. Recalling on the origin of the Bazaar, the customs and
traditions of the people of Prishtina are embraced and revitalized to their original values. This zone
remains as the last standing historical figure of the city architecture.
The old part of the city used to be spread in a wider area. It was located in the place where today
are: Municipality of Prishtina Building, the “Brotherhood and Unity” square and the Parliament of
Kosovo. In the bellow images (figure 38.) are two maps. On the left is the existing urban plan
around the governmental buildings and on the right is the urban planning of the old town. Both
plans are accompanied with an aerial view (figures 38. c and d). The present status resembles
mostly an image of a modernism, with open roads connecting major arteries of the city. However,
the land and the progress which this, at the time new construction, was achieved, eradicated a big
piece of the historical part of the city. Making way for “progress” annihilated the more grounded
lifestyle that used to dominate the town of Prishtina. Hence why, considering that the bazaar and
the other landmarks mentioned above, stand as the last remaining pieces of the aged architecture,
their relevance increases and becomes a major attribute to the current decision-makings in city
planning.

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Fig.38: a) & c) Current “Modern” state. b) & d) Past “Non-Modern” state of the city. (Jerliu and Navakazi, 2018)
Fig.39: Diverse facilities close to the Bazaar. (Edited by the Author)
In figure 39, the blue line represents the core of the remaining old part of Prishtina and the red
color the border of the bazaar. This figure shows also symbols of some of the landmarks that are
in the vicinity to the bazaar. Together they enrich the area where the bazaar stands upon and they
contribute to varied public activities, making the area in constant flux and motion. Such dynamism
is very significant since it provides different groups of people throughout different times, and further

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enhances the action of the territory, a quality important in order to stimulate the development of the
spaces.
Being in such close approximation between the Bazaar and other influential buildings, suggests
that the fluidity of actors which could tie the locations is immense (Figure 40.). Additionally, a
restoration of the Bazaar could lead to an intensification of reciprocal activities which benefit and
help prosper the territory, making the entire old part of Prishtina grow as an assembly, an assembly
of various human and nonhuman actors.
Fig.40: Object actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar (Edited by the Author)
The close proximity of these actor groups dictates the historical value that the area carries. The
presence of these important landmarks could communicate with future policies and decision-makers,
in order to consider the space as a zone in constant relationships. Obtaining this space as a
coherent whole, allows a reintegration of the existing infrastructure, and opens up a reaction in
form of a node, which carries within it the historical context of the oldest part of Prishtina.
Street infrastructure
One evident actor in the Bazaar is infrastructure. Mostly, it is identified as chaotic. The vehicles are
passing through the trading zone and, instead of preserving the linear passage open to residents,
merchants, and the general public for operating, they cause constant trouble. There is one major
street that passes along the market and it is in use for trading too. There are also several minor
streets that enable approach to the Bazaar which are less congested although are part of the larger
merchant area. In this area there is also a complex of Television buildings that have considerable
movement of vehicles. Due to the regular congestions, the Municipality has decided to impose
regime of one-way streets but this didn’t solve the problems.
The main street “Iliaz Agushi”, is not dedicated only for the transport of goods but acts also as
trading space and as urban connection between different blocks (figure 41.). This situation reduces
the acting of the human factor by giving space to people in cars who use the road to maneuver

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around the neighborhood. By observing the vehicles circulating it becomes perceptible that the
infrastructure causes an irregular pattern, an unsafe environment, a polluted atmosphere which
deeply damages the material goods, and creates a break of movement around the site. As long as
there are no restrictions of the movement the space will keep mentioned characteristics. However,
this infrastructure is required to sustaining the bazaar. Through these roads and vehicles, merchants
are capable of transporting their materials, bringing them to the bazaar and retrieving them when
it's time. Additionally, emergency vehicles ought to be allowed to interfere with potential safety
situations. That is why the path could be reduced to communication but not blocked entirely to
prevent emergency, maintenance and operational passage.
Fig.41: Congestion of the main road “IljazAgushi”
Fig.42: Presence of merchant’s vehicles
Merchants, who are forced to trade on the streets, occupy it firstly with their vehicles (fig. 42). They
park their vans on the road and directly open their stand there. Then, the ordinary cars of the
connected areas pass continuously. Finally, there are transport vehicles as well as public service
vehicles (garbage, ambulance, etc.) that pass from time to time and cause additional turmoil. To

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make situation more critical, the sidewalks are occupied by the traders who use them as space for
showing or storing goods. Together with the crowded presence of pedestrians and various
movements, this road is constantly congested and one is not capable of moving freely without
considering being interfered by the traffic. This example shows how hazily the conditions of the
bazaar are defined. First, there is no safe space within the structure of the bazaar for the merchant
to work and second there is no proper parking where the same merchant can park his vehicle and
move towards his shop to continue regular work. The added presence of the vehicles within the
Bazaar limits the growth of other entities and simultaneously pollutes the wellbeing.
Fig.43: Opinions about the traffic (M) merchants, (C) consumers
The results from the survey tell about the effect that the situation with the traffic relates to the people
who arrive at the bazaar (fig. 43). Of course, the consumers, who have to walk, show deeper
dissatisfaction towards the vehicles. Nevertheless, not everyone is dependent on cars to travel to
and from the bazaar. The survey proved this as well because majority of the visitors, who travel
almost daily to the bazaar, come on foot or arrive by bus.
Fig.44: Transportation that leads to the services of the Bazaar
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The bellow map shows that the surrounding area of the bazaar is supported with bus stations. Due
to the bus route connectivity people can arrive directly at the spot from multiple destinations of
Prishtina, as well as communicate with the rest of the city. The issue of traffic is critical for this site
and requires careful urban decisions and interventions. Here the planners are under dilemma should
they keep status quo and allow the traffic through the Bazaar or perhaps, blocking the street to
open for pedestrians, cyclists and to allow traffic only for emergency vehicles and the merchants.
This could definitively improve the overall quality of the territory, enhance the presence of human
and nonhuman entities, and create a healthier environment. In the following figure, the blue line
shows the road traffic around the site, and in light green it is the main road that might be eventually
closed. The two signs showcase the frequently present bus stops around the site, and the two traffic
signs which would prevent cars from entering the bazaar road.
Fig.45: Proposed map of the blocked road of “Iljaz Agushi” (Edited by the Author)
Fig.46: Street infrastructure actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar. (Edited by the Author)

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To address this topic specifically, it is of important matter, to simultaneously relieve the streets from
the road pressure by creating a car restricted road, and to increase reliance on public
transportation. If this matter is tackled, the roads could be relieved and the area can be given for
the growth of both human and nonhuman agency.
Municipal policies and stakeholders
One of the leading stakeholders for urban development should be the municipality and their
decision-makers who conclude decisions on what path could a city evolve. Through their policies
and planning each part can be considered and be defined. However, the bazaar does not need a
voice from the municipality to portray its situation. Perhaps such a voice could explain the reason
why the current state is as it is being observed, nevertheless, the people and the conditions which
are currently residing in the bazaar territory speak clearly. Primarily based on a personal
observation of the situation, the bazaar has been left-out by the local government. From the informal
conversation with a cigarette seller, the person felt that the bazaar, and the people who work there,
were abandoned by the authorities in the municipality.
Rather a short subchapter, it does not neglect however, the heavy positioning that this group of
actors holds upon management of the bazaar and a possibility to involve it in the future urban
planning. Given the facts, as far as it has been observed thus far, that such space possesses cultural,
economic, social, educational relevance it is best tackled if revitalized to its potential, and regains
its value within the urban context of the capital. This means that responsible municipal stakeholders
ought to solve the land ownership disputes that currently limit the restoration of such a structure, and
in accordance with its user’s attitudes, progress towards an improved situation.
There were previous motives to remodel the bazaar with little to none effort of understanding the
problem. The project was to embark upon a different nearby territory, just south of the bazaar,
where there is currently an existing building serving for one of the Government agencies. This
project was issued from the municipality of Prishtina, meaning that there were initiatives for the
improvement of the place. Nevertheless, mayors changed, as they change relatively frequently, and
the plan was abandoned. Maybe the location was not adequate enough? Why would the bazaar
move when the space is deeply rooted in the memories of the people? Can it not be invigorated
and planned for the upcoming 50 years? Without new systemic changes things seem to be
constantly postponed and directly affect deeply the urbanism of the city.
There has been some positive feedback in the relatively recent time in the capital of Prishtina. A
new mayor, elected in 2021, visited the bazaar and experienced its vibrancy. Perhaps it is during
his election time that the issue of the bazaar will be tackled. Additionally, there have been initiatives
mostly from NGOs and foreign investments ongoing in the municipality of Prishtina, to restore and
revitalize the old existing buildings. Two buildings have taken the stage. The first one which is under
immediate reconstruction is the old Clock Tower. The restoration of the Clock Tower has been
supported by the municipality of Prishtina as well as the UNDP. Considering that it is a nice example
of utilitarian architecture, the goal is to regenerate the tower to its original value and increase the
connectivity with the other significant Mosques of the area. The second building is one of the oldest

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cinemas in town (called in Albanian ‘Kino Rinia’). Its renovation is still under discussion with
stakeholders who own the cinema. These restorations are in close proximity to the bazaar, meaning
that the entire space can be integrated in a unified cultural and historical zone of Prishtina.
Fig.47. 15th Century Imperial Mosque and the 19th Century Clock Tower (Ozutback, 1969).
The above image portrays beautifully the character that the old part of Prishtina still vaguely
possesses. Even though now the atmosphere has been “modernized” it could still be brought back
towards its historical character. An incentive for improvement depends to the people and
municipality. The people primarily are the ones who can judge the governmental stakeholders for
their work, they are also the ones who claim these spaces with their occupancy and are the ones
who can boycott the municipal decision making, and they are also capable of voicing with requests
the required change which improves their life. And the second actor with responsibility is the
governmental stakeholders, who can locate the situations, hire the professionals, fit to address these
situations, and improve their state. This way the people hold the relevant positions and receive a
feedback which might be able to improve our cities.
To conclude, the governmental group of actors plays heavy role in the decision making not just of
this project but rather all other decisions in the future that our cities will have to tackle in relation to
the climate anomalies, the unbalanced “Modern” lifestyle and the comprehensive impact the
Anthropocene has brought upon the planet. However, the decision makers should act in isolation

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but develop mutual collaboration with other dominating actors. This network of stakeholders and
beneficiaries should act in synergy to evolve collectively.
Fig.48: Governmental actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar. (Edited by the Author)
Products
One of the main attributes of an object which is hosting trade is the product or the material that is
supplied in the bazaar to be merchandised. It is a crucial group for it is what drives the human
actors to these places. The merchant’s profit on its values, and goes through the time and effort to
possess it, move it to the bazaar, guarantee its quality, and then sell it for a reasonable price to the
public. The consumer or the visitors are driven to the bazaar mostly with the purpose of purchasing
the products. They as well travel a significant distance in order to benefit, and purchase for personal
consumption or usage, the freshest and highest quality products that are located there.
Therefore, the product travels both ways, and involves the human actor as its transporter. However,
the relation that could be associated between the product of the bazaar and the rest of the
nonhuman actors portrays relevance as well. For example, the structure as it has been observed
fails to provide the basic conditions for a bazaar thus fails to provide the health and safety
conditions to store the product, be it organic or inorganic matter. The polluted, left-out structure
could expose the product to various gems and bacteria, which then makes it questionable to the
public. A healthy product means a healthy environment and the other way around, making these
two affect one another drastically. Additionally, the micro-organization of the products is not
defined. There is no strict zone that determines what sort of good is sold where. Industrial material
is traded near the fruits and vegetables, whereas plastics and house hold materials are sold next to
dairy products. As an effect to these causes, primarily the cause of a failed structural bazaar
environment, the merchants are forced to move towards the street where the product stumbles upon
another relationship with another group of actors. Moreover, as it has been mentioned earlier, the
street infrastructure, poses a threat to the products as well. How would a cottage cheese remain
fresh if it is exposed to constant traffic gas emissions around it?

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Fig.49: Products and the traffic in one image
The materials also require an adequate storage space, health and safety protocols, and the
possibility of creating and maintaining a functional movement. By all means, the governmental or
municipal stakeholders also directly meet the product. The regulative policies provide the space
units in order for the trading to continue fluently. They make available conditions out of which all
actors strive from. And through their jurisdiction municipal stakeholders can confirm or deny the
quality of the product, and deem it fit or not fit for it to be traded in the market.
Fig.50: Product actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar. (Edited by the Author)
The more grounded one becomes towards the site, and the more we look into this actor group the
more information we can withdraw regarding its reach and its network. Although the materials
are non-human actor, the assemblies of different agencies portray equal impact and require equal
representation. Therefore, they involve another crucial group of actors identified as collective. You

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cannot enrich a bazaar with vividness and with its attributes if it lacks the product which gives
action to the process of trading. But you also cannot help this process grow, and provide for the
many, if there is no proper structure for hosting the product. It is why these two actors are
interwoven in a continuous feedback loops and relational networks.
Utilities
Before concluding this case study with the Gaia group, there is one important factor that has to be
considered as well. These are utility services of the Bazaar. Utilities cover cleaning maintenance,
waste transportation, water supply and energy. Most stable utility is electricity since there is enough
light and supply is stable. The water is also available but not distributed through the bazaar in
appropriate manner. Most critical utility in the Bazaar is waste and the maintenance including the
cleaning. Observation of the surrounding situation in and around the Bazaar identifies many
negative aspects of the maintenance. The human actors, as dominant agents in charge, carry little
effort to maintain the bazaar service. This is evident in the following picture (figure 51.), where the
waste storage has been improvised rather to the allocated location.
Fig.51: Baskets accumulated in an abandoned building
Somehow, the relationship with utilities comes from the overall situation of the structural part of the
Bazaar. The structural disintegration is affecting the wellbeing of the rest of the territory and nobody
wants to take responsibility to improve it. Thus, the overall situation is unclear. Where is the border
between the product and the waste? The image bellow shows some details about this problem.
They represent the ugly part of the “vivid” bazaar territory. To follow another informal conversation
with one of the merchants, the government does not fail to collect the waste once a week but this
does not deny the fact that the roads, the surroundings and the overall space lacks on-time cleaning.
The images speak loud and clear and they are requesting a re-management of the spaces and their
utilities.

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Fig.52: Where does the boundary end between merchant, product, and waste?
Services within and around the Bazaar are very important group that contributes to the system. They
provide conditions for functionality and work. Utilities are also important for their contribution in
connection and protection with natural environment. Besides waste collection it is possible to
organize recycling services. The activity of the Bazaar produces considerable organic and other
recycling waste. There is great possibility to manage the food waste as a start. With the creation
of composting areas each drop of organic matter can be collected and further, after compost, used
as soil fertilizer to improve the relation with Gaia entities. Another service direction could be taken
to divide paper from plastic, aluminum, glass and other recyclable materials.
Fig. 53: Feedback from merchants (M) and consumers (C) regarding the maintenance level
Even though this is not usual practice in Prishtina, such actions can lead to the rise of awareness
and the hiring of people who have done such work over the past years. To note here, the Roma
community has been dealing usually with the collection of material waste, making it a great
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opportunity to involve them as stakeholders of recycling in the territory. This way they could be
employed, can earn an income, and the bazaar itself could be maintained to a proper standard.
The utilities are critical factor for the areas like the bazaar in Prishtina. They pose a key group of
actors which influences and is influenced by the rest of the groups. By following the linear
communication between this actor groups and its constituents, we can obtain that they develop a
reciprocal association. One’s presence determines the well-being and characteristics of the other.
Therefore, by perceiving this group in isolation we can recognize its far reach and substantial effect
it has on the site. Additionally, a multiplication of this actor groups expresses a concern for the
overall health of the beings which rely on appropriate environments. The discontinuous relation
between the utilities and other groups of actors therefore, exists and shatters the prosperous growth
of the Bazaar. Nevertheless, by utilizing such group in association with the rest, and by
incorporating their action in the decision making, the nodal segments ought to describe situations
that could benefit in the future how the final project of the Bazaar is to be conceived.
Fig.54: Utility actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar. (Edited by the Author)
Gaia agency
We have now arrived at one of the most important groups of actors. Its value has played a leading
part in guiding the research, and has revealed that by considering its multiplicity, one might learn
to respect and learn from the nonhuman world. This agency lands in our list of actor groups to
enlarge the research of architecture, by including its entity as crucial in order to build for the whole
world, rather than a personal, anthropocentric driven design.
The Bazaar in Prishtina can be considered a space where Gaia’s entities are scarce. However, as
we will soon find out, their presence is far more active than it seems in the beginning. In order not
to tackle its multiplicity at once, the Gaian group is further divided in accordance to the Earth System
Sciences (ESS) in: biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. When we talk of the
biosphere and its presence on the bazaar territory, we will look for the living entities which reside

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there. When the lithosphere is mentioned, we will focus on the soil volume in order to remain in the
surface which is in contact with the Bazaar, and from where life can be created. Hydrosphere will
be observed the water cycles which are present in the area and the region of Prishtina, like
precipitation, ground-water sediments, lakes, rivers etc. And the atmosphere will be identified
through the exchanges of gases deriving from the site.
Living entities –
Characteristic of this system in the old Bazaar is its scarcity. Almost entire plot of
the Bazaar is covered by manmade infrastructure. Due to the excessive volume of built environment
in the area, the relationships required to sustain a healthy ecosystem are constantly threatened
(Artmann, 2014). The ground of the territory is mostly covered in cement or cobblestones. Hence,
the amount of soil, plants, water, ratio which is needed to support the biosphere is reduced to a
minimum. In the places similar to the Prishtina Bazaar, where there is no natural land, the suffocation
of the soil and the lack of natural entities promotes an unhealthy urban body which creates heat
island effect, dust winds and seasonal droughts, diminishing the health of the ground where entities
could flourish, reducing the effectiveness of soil carbon sink and the overall nature of the bazaar
(Artmann, 2014).
Fig.55: Bazaar and the vague greenery around it (Edited by the Author)
Inside the bazaar area, the structure itself is accidental and has sealed the entire surface with
building materials. The map in figure 55, shows the picture of the greenery in residential or cultural
buildings around the site (green marks) and the bazaar itself (red mark). The dominant greenspaces
are from the old ottoman empire dwellings, where each house used to have its own garden in order
to maintain the proportion of built environment and natural system. This Ottoman tradition created
conditions which favored the presence of natural entities as a crucial inhabitant of the cities. It was
not just the periphery of a urbanized part that engaged in relation with nature, but through bio-
corridors and cultural planning, the natural systems pertained a role in the spatial organization.
These examples however, are dismissed or neglected in the novel architectural planning.

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At the present state of the Bazaar biological areas are captured. The biodiversity is not allowed to
breathe, but on the contrary is prone to continuous suffication. Two different approaches to form
relationships with nature are missing. One, embraces the request that our cities cannot grow alone
artificially without the feedback of natural entities. Whereas the other recognizes that through such
presence, and energy, living beings could grow and prosper reciprocally. Close to the Prishtina
Bazaar there is approaching street that shows very good example to how a road could be shaded
to create comfort and stimulate natural habitat (figure 56). This sample, even though dominated by
cars ironically, could possess positive virtues that can be followed in order to rethink the main
concept of the bazaar. By creating these oases of greenery, we might be able to support the growth
of biodiversity, however they ought to be protected and maintained by the bazaar employees
themselves, in order to guarantee their survival and growth. In the design phase will be determined
the exact configuration of these oases and the kind of plants which best works to revitalize the soil
as well as grow in symbiosis with each other. However, in Prishtina, there are very little similar
examples due to the lack of regulatory processes in relationship with the well-being of the
environment.
Fig.56: Trees covering a road which takes to the Bazaar
As it has been stated earlier, in the Bazaar there is none of the unsealed surface which is the
base for hosting Gaian entities. The anthropomorphic dominance has reduced it to zero, even
though based on the cultural traditions a space ought to keep a garden. The following images
show the existing state of the bazaar and the neglect of these natural systems.

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Fig.57: Interior ground of the Bazaar
The first image (figure 57) shows that even the interior poses a threat to the well-being by
polluting its surroundings. And the second image gives a remarkable example of how a small
piece of Gaia is seeking to grow back and take its part (figure 58).
Fig.58: Gaia piercing through the cement
Such deficiency adds to the unhealthy value of not just the human beings but also clogs any potential
entity of the biosphere realm to naturally grow on the site, having a direct effect on the reduction
of its value and prohibits to generate striving systems of nature (Artmann, 2014).Unfortunately,
through the observation and the aim to trace living entities upon the territory of the bazaar, I could
barely name a few, humans, cats, rodents, insects, small amounts of grass and a few trees.
Therefore, a restoration of the biodiversity through the formation of a relatively small green oasis
seems like a crucial step to enrich the site.
After observing that the majority of the living entities are scarce, overwhelmed by human
interference and vanquished by the unregulated infrastructure of the city comes the request to
revitalize such actors. There are potential areas in the zone which could be re-planned and re-
planted to create the green oasis which could bring forth the entities of the biosphere. To achieve

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this, it is important to maintain the present bazaar territory intact and functional, and simultaneously
discover areas where the bazaar opens, and can benefit from re-earthing the ground.
Even though the urban environment is dense in the neighborhood, after closely inspecting the
surrounding a few potential open spaces which can be transformed together with the rest of the site
came up front. Four of these areas are proposed in the next map. These four spots reside in perfect
locations, for they create ideal destinations in the bazaar where Gaia could be flourished. The
linear strip would create a canopy covered road, after the car traffic has been reduced and the
flow is entitled to the pedestrians. The interior part of the bazaar would consist of three green oases
that create intersections through the bazaar. These three oases are situated outside and are not
currently covered by the structure of the bazaar.
Such focus could potentially lead to the discovery of vast tactics, which bring forward the richness
and the existence of biodiversity. One strategy to be examined for this zone is to remove the existing
layer of concrete, upon the soil, feed it with the needed nutrients to revive it, perhaps through
compost, and plant it to slowly enhance a return of biodiversity. Subsequently, find out which
particular entity could possibly increase a symbiotic relationship and further enhance their mutual
flourishing.
Fig.59: Green Oasis of the Bazaar (Edited by the Author)

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Fig.60. Three locations of the possible green oasis
Although currently there are no Gaian agents residing in this territory, their vibrancy suggests a
novel form of reasoning to bring back lost features. Focusing on a collective growth, these 4 spaces
are of remarkable opportunity to answer the question to whom we will share our occupied space
and what sort of living among each-other do we attempt to generate. Are we not capable to share
each of the places we occupy with the entities of Gaia? Could this perhaps improve the overall
quality of our world if we provide the spaces for them to grow even in our urban environments?
Soil volume -
Soil as volumetric area that consists of inorganic and organic matter provides the
structural support to the growth of life. Achieved directly or indirectly, through the support of plants
and of beings it supplies other organisms with nutrients as their food (Artmann, 2014). Similarly, to
its constituent part of
living entities,
the
soil volumetric
, follows a comparable scarceness in the
territory of the Bazaar. It is within this layer where the growth of all major living entities is supported,
in relation with water concentration and atmospheric gas reaction. Henceforth, it is of crucial
importance for this sheet to be uncovered. Nevertheless, as it was pointed out earlier, the vast
territory of the old Bazaar is wrapped in human activities.
Fig.61. The ground conditions within the Bazaar
Since living beings, as a group of entities, depend on the well-being of other spheres of earth,
water, and gases, their physical condition is of unprecedented importance. In order to accomplish
a symbiotic growth, the soil of the bazaar could be addressed as a potential space to bring forward
the richness and brown texture by enriching its microbiome, the conditions for other organisms to

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grow increase. By raising this presence the reciprocal relations between living beings and their
substance might help to promote a healthier environment and create a nutrient rich soil.
The first step of examination would be to determine a setting by creating a strict border between
the two textures, the humanly infected cement and the soil. Next step is to create a few composting
areas where the food waste gets accumulated in the bazaar and becomes a nutrient that enriches
the exposed soil. As follows, the organic material cycle benefits the site without requiring external
additives, simultaneously engaging the residents of the bazaar in maintaining these areas for their
own benefit, making them stewards of the bazaar. This strategy further develops the relation
between a well-maintained territory and its Gaia occupants, and at the same time enriches the life
of all the entities who reside there (figure 62.). To ensure a healthy soil, it should be strictly forbidden
to litter the area with non-organic waste and especially cigarettes, which is a common habit in the
region. This can be achieved by creating adequate spaces for litter bins and constant supervision
by the municipality or the people in charge of maintenance.
Fig.62: The process of composting, regenerating the soil, and the growth of biodiversity (Edited by the Author)
These simple processes have the energy to sustain Gaian entities, for they are all members of the
progressions. From the mineral particles, organic matter, air, water and the living organisms, they
all constitute one system, which together in constant relationships help steward the living conditions
on our planet. A crucial process which can be tackled upon every territory we land, upon every
project that an architect seeks to erect, upon our neighbor’s and our cities. We can find them
everywhere, share our experiences together, and grow with their feedback loops.
Water Cycles -
It is of crucial importance that the relationship between the circulating water systems
and the other spheres be involved. Due to the high human presence in the old Bazaar, and due to
the sealed surface of the lithosphere, water runoffs get mostly drained into the sewage system
instead of optimizing its value and using it for the benefits it holds. Furthermore, the roof structure
of the Bazaar itself is so fragmented that during heavy rains there is no fluent runoff, rather a ripped
roof surface floods and saturates the interior (figure 63.).

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Fig.63: Existing roof of the Bazaar
While the objective of the soil volume is to uncover sealed surfaces of the earth to help sustain its
components, the objective of the water cycle systems might benefit if it was to be guiding the water
as a constantly present element, to enrich and feed all the entities present in the area. A new path
will help feed the required nutrients to the living being and help with their growth. As well as from
a direct contact between the human participants and water bodies, an activity which might create
a healthy living in the bazaar, perhaps through a fountain or a visible water runoff.
Prishtina, which is also called “The city without a river”, used to have two rivers: “Vellusha” and
“Prishtevka”. These two rivers sprung from the Germia Hill which is East of Prishtina and they passed
through the old town, or close to where the Bazaar stands currently. Although, usually very narrow
streams these two rivers used to shape and form the urbanism of Prishtina (figure 64.). Unfortunately,
today they are not part of the city landscape because both rivers are laid underground and serve
as the sewage system.
Fig.64: Streams of Vellusha (left) and Prishtevka (right). (Edited by the Author)

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It becomes apparent that a new structure of the bazaar will need a roof that collect rainwater
towards storage areas, to then further be used as an irrigator for plants and other water basins. By
this move, the soil-based living entities can be constantly supplied with their required water, while
completely relying on rain-water. The rain water can be treated on site and directly taken to a
reservoir which then distributes it to the territory, or in case it reaches the overcapacity to the
municipal system. Moreover, this collected water can then be distributed to newly established
fountains which receive the water to create a much-beneficial direct contact for the human actors.
Subsequently, drinking fountains could emerge to share with stray animals that might roam in search
for it and rarely find it, especially during high temperatures of summer. Water then becomes present
as a physiological necessity for the human wellbeing, nutrient supplier for the many plants, and a
drinking fountain for stray animals.
Exchange of gases -
The quality of air in Prishtina during the winter season can get up to hazardous
levels (Prishtina, 2019). This phenomenon ought to be addressed by considering it in all of the
upcoming projects and municipal decision making. Considering that the combustion of fossil fuels
is one of the primary causes of climate warming and the depletion of Gaia, the topic ought to be
addressed as a decisive factor. In Prishtina there are many sources of the atmospheric gases
responsible for the greenhouse effect. The main and the far most emitter are the two power stations
Kosovo A and Kosovo B. They are both a lignite-fire and produce 97% of the electricity in Kosovo
(Energy, 2021). Their closeness to Prishtina, only 3km away, allows the smoke to reach and
contribute to the usual appearance of a smog layer. The second polluter in the capital is the high
presence of cars. Due to the capital being an important economic node in Kosovo, it experiences
an overflow of traffic from the regional territory of Kosovo, where people arrive daily for work. A
cause which affects the air and noise quality drastically, and further contributing to an emission of
gases to the atmosphere of Prishtina. Another major emitter which is experienced usually during the
winter times, and causes the air quality to drop to hazardous levels, is the reliance of thousands of
private dwellings upon coal and wood combustion for heating. Due to the topography of the city,
Prishtina is located in a sink, so to speak, surrounded by mountains and hills, during winter times
when winds drop and rain and snowfall is not occurring, the smoke from the combustion deriving
from these houses is accumulated as a blanket on the entire capital. An experience which disturbs
the air quality and causes it to fall into dangerous levels. The following image describes the
atmosphere which does occur due to the above-mentioned factors, where high construction
contributes to the suffication of airflow and further creates unhealthy atmosphere.

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Fig.65: Smog layer in Prishtina (ocnal.com Credits)
Even though these gases are a part of the loops of Gaia, their over-emission is what causes the
disturbance and its proper functionality. Hence why, in order to aim to reduce the building's
footprint and to snatch it away from the above-mentioned emitters, the initiative is to find alternative
solutions. One of the strategies to create this separation, especially from the coal power plants, is
to create an independent energy production within the site. Now the best, cheapest, most available
method to achieve such independence would be from harvesting the solar energy via photovoltaic
panels. This proposal serves relatively well for the territory of the bazaar, primarily because of the
location allows substantial direct sunlight because the territory faces South and the surrounding
does not consist of high-rise buildings. The proposed photo-volatic panels could be assembled on
the roof. The excessive energy which can be accumulated, could be shared in the electricity grid of
the municipality, or distributed to the surrounding houses and decrease their dependency on coal
driven power plants.
The second strategy that could reduce the emitting of gases that derive from the territory of the
bazaar is to eliminate the vehicles presence, and to diminish their traffic. This strategy was tackled
in the previous street infrastructure actor. On the other hand, the space retrieved from the cars could
be given back to the Gaian actors, where the street could be unsealed and planted with various
plants that contribute to the atmospheric relations. Thus, to achieve a healthy flow of pedestrian
movement and the growth of natural entities on site the blockage of the main road could serve this
purpose. By reducing the amount of traffic around the site, potentially we can encourage people to
relinquish their cars and rely more on traveling by foot. Prishtina is a relatively small city where the
central parts can be reached within 10-15 minutes of walking distance. Together with public
transportation the strategy could create a car free environment and enhance the quality of streets
by the reduction of noise and air pollutants. The third strategy that could contribute to the following
group of Gaian actors, would be to enhance the green oasis with dense plants which even though
small in impact contribute to their carbon storing and facing the fossil fuel emitters. This strategy
claims that no matter the space and the location an opportunity could derive in order to plant carbon
sequestering entities. Additionally, these beings play a role in improving the soil, making it more
porous and enlarging the benefits when the city faces climatic anomalies.

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By planning the components which contribute in the gaseous exchange of Gaia, we could plan to
account which relationships we want to engage with, which ones to support and which ones to
ignore, to then substitute them with a Gaian friendly solution. By denying reliance on coal factories
we make a statement that alternative energy possibilities are present and they could generate the
electricity of our future cities. As well by reducing vehicle pathways we deny their emitting character
and could turn to a friendlier method of transport. Our cities can engage in Gaian relations and
they can even contribute to these processes.
Fig.66: Gaia actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Bazaar. (Edited by the Author)
Gaian actors are everywhere, the relationships and loops that are a part of these agencies are
hardly entirely portrayed through nodes (figure 66). They expand and reach nodes that are
difficult to be traced, however, this does not mean that they are non-existent, or that they cannot
be mapped. The key is to never settle for a stiff argument, but to always involve more and more
actors which are discovered and to determine their interwoven relations. Through their activity
planetary well-being prevails, and aditionally so do the Anthropos civilizations. Perhaps through
the thorough consideration of such agencies, we can built for humans, nonhumans and in
accordance to the limits of Gaia.
Conclusion about the actors
Through the processes of tracing and mapping different versions of the collective it can be
recognized the situation in the Bazaar. In the bellow images the colors represents one group of
actors. With nodes that show the range and the reach that each groups have. Each color states one
actor group and portrays its segmental spread on the map of Prishtina and its far reach that dervies
from the site. This way it becomes obtainable to form a map, or a imagery representation of the
distance and equivalence of each actor group.

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Fig. 67. Actor groups and their color coding
The frequenting of the actors is shared between the ones who reside in Prishtina and others who
are in the suroundign areas. This is the first version assembeld from the actual study althouth, there
might be plenty of more actors which have not been traced. The tracing of the actors helps to
determine what action would best fit their voices or necessities, in order to create the Bazaar that
serves the purpose, has low level of impact on environment, and also enhance a Gaian life.
Fig. 68. Nodes of the reach of the actors 1,5,6,7. (Edited by the Author)
Fig. 69. Nodes of the reach of the actors on 2,3,4,8,9,10. (Edited by the Author)

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By having traced these actors and having them identified in groups of corresponding attributes, we
have also retrieved information regarding their stands, their voices, their concerns, their requests,
their feedback and their views. The gathered knowledge could help envisioning the architecture
which suits best their stated necessities. Through a translation of the actor’s statements, so to speak,
we can form a list of strategies that we could follow in the architectural practice, in order that when
the project is designed, it takes such statements as influential factors and determine the action of
the design. Here then, briefly we shall invoke a summary of each actor group in order to be able
to move forward with their translation into a design. The goal is to summarize the attributes from
the actors and form a connection in order to move forward with their translation. Groupings which
have been explained by their common attributes now share a view which portrays their action.
The history of the bazaar accumulates knowledge upon the time that influenced significant changes
of the bazaar. A continuity of cultural, social, economic, and educational participation emerged
constantly from the territory, this was due to the site and the culture of merchandising which was
engraved as a part of the tradition of the Kosovo of the time. What further dominates this actor
group are the information which can be retrieved from the existing historical buildings located
around the bazaar, as each one pleads their part in creating the historical context of the old town
part of Prishtina.
The second group indicates the devotion that each merchant withholds towards this building. They
travel for kilometers daily in order to earn their bread. It is a mutual dependence between these
people and the building which is meant to serve them. However, their evaluation of the existing
state is negative since the bazaar fails to fulfill the basic requisites for such a group. The poor state
provides no connection between the groups. Their goal is to reduce this division by improving the
quality of the building or constructing a new one. In the end their sentimentality towards the
profession and the bazaar is their biggest motive.
The third group of consumers follows a similar look as was obtained by the merchants. An equal
devotion is proven by this group of actors where, no matter the age, they travel distances to engage
in the activities provided by the bazaar. Their explanation is direct and passionate, the results of
the survey put the bazaar in an unsuccessful position. Their disappointment towards the structure,
safety, maintenance and traffic is translated towards a demand of a novel organized space to be
provided by the municipality of Prishtina.
The fourth group is the structure itself. It cannot escape its existing state, where the voices describing
it are loud and clear. The opportunity it could generate as a functioning bazaar has failed and
caused its actors to be in distress. Little to nothing functions and the human voices condemn its
value. This cracked version of a building ought to be redefined and redesigned in order to fulfill its
potential as a cultural, social and economic zone.
The fifth group of actors identifies the sibling buildings of the bazaar as triggering bodies of activity
and flux. They give a great chance to a systemic integration of the whole territory and a potential
to cultivate its rich history. These landmarks seek to communicate further with the bazaar and

91
increase a collective value. They grant each other with work, energy and action and provide an
impressive content for the creation of the old town of Prishtina.
The sixth group of actors claims an important space which could be rethought. The street and its
infrastructure as a unique group go against other actors and pose a threat to their wellbeing. This
group fails to provide justification of its vast occupation, and ought to be rethought if indeed it
deserves to spread as it is now. They fail to provide healthy and safe feedback, based on the data
collected, hence why a vision is proposed to reduce its expansion and prioritize other groups of
actors instead of vehicles.
The seventh group is a group of actors which seems to be absent from the site. The municipality
and its policies appear to have failed to recognize the importance that the bazaar carries, and
simultaneously failed to regenerate a space much required by many human and nonhuman actors.
However, their integration is forever present in any urban part of the city and their share in these
discussions never fails to disappear. The value of the bazaar and its surroundings relates to these
actants and ought to further increase their presence.
The eighth group are the delicious and quality materials which travel from the whole region to reach
the bazaar and further become the products that consumers purchase. Their dependency to the
bazaar is reciprocal and either cannot survive or grow alone. For this reason, both need to be
accounted for to stimulate their improvement and flourishing.
The ninth group is the image that represents the bazaar through the utility services. As long as it is
neglected, the bazaar ought to fail to reach its true form. The utility infrastructure together puts the
bazaar in a difficult spot and denies it a quality representation if the following group is neglected.
The tenth and one of the most prominent of the groups, that of the Gaian agency, appears as the
territory itself where the bazaar is standing upon. Everywhere these actors derive and ask to retrieve
their space which was denied by the human actors. The soil looks to pop off the cement which has
suffocated it, the living entities look for a territory where they can grow and contribute to their
processes, the water always flowing seeks its basin, and the gas exchange deploys alternative
options to the fossil fuel emitters. These actors demand their space and come as equals to humans.
The bazaar actors are now aligned following their groups and take the statement of influencing the
architectural project. In the Part. III, we can finally conclude their requests, and modify a translation
to the architectural language.

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Case study 2.
Railway Station of Prishtina
The 2nd case study is one completely different situation and physical topology compared with the
Bazaar. It is located three minutes walking distance from the city center. The area covers the
perspective of the Prishtina Railway Station. It is one of the key architectural locations of the capital
because it represents the only railway station in the city. Its purpose is to enable connection to the
regional countries and between other cities within the Country. Additionally, this space is an
interacting point between three neighborhoods in Prishtina and could act as their bridge towards
the city center. The landscape of the selected territory continues linearly following the rail tracks that
emerge from the station. However, this longitudinal spread currently is acting as a border between
the neighborhood of Arbëria that has some thirty thousand residents and the center of the City. The
relationship is then manifested through the emergence of unregulated spaces and fragmented
communication pathways, unmaintained landscape and the feeling of abandonment of the overall
site.
Similar to the previous case study, even though of a completely dissimilar assembly of agency and
context, this zone has been neglected for years. The question remains about the purpose of this
area and who are the actors that enable its substance? However, this case differs from the previously
addressed one because the following territory could create a deeper relation with the actors of
Gaia due to its existing structure and dominance of natural spaces. Except for the structure of the
railway station, the majority of the territory is an assembly of open, unmaintained, green landscape.
Therefore, when having in mind that the surrounding urban framework of the territory lacks any sort
of natural public space, the dominant factor of Gaia becomes slightly more important.
Tracing the territorial actors
With new case, we face a new actor-network which could be traced. The goal is to land in this new
territory which connects to the railway station of Prishtina as it follows the existing rail track along
its longitudinal spread (fig. 70.).
In order to go through their tracing, the process has been supported through methods of observation,
reflection, interviews, surveys, conducted specifically regarding the territory selected on the left from
the railway station of Prishtina. In order to simplify the process of defining the actors, and to account
actors of corresponding attributes within the same parts, as was previously tackled, they will be
grouped following their expressive patterns. Although, the actors are similar to the previous case
study, in the following situation some of these groups will differ. For example, when we have landed
on the bazaar’s territory, the dominant human actors were merchants and the consumerists, now in
the following territory an equivalent group of frequent human users are residents who live in the
dwellings nearby the territory.

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Fig.70. Map of Prishtina and the location of the Railway Station Territory of Prishtina (Edited by the Author)
As it will be scrutinized further, the dominant type of service within the neighborhood is housing
units. Another example of similar attributes is daily visitors who occupy the space, they are not as
frequent as the previously mentioned group, but their presence signifies another wave of actors.
The following case study also consists of 10 actor groups. The nodal system will follow the same
approach as previous case. After having traced nodes which derive from the territory they will be
transferred in a two-dimensional map, representing the complex network which they form. The same
color coding is to be utilized in order to differentiate the groups from one and other and portray
their complexity.
Time
Train stations, in many cities, play a vital role to strengthen the economic and social standards.
Through this direct and fast method of transport, regional and international trading becomes
attainable. And on the same transport system, people, in greater masses, can travel relatively easily
and quickly, promoting tourism, economical exchange, and social connectivity between regions. In
Kosovo, though the train industry is not quite significant, existing rail tracks have been used from
the first part of the 20th Century. The first railway line was built under Turkish guidance, whereas
the building of the Prishtina station was opened in the year 1936.
The management of the railways in Kosovo are operated currently by the ‘Trainkos’ company, which
is split into two public companies: Trainkos for traffic management and Infrakos for rail
maintenance. Trainkos operates 430 km of railway in Kosovo. Currently, Government of Kosovo is
planning new investments for the railway with particular attention towards the south – north route
from Hani i Elezit to Leshak which constitutes part of the Pan-European corridor (Railway Station,
2020).

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Fig. 71. Train station of Prishtina during the 20th Century (Andresen, 2019)
Central railway station in Prishtina is the only station in the city. It is small station with only one line
and two directions. One direction is toward east town Podujevo. Another direction is toward the
Fushë Kosova, or the central railway junction in Kosovo, from where there are connections toward
south, west and north. The building of the Railway station in Prishtina is located along the Tirana
Boulevard in a close proximity to the center of Prishtina. Today the rail is functional only for one
direction towards Fushë Kosova. Concerning the timetable of the trains, there are only two
passenger trains per day. For transport in other places it is necessary to change the train in Fushë
Kosova. The route to Peja is in use because the train from Peja passes through smaller villages and
it is reliable travelers has daily work in Prishtina. Other routes are not feasible.
Fig.72. Map of the railways of Kosovo (Railway Map, 2020)

95
During the Former Yugoslavia, the rail activity was much larger than today. After the conflict in
1999 the Kosova Railways reduced their activity significantly. The furthest reach that Kosovo was
linked to a location in Europe was when through this railway arrived a train that carried 400 tons
of aid for the people affected. It traveled through the entire continent of Europe starting in the UK,
through France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and other countries (Kosovo
Polje, 2020). This signifies that a connection to the rest of the European Nations is possible in the
future, by building upon the existing railway infrastructure, and tracing its physical linear
connection.
Concerning the urban development, moving ahead to the site itself and anaylzing its surroundings
we can notice the drastic change that has been going on, especially over the past 20 years. This
experience can be felt evidently if we compare the two versions of the same location from 2001 to
2018 (figure 73).
Fig.73. The territory in 2001 & 2018 (Edited by the Author)
The construction industry which was carried rapidly after the war favored urban and economic
growth (Vöckler, 2009) as well as, directly supported and encouraged the creation of spaces for
the growing population of Prishtina. New dwelling blocks were required in order to accommodate
these ever-increasing migrants. The visible construction is manifested with the formation of a new
urban environment, which determined the new associations that were being generated from the
different sites.
In this case study, the hil ‘Arberia” which stands in front of the Railway Station used to be an open
hill, sloping towards the city and creating favorable situations for natural habitat. During the last

96
twenty years, this hill has been urbanized and developed into a residetial area. Somehow, all the
surrounging of the railway has lost its traditional character and experienced drastic metamorphosis.
Before it used to be occupied with industrial buildings which served the train station. Today is
partialy abandoned space utilized with minimum level of maintenance.
By learning from past experiences it appears to develop direction towards which the rail system of
Kosovo and the particular territory of the Prishtina station could potentially head. Considering that
this method of transportation carries potential for distributive growth, this node of the city ought to
enhance its value in relation to the rest of actors it effects. The content of a railway station graps in
itself other entities and distributes, shares, associates them throughout the region. Its efficieny and
articulation could serve and benefit the conditions of the capital and further help enrich the
reciporcity of the region. It is why the fragmentation of its state throughout the years plays an
important key in the evaluation of the territory. The elements which have shaped the site to how it
is today now carry the action which could determine the future decisoins in order to achieve this
reciprocal distributive prosperity. It is through embracing time, as an actor within itself, that the site
radiates its informations and allows us to obtain the knowledge which could further help generate
e revitalization of the area. Through a nodal tracing and beyond it, time actors come to play and
signify their unforgetable relationships.
Fig.74. Time actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Railway Station of Prishtina. (Edited by the Author)
Long-term residents of the surrounding area
Many residential and commercial structures that have been erected in the area around the Railway
Station in the past twenty years increased the number of inhabitants. The biggest residential area,
which borders the site, is that of Arbëria, where the majority of buildings are residential ones.
Drastic increase in population accommodates also commercial spaces, such as, restaurants, shops,
cafes, private businesses, stores etc. Another residential district in the opposite from the Railway is
the neighborhood of Lakrishte. This neighborhood too experiences extensive developing programs
again with residential and economic character. The third major part that meets the selected territory

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is a part of the city center of Prishtina. The city itself is very dynamic and its activity attracts people
from the many regions of Kosovo with purpose to provide economic, social, cultural and commercial
services. Regarding the notable buildings, this zone carries the National Stadium ‘Fadil Vokrri”,
Youth Center, Newborn monument, and the former main printing house in Kosovo ‘Rilindja”. The
diversity of these buildings services is what also enhances the versatility of human actors present in
Prishtina Railway Station environment.
The figure 75, shows the selected territory of Prishtina’s Railway Station. The area has longitudinal
shape along the railway from the station building until the Arberia roundabout, which is important
junction that links center of the town with north and west. The location proposed for study is also
acting as a border between the neighborhood of Arbëria and Lakrishte and the city center.
Considering that the Arbëria neighborhood is located from the top of a hill to its lowest part that
passes the railway system, the division between it and the rest of the urban context of the capital
further becomes apparent.
Fig. 75. Districts that border the selected territory of Prishtina Railway Station the surrounding area. (Edited by the
Author)
Actual situation where the railway cuts the movement between the urban areas is making the
residents of this neighborhood feel excluded and disconnected from the activities and action of the
capital. But where there are problems and struggles there is also opportunity. Since the railway

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station and its territory are located in between different neighborhoods of Prishtina, the territory
itself can be reformed to serve as a joint between the three zones. Instead of excluding people and
making it difficult for them to move, it could appear as an interconnection node. Here then, the
voices of the long-term dwellers of these three zones become important group of actants within the
territory. Considering that they occupy the selected territory daily for their personal schedules, their
voices and observations become a key to understanding the struggles of the territory. Diverse
neighborhoods produce diferent movements and by utilizing the existing greenstrip we could have
a transformation of a barrier towards a territory which would act as a meeting point, a public zone,
a shared space for this location.
Fig.76. Residential buildings around the selected territory of Prishtina railway station (Edited by the Author)
Since the local residents are the actors who use this territory to cross the railway and pass from one
part of town to the other, it is crucial to grasp their reasoning and retrieve a visual map to what
extent do things work on the plot, or does they maintain a safe relationship. Unfortunately the place
might be identified as ‘deceased zone’ which lacks a continuous presence of human actors. There
are three major points where people who reside in these dwellings pass through the site. The first
point is at the train station where the people arrive from the novel residencies of Arbëria, the second
is the intersection in the middle of the site that connects Arbëri to the center, and the other one is
by the end of the parcel where the staircases of Arbëri meet the city. Other connection points
contribute to the interaction between the territory, Lakrishte area and the center. Their border is the
street itself and the traffic passing through. Let us then observe these three intersections that derive
from Arbëria. See the following Image.

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Fig.77. Human actors passage through thesite (Edited by the Author)
These three intersections are crucial to tracing the residents. The communication between the human
groups of actors and the structures is constant and continuous. Neither seems to diminish and
retrieve, that is why a feedback between the human actors, and a scrutinization of the existing state
of the railway station infrastructure, ought to be traced and tackled. Therefore, it is important to
discover what are the voices of the citizens who live there regarding the existing conditions. How
do they feel about the presence of the other actor groups interfering with their flow and movement?
What are their main concerns regarding this space, and how do they feel it could regenerate
further?
Their value was discovered and traced empirically through the survey. The results describe the
relationship of the residents to the territory and their feedback regarding the conditions of the site.
The end goal is to perceive how these people identify with this part of the neighborhood, or how
much they care about it. The survey brings surprising result how much the residents of Arbëria
neighborhood cared and were aware of the conditions of the site. Majority were familiarized with
the struggles, and shared similar visions how to regenerate the area. The people who participated
in this survey are extremely positive individuals and very interested to participate in saving their
neighborhood.

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Fig.78: Age of the respondents in the survey - Arbëria neighborhood
There are different age groups with dominance of the younger generations in a neighborhood. A
quarter are kids aged from 0-18 with another quarter of young adults age 19-30. The other half is
divided between middle-aged 31-45 old inhabitants and 46 -100 old adults. Majority of the families
are young with a presence of older generations. These people were driven towards the site through
two major activities: work and visiting the city. Majority of these residents frequently use the site,
minimum two times a day, to cross and travel through for their personal doings.
The opinions of the neighboring residents about the overall conditions on the site and possible
improvements are presented bellow in the figure 79. The results show that most of the opinions
express an unsatisfactory result for the current conditions associated with the territory. A space is
considered unsafe, unmaintained, polluted, and could be labeled as a dead-zone in the urban
fabric of Prishtina.
0-18
24%
19-30
25%
31-45
25%
46-55
12%
56-65
7%
66-75
3%
76-100
4%
Ages of the Long-term Dwellers
0-18
19-30
31-45
46-55
56-65
66-75
76-100
0
2
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Fig. 79. Survey results about the opinion of the long-term dwellers
What opportunities did they see in this space? The dominating request was to define a passage
which provided a safe flow, for everyone across the railroad. For them it is important to create an
efficient communicative platform, which would not risk them from the train’s arrival or the stray
dogs. Next, they requested novel public space or a park, with proper lighting, healthy and rich
soil, a space where people are omnipresent, not simple passengers. Another request was dedicated
to the spatial organization of the terrain, with a transformation of the existing dead spaces towards
ones with frequent users. The following path intersects with the railway station, meaning that the
two actors ought to function reciprocally and independently from each other. Furthermore, a ramp
was requested in order to involve in the fluent motion everyone. Considering that major group of
people are of a minor age, proper playground, cycling paths and outdoor activities were related
to the potential of the territory. And due to the resent experience with the Covid-19 pandemics, the
outdoor activities are encouraged to keep a healthy body and mind.
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Fig.80: Opinion about the final functionality of the area
By presenting the nodes of the actors and their linkage with the studied site (figure 80.), it can be
concluded that the residents come from the surrounding areas with moving in and from the city
center. They voice requested basic communal matter and they are not asking for a tennis court or
for specifically a skate park. They were concerned about the interaction with the train and its
structure, nevertheless, simultaneously aware that maintaining a continuous flow of both the actors
had to be ongoing.
Fig.81. Long-term dweller actor nodes (Edited by the Author)
Green spaces were discussed which could be regenerated towards a healthy park, where living
entities arrive back and proliferate in their multiplicities. Public green spaces were voiced to bring
back the people that left these spaces, with suitable zones for all the ages and activities which
would enhance their health and wellbeing.
Passage
34%
Park
33%
Organization
21%
Ramp
6%
Playground
6%
Long-term dwellers requests
Passage
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Short term visitors
Because of the strategic location this territory resides upon the other visitors who fulfill their personal
requirements. This is the group of people who arrive upon the selected plot from areas outside the
land reach, and who occupy the spaces for less time than the surrounding dwellings. It is then in
the context of the site that these group of actors rely towards a safe, adequate and clean spaces.
The overall territory is under continuous residential development as well as small shops and services.
One major public building that increases the movement of other visitors who do not dwell in this
area is new Pristina Municipality building. Therefore, many people pass through the selected zone
specifically to attend their work, make an appointment in the Municipality, or simply visit the city
center for social, cultural or leisure motives. Considering that also the center of Prishtina is in close
proximity to the territory, the flow of human actors has ever been accumulating. These groups of
actors which arrive on site from someplace, create specific category for their scrutiny. They play a
central role in participating in actions which this zone could provide, an important asset to maintain
a safe environment thorugh their constant presence.
The existing circumstances, of an irregular area (see the figure bellow) shows an unhealthy and
unsafe space for the people of Prishtina, who in some cases confessed to have felt threatened either
by the stray dogs, who move in packs, or harassment due to the dark scenery of the zone. What
seems to be happening from the narrative of the visitors of the territory is that, the diversity of people
exists and they are present, but they choose to neglect the area due to its deteriorating state.
Nobody stops there to hangout; everyone is on the run from it and all they simply request is a
walking track in order to get to their daily activities, as easy as possible.
Fig.82. Fragmentation of the movement, train and people meet in one spot (Taken by the Author)
To understand the fragmentation that has occurred in this territory and its lack of normal connectivity
to the center, the study requested opinion from the non-residents. These people have expressed their
concerns and thoughts about the questions such as: where they were coming from, what brought

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them to these areas, and how would they evaluate the conditions present on site, like safety,
organization, maintenance, traffic etc.? As the answers were expected due to the observation of
the site, majority of opinion is negative.
The visitors of this area show the diversity of locations which these people live. Five to nine different
locations from Prishtina and people from other towns in Kosovo, like Mitrovica and Ferizaj has been
identified. The majority of surveyed visitors were people residing in the neighborhood of Arbëria
from the deeper part of the area. The age categories of these actors are presented in the figure 83.
Dominating age is young one 0-24. Another quarter is represented with the group 25 to 35 years.
Last quarter are adults older than 35.
Fig.83: Age of the respondents (visitors)
The responses from the visitors who pass the area about the overall conditions are similar with
answers from the residents of the area. Majority requested basically organized space, with a
natural life (park) and a need of a proper path which would connect Arberia to the center (Figure
84.).
Fig. 84. Opinion about the purpose (visitors)
0-24
48%
25-34
28%
35-44
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45-54
5%
55-64
9%
65-74
5%
75-100
5%
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0-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75-100
Passage for
people
33%
Park
57%
Public Space
10%
Short-term visitors requests
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Public Space

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Fig. 85. Evaluation by the visitors of the territory
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Considering the above results there is a noticeable pattern of attachment between the citizens of
Prishtina and this territory. Their eagerness to participate in the survey showed a desire to see it
functional. Thus, its character surpasses what the terrain does touch rather it engages human actors
to become the driving agency which seeks a recovery of lost and peculiar public spaces of the city.
The results are noticeable. These people perceive the site and its vast territory as a fragmented
piece of the urban frame of Prishtina, which denies them a smooth and coherent movement, as well
as a failure to provide a spatial purpose for the whole territory.
Conclusions bring forth opportunities that can be approached as we continue to trace actors. The
human actors, in the group of the visitors, or the short-term occupants, have stated their concerns
and their voices. Potentially this territory ought to have an increase in social cohesion might benefit
to create a sense of a more trustful community, with actors sharing norms, values and positive
friendly relationships.
Fig. 86. Short-tem actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Railway Station of Prishtina. (Edited by the Author)
Railroad structure
A relevant actor in the selected territory, now shifting from the human actors to the nonhuman, is
undoubtedly the train station and its rail tracks. Due to its constant activity, the train station together
with its infrastructure is interfering with the ongoing flows, creating unique conditions that are
bonded to the site. The foremost notable in this group of actors are the rail tracks that pierce along
the territory as the structure which interrupts the continuous mixing of people and their movements.
The existing conditions of these tracks also act as a geographical obstacle to the users of the land
around, enlarging the physical border between the two neighborhoods. Through increase of
railway service, potentially in the near future an activity will continuously generate tension between
the safety of human actors and the conditions of the territory. This physical fragmentation, however,
seems to be affecting mostly the residents who move towards and from the Arbëria neighborhood
(see figure below).

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Fig.87. People and train intersection
It is also important to analyze the physical border which acts as a presence of railroad tracks and
prohibits the homogeneous movement of human actors. The existing structure, even it is risky
environment, is usually empty due to the infrequent schedule of arrivals and departure. During the
day, there are only two direction routes currently active that arrive to the station of Prishtina, and
they are in close time between each other (figure 88.).
Fig. 88. Train schedule departing and arriving in Prishtina to Peja and Skopje (Edited by the Author)
Fig. 89. Train in its station

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We can observe from the following schedule table that Prishtina’s train station is quite idle, with
only three arrival schedules, two arriving from Peja at 07:32 and 14:10, and one from Skopje at
19:10. As well as three departures, two for Peja at 07:50 and 16:30, and one for Skopje at
07:10. Upon arrival at the Station, the train continues to follow the main track and switches position
into another track. There are two functional rail tracks on the site, one utilized for the arrival of
trains and the other for their departure. Their purpose is to change the direction which is done by
heading the locomotive forward so it goes in the front of the rest of the wagons and pull them
towards the next destination.
During the move of the train, its passes through the intersections which is used by the human actors
for their movement. Here the circumstances seemed to appear quite unsafe because the Station
lacks any type of barrier or even a signage. A dangerous situation might occur considering these
events, that is why a safety approach should be taken as a priority. The following sequence of
photos shows the moment that the train has reached its destination and is continuing to change its
direction. The first photo portrays the human actors waiting for the train to pass in order to walk for
the other side of the territory. Here the boarder that is being created by the rail tracks becomes
evidently visible. The second image showcases the moment when the train passes through the
human-railway intersection point. And the third image signifies the maximum point that the train
reaches, where manually one of the train workers changes the track direction in order to proceed
towards the next destination.
Fig. 90. Three stages of direction change (Edited by the Author)
Three times a day the train will pass through this intersection and confront the human actors trying
to do the same. However, the train is often away meaning that the border created by its rail tracks
do not limit the flow of people. But, in order to ensure a safe passage for the residents, this zone
could benefit from a railroad traffic light which prevents the flow of people upon the train’s arrival.
Activity occurring from the train station towards the intersecting point, that follows the linear strip of

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the tracks should be protected and separated from the future users of the area, in order to create a
safe environment for usability. Therefore, the conditions of the following actor group bring a
valuable topic of safety in the territory which will have to be slowly articulated in order to possess
the least amount of risk for the future users. Additionally, according to a question directed towards
the former mayor of Prishtina Mr. Shpend Ahmeti, there are no short-term plans to utilize another
direction of the existing rail tracks towards North-Eastern part of Kosovo. This part of the existing
rail track is out of use and completely taken over by dirt and trash. Bellow figure shows these
structures which are completely lost and abandoned.
Fig. 91. Abandoned rail track on the direction towards Podujeva
Another structure that is important for the site is the existing building of Prishtina Railway Station. It
is one of the three interacting points where residents meet the site. Located in the beginning of the
selected territory it serves as a significant node for the conjunction of human actors. It is the place
where people arrive from the region of Kosovo to move through Prishtina. Their first interaction of
the city is through this building that should be treated as a welcoming area that encourages the
spirit of Prishtina upon arrival. These facts make the building a crucial active node on the map and
a generator of vast and diverse actors. The continuous mingling of people cultivates the diversity
for which the site needs and continuously supports the purpose for which the structure provides.
Then, the land on which the building stands earns a positive flux of activities and becomes a
potential active space that brings movement within the site.
Fig. 92. Railway Station of Prishtina

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To conclude, primarily the border posed by the rail track of Prishtina railway station does not
interfere constantly with the movement of people, their activity is continuous and firm, however what
does interfere with their comfort of using such spaces is the unmaintained environment which is
interpreted as a risk to the human actors. The mismanagement and the polluted setting certainly
contributes to the creation of an atmosphere that rejects activity and makes the following space a
mere crossing intersection rather a territory which could be utilized to its full potential. Secondarily,
the object of the railway station of Prishtina, acts as a node which gathers vast, mostly human,
actors and provides them with the first interaction of Prishtina. It additionally guides the arriving
passengers directly to its open territory, people who then generate a diversity of occupants that are
giving a partial life to the spaces.
Fig.93: Railroad structure actor nodes (Edited by the Author)
Dominant objects around the site
The selected territory is located in a very fragile and ambiguous spot. The barrier which is formed
by the rail tracks separates an ever-growing node of the city, Arbëria neighborhood, and the city
center of Prishtina. However, the diversity of human actors does not fail to be generated even
though the communicative pathways are completely fragmented. The producers of these fluxes are
the important buildings located very closely to the site.
One example of these buildings is situated within the selected territory itself, and it is the building
of the railway station. Standing as an object within the urban frame of Prishtina, this building is
noted above all else for two reasons. One, is its closeness to the site, and two, it brings in and out
continuously human and nonhuman actors. Another typological example of influential buildings are
the objects located within the territory of the city center of Prishtina. Evidently, this district contains
some of the most significant buildings of the capital, and with them follows the economic and social
action which is a fundamental requisite for the functionality of Prishtina. These landmarks, or
significant objects, are constantly influencing pedestrian flows, traffic movement, material exchange
etc. and are creating a diversity of experiences out of which many actors operate. They bring forth

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the necessary action, liveliness and energy to raise the required activities within the districts of the
city. To grasp the variety of building structures which are communicating with our selected territory,
we could benefit if we look towards their typological assembly in order to label complexes of
corresponding attributes. Therefore, in order to tackle their formations, I would divide these objects
into four groups, where each is following an analogous pattern, to help categorize their deriving
action.
Fig. 94. Groups of influencing objects surrounding the site (Edited by the Author)
The first group of influential objects marked with 1 are the row houses in the Arberia neighborhood.
This is the old part of Arberia. This part of the neighborhood is unique for its linear arrangement of
houses and its relatively quiet standard of living. Such character of the district makes it perfect
location for the majority of international embassies which are located here. Most of the dwellings
are 2-3 floor residential houses and follow a similar layout to a suburbean neighborhood (fig. 95).
Fig.95: Houses in Arbëria 1

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Disadvantage of this area is its disjunction from the rest of the city. It is evident on map that therail
tracks act as a frontier from the city center. This disjointedness is reflected on the citizens who feel
that Arbëria is further than it seems, forming more of a mental barrier rather than a geographical
one. Nevertheless, on the North-Eastern edge of the territory, the site meets on a pedestrian
crossing, providing a pivotal point of connection to the rest of the areas on map and a direct access
to the selected green belt territory. The second crucial junction is on the Southern part of the selected
area, where the neighborhood meets the greenbelt (marked in red). This is the second point where
people from this part of Arberi can access the site, as was discovered in the previous actor group.
Unfortunately, the rest of the edge meeting the site, is completely separated by roads, where high
concrete load bearing walls create an intricate disjunction. Consequently, this part of Arberia is
limited on these two access points, which hence, become the key zones of communication to the
rest of the territories.
The second group of influencing objects is positioned in the Arbëria 2 quarter (yellow). These are
the novel dwellings constructed in the past ten to twenty years, with major construction still ongoing
today (See Fig. 96). They occupy a hill, which flows towards the valley of the city center. The
typology of these buildings is mostly residential and commercial, besides a building on the very
South-Western edge which serves for the municipality of Prishtina. The commercial spirit of this
novel part of the neighborhood is constantly attracting clients and business, creating a small unique
center of its own. With a shopping mall under construction only two minutes from the selected green
belt, gyms, restaurants, private shops, make this zone a vivid place with a special identity. However,
correspondingly to the first part of Arberia, it is completely detached from the rest of the city.
Vehicles are the dominant transportation mode, almost none of public transport flows through the
new streets, and the residents on foot are forced to improvise a few access points which can take
them to the rest of the city. Therefore, the major activity ongoing on this plot adds on to its
importance as a key part of movement on site.
Fig.96: Novel construction in Arbëria 2

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The third group of influencing objects around the site are the objects of Lakrishte neighborhood
(number 3.). Similarly, to the second area, these buildings are novel construction erected over the
past ten to fifteen years, with major development still ongoing south of the territory. The typology of
these novel buildings is residential for the higher floors, commercial on the ground floor, and with
a few buildings serving as business and economic centers for the area. If we glide slightly deeper
in the selected territory, we can witness high rise buildings reaching up to 30 floors currently under
construction (figure 97). Thus, these new constructions might be benefactory for the following green
belt, for they would provide a much-required audience of people to attend the park, through
different times of day. Considering that the whole surrounding neighborhoods lack any green
zones, the existing territory could utilize this absence to attract public.
Fig.97. Novel construction in Lakrishte 2
The fourth and final group (4.), are the objects in the center of Prishtina. Although, Prishtina might
be a distorted city, nevertheless, it is quite famous for its dynamism, which give it a unique
individuality. Close relation to these landmark buildings gives an entirely different energy of people
to the site. In a 3–5-minute walk from the site is the building of the , ‘Youth Centre’ (Figure 98.). The
Youth Centre is a complex of buildings that covers two sport halls, a trading centre and the cultural
centre. These facilities host thousands of people daily. Next building is so called ‘Rilindja’. Rilindja
used to be major Kosova printing and publishing house during the former regime and is now
rehabilitated for governmental administration. There are two parts of the comples, the eighteen story
tower where the different ministries and agencies are placed and the operational facility of the
former printing house which is only artialy utilized today for the cultural or leisure activities. In the
vicinity of the railway is also the national stadium of Kosovo ‘Fadil Vokrri’, and the NEWBORN
monument, erected after the independence of Kosovo in year 2008. The proximity of these buildings
to the greenbelt, generates a diverse and arbitrary group of people, each following different
schedules, and becomes an asset to the liveliness of the site. Therefore, creating a territory which
serves as a juncture between different areas of the city will only further compact and increase the

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diversity a well-planned city requests. For this reason, it is of unprecedented importance to create
an environment which promotes diverse residents, activities, and communications amongst the
multiplicity of actors from the surrounding territories.
Fig.98. Youth Centre sport hals
We can thus determine from the surrounding buildings analysis, that the objects carry a significant
importance to the activity of the area. Besides the many resdiential units that reside upon these
neighborhoods, the close porximity to the center, emerges continuous flows of activities. Indeed
such actions determine the outcome of the network which is to be traced. Here, the expression of
these elements imposes a radiant activity on the periphery of the territory, and further genereates
communication between the area of the Railway Station and the releveant buildings around it.
Fig.99. Railroad structure actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Railway Station (Edited by the Author)

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Street infrastructure
The streets around the selected site for this case have unusual distribution and therefore impact
significantly the functionality of the site. Figure 100. presents the main lines of vehicles movement
around the railway. The selected green belts, on both longitudinal edges, are relatively highly
frequented roads. The lower edge street, facing the city center, connects Arberia neighborhood
with the center and Lakrishte neighborhood, whereas, the upper edge street, following the Arberia
neighborhood, pierces through Arberia and its residential center to join the districts. These two
roads, together with three other roads which connect to the rest of the city, coming from Northern
and Western parts, meet in the Arberia roundabout. Major characteristic of the distribution of these
streets is their longitudinal distribution and missing of the transversal crossings. Under these
conditions the movement of pedestrians and vehicles is much longer.
Fig.100. Traffic Infrastructure surrounding the territory of Railway Station of Prishtina. (Edited by the Author)
The roundabout of Arberia which is main intersection has been constructed above the railway tracks
that pass through a retaining tunnel (figure 101). In Prishtina, dark spaces or tunnels tend to have
a negative reputation, because of their isolation, dirtiness, dimmed lighting, and underground
location. Therefore, the existing tunnel in order to maintain its strong connectivity, should fulfill the
qualities of a safe location, and further improve knitting various parts of the area. Currently, because
the site has been left unmaintained, and there is no adequate lighting inside the tunnel, the space
has been abandoned and is in poor condition.
The two streets adjacent to the site are vital actors too. Experiencing constant traffic, these two
roads are high of risk for human actors. On one hand the noise produced deeply affects the
residents, and the high-speed vehicles create a constant threat for the safety of the site occupiers.
On the other hand, they provide the infrastructure which commutes people closer to the territory of
the green belt. A good example is transversal ‘Garibaldi Street’ which directly takes public
transport, as well as pedestrians from the center of the city in direction to the site, train station, and
Arberia neighborhood. Since it is one of the rare streets running perpendicular to the railway
stream, it also a bottleneck for traffic especially during the peak time

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Fig.101. Site taking actors towards the tunnel, under the roundaboud of Arbëria
The street bordering the lower (North-Eastern) edge of the site acts as a border between the selected
territory and the neighborhood of Lakrishte. Due to this separation, there is little to none transversal
access to the site. The only two points of interaction are near the train station, the far Northern part,
and on the intersection between the site, Lakrishte and Garibaldi Street. Nevertheless, the presence
of this street provides movement and a higher concentration of people from around Prishtina,
making it equally significant for the flow or actors around and inside the site.
Fig. 102. Two longitudinal streets surrounding the railway tracks
The figure above shows dense traffic ongoing throughout the streets that wrap the territory. We can
here witness the enhanced border like feeling that is being created in between the districts, in
between the people and their arriving destination. The space which we have selected feels
completely detached from the rest of its urban surroundings, and indeed a significant factor of this
separation is the quick traffic following the roads around. The surveys collected also opinion about
the traffic. Even though it did not reflect as negatively as other topics, still the situation remains risky.
It is therefore essential to consult the safety factor and professional traffic designers before
concluding decisions. Cars are dangerous vehicles and are no match compared to other actors that

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is why traffic regulations and an exchange of experiences amongst actors ought to improve the
overall existing conditions of the territory.
Fig. 103. Traffic Infrastrucutre actor nodes (Edited by the Author)
Commercial and social activity
The following group of actors seeks to pinpoint major commercial, social and economic activities
which are generated around the territory, joined to the node of the city center, Lakrishte quarter,
and the novel part of Arbëria. The commercial and social activity of this zone is carried by the
many businesses which are functioning within the objects near the territory. With the growth of
human actors arriving in the capital, so has continued the proliferation of commercial shops. Indeed,
an important requisite in order to supply the demand of human consumption. These stores therefore,
continuously act as nodes which create fluxes of people who then occur in relation with the spaces
of the territory. Another important spectrum of the activity needed to sustain lively and vivid public
spaces.
Another main characteristic of the architectural buildings in Prishtina is the combination of
residential zones and services. Urban zones have been mixed based on their character which then
created a conjunction of activities that limited the fluent functionality of districts. Each residential
zone went towards a combination of the residential and commercial services rather a differentiation
amongst them. This example could be traced in the novel construction of Arbëria neighborhood
where the first floors experience substantial commercial and economical space.
Activities combined with the highly frequented streets could increase the density of these
neighborhoods, making them unwelcoming for its residents. Now nevertheless, this phenomenon
might not necessarily bare only negative attributes. The life of a neighborhood could be activated
constantly with people attending its services through different times of the day. An example which
could be enhanced by the multifunctional character of the Arbëria area, the constant activity
emerging from the services of the city center of Prishtina, and the close proximity of Lakrishte

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neighborhood together with its residents. In the following figures, we can see three examples of the
commercial activity which is ongoing in close relation to the territory. These are stores, cafes,
restaurants, bars, private shops, commercial malls that share a necessary activity of human actors.
Fig. 104. Commercial activities ongoing near the Railway Station of Prishtina
By tracing these activities, we can determine the time at which an action could occur. We can
further designate who are the diverse people who tend to attend such activities and have a more
profound map of who are the human actors that come close to the site. To then finally create a
purpose for the territory that fulfils accommodates to their presence. The figure which expresses the
node diagram, portrays the distances that commercial and economic activity reaches from the site.
This permits the possibility of concluding a space which tolerates and embraces the surrounding
actors, instead of acting in isolation.
Fig. 105. Activity actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Railway Station of Prishtina. (Edited by the Author)
Municipal policies and stakeholders
Municipal policies and stakeholders’ group of actors possess a crucial role in the decision making
of the site. A leading stakeholder is the municipality of Prishtina, a decisive actor which guides
projects and urban interventions in the Capital. The feedback which is received by the actors group

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related to the Railway Station is very imortant for the decision-makers althou it has not been taken
in consideration by now.
The railway station territory, although at this moment in a forgotten state, faced few atempts by the
Municipality and the civil society to revitlize environment. A few years ago there was an initiative
to retake the space through means of art and music. The festival called Meeting of Styles (MOS)
was organized as a means to unify public spaces through wall graffiti, bringing together
communities and people through art events, which further elaborated the existing state of this urban
area.
Fig.106. MOS event in the selected territory (MOS, 2019)
Due to this initiative many young people got to experience the zone for its potential and understand
its possible revitalization, as shown in the following image from the festival. This year there is
another cultural initive that might bring some activity around the railway site under the ‘Manifesta’
art festival. Manifesta will be organized from July until October 2022 placing Prishtina in a centre
of World art activity. There will be dozens of art and cultural manifestations presented in several
sites distributed throught the City. Three of these sites are related to the Railway Station area (figure
107).
Fig. 107. Manifesta plan in green, and the selected territory in red (Edited by the Author)

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A decent example of a similar, yet not quite, project is the New York High Line. This linear strip
was transformed for the advantage of the people to attend numerous activities. If we compare this
design to the selected territory, we can witness a similar plan to the rail track territory in Prishtina.
Rather than the one in Prishtina is a grounded one, where the natural soil for the growth of entities
is present and does not have to be transported artificially. Nature is indeed an existing asset present
on site. Learning from the New York High Line, a longitudinal area as such can strive similarly, and
become a deliberate asset to the Capital.
Fig. 108. Municipal actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Railway Station of Prishtina. (Edited by the Author)
We can see methods that were being utilized to bring people as occupants of this territory. Together
with the purpose of stitching currently fragmented neighborhoods of the city, and the city center,
the selected area emerges as an ideal space for functional improvement. Though, not an
infrastructural development, rather a green area, or a relatively small park, which serves as a bridge
between its residents, nature, neighborhoods and society of Prishtina.
Utility infrastructure
Results from the surveys refer emergent request to improve the quality of maintenance in the selected
territory. From observing the site poor conditions of the land and the environment are visible (figure
109.). Lack of regular maintenance is evident. The quality of a space is deeply represented by the
level of its organization, maintenance, health and safety. For instance, the poor waste management
forces people to throw garbage outside the bins that are usually fulfilled.

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Fig. 109. Existing conditions near the Railway Station of Prishtina
The situation of this area show evidently that the Municipality lacks specific plan how to cover utility
services, especially waste management and landscape development. Therefore, in order to proceed
forward, the following group of actors has to radiate their voices and embrace the important action
which ought to be taken. This way the citizens, the living beings, and the city itself could regenerate
in a version of the physical space which strives in healthy conditions, in adequate spaces which
transform the waste into resourceful material, and in clear environment which enhances the growth
of Gaian entities. There can be no functional territory in any urban environment if the utility facilities
are failing to provide their service. By tracing and following the nodes of these actors we can create
novel perspectives to reduce the negligence of such group. The residing human actors could
potentially team up with the governmental stakeholders and promote healthy conditions which
support life. Together, with municipal mentorship and their policies, these spaces could be
revitalized and maintained following an image of healthy, rich environment for all.
Fig. 110. Utility infrastructureactor nodes of the reach deriving from the territory (Edited by the Author)
The nodal figure expresses the reach that waste material comes to contact from the territory. Every
surrounding building and object, as well as human actors who pass through the space, are directly
responsible and a cause of the deterioration that has been ongoing in the site. A reciprocal
regenerative and distributive growth is necessary for the prosperity of this scale. A reciprocal growth
additionally could stimulate the people to learn how to take care of their environments, in order to

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allow Gaian agency, the upcoming actor group, to take care of them. Together, through the
feedback of utility and its infrastructure, the actors could start to generate a healthy activity among
the network of any territory. Now “wasteful material” becomes a source for planetary regeneration.
Gaia agency
After we have landed in the territory of the railway station of Prishtina, we can finally assemble the
multiplicity of engagements that derives from its space. Now emitting a strong presence is the final
group of actors depicted for this research. The actants of Gaia have laid claim to their rights and
their territory. They are present continuously throughout the reach of the site and participate in
relational forms with all of the above-mentioned actors. They stimulate their well-being as well as
host their actions, and generally support an improved health to all actors, including humans. In
order to find out of the various feedbacks and entities that reside, similar to the previous case study,
the group is further divided into 4 sub-groups, the living entities of the site deserve their separate
investigation, soil volume appears as a basin of life and matter, the water cycles which prohibit the
flow of nutrients, and the gaseous exchange which contribute to the homeostasis of the planet. The
geo-location of our case study makes it adequate to enhance biological presence, which further
can improve the quality of the Gaian entities, as well as the life of the city.
Living entities –
The first group which defines the Gaian entities on the site are the living entities
itself. These organisms possess the strength to grow in even the most remote areas of the planet,
hence why a few are present in our selected plot of land. A few contains a strong case due to it
being a synonym of scarcity, but it is as so, while we concern ourselves with the weak appearance
of living beings on the territory. In general, the green field that we see on the images is fragmented
and occupied additionally with pollutant objects. The presence of such things seems to be affecting
the healthiness growth of beings, where the only natural entities that seem to thrive are wild plants
and stray animals (figure 111.).
These entities are part of the Gaian system, however, the effect of the human factor within these
environments is slowing down and damaging their healthy growth. By turning this space into a
landfill of human waste, the Anthropos is involved in the wellbeing of its actors, simultaneously
feeding toxic ingredients that pollute its soil and limit its living evolution. The current conditions
therefore, act as a barrier to the possibility of enriching the space with diverse creatures. This then
makes the site seem uninhabited by any living creature except for stray dogs, pigeons, crows, and
the growth of wild plants and grass. Additionally, such conditions appear harmful to the rest of the
actors as well, for they could carry various diseases and safety risk. Many conversations with the
human actors throughout the surveys laid eyes on the presence of stray dogs that move in packs
and reside in these abandoned plots of land. There were many reports that due to the lack of food
that these creatures have, they became aggressive and sometimes attack the residents of the
territory. Especially during night time when less people occupy such spaces, packs of stray dogs
roam these lands in pursuit of food. Hence why, conditions like such of the territory pose a double
threat to its entity’s wellbeing, and the residents safety.

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Fig. 111. Conditions of the living world on site
Fig. 112. Conditions where living beings grow on
As for the few present plants which do not participate in the group of the weeds, there are few trees
that have been planted some years ago by the municipality in order to raise the overall greenery
of the area. However, the following image describes the conditions on which these entities reside
upon. By the slow decay of the waste around it, it is hard for the plants to pertain a healthy basin
to evolve. This is a screen that follows the whole site, where proper conditions of life are absent
due to the lack of maintenance and mistreatment of the plot by the pedestrians causing thus
additional disconnections within the biodiversity.
Under these conditions where can future biologically diverse beings grow? Well, the answer is
fairly simple, right there, on the same plot of land together with the existing soil and the human
beings as its honest stewards. The plot itself carries a necessary geological factor, the soil. However,

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the existing conditions might act as a retainer for the striving of entities that is why a strategy ought
to be proposed in order to turn this zone into a healthy space for the growth of all. First, a plan
should be prepared to envision these spaces with what sort of entity could they strive further. Here
would come a detailed analysis and a plan to know which plants would be suitable to regenerate
damaged soil in urban areas, which would further open the way for the growth of a healthy small
ecosystem. Perhaps after, the far most important step is to bring in the human actors, sponsored by
the Municipality of Prishtina and to clean every last bit of the existing waste. This step is crucial to
remove toxic material from the roots of the entities that will host life. The next step is to remove
weeds to allow nutrients to flow towards the vegetables. The weeds have to be assembled
separately from the rest of the waste in order to make way for their composting or be turned into a
biofuel. Next step is to check the soil and rehabilitate it. After the soil has been revealed it could
be regenerated with the compost. Planting, based on the precise landscape design is the final step.
Such territory should cover spaces where humans can enjoy their various activities, running, cycling,
walking, resting, sitting, playing, meeting, public spaces, children’s playgrounds, and with well-
defined borders where Gaian entities can grow independently.
Soil volume –
As it has been previously stated, the soil around the Railway has been constantly
polluted. Under these conditions, there is no network of underground life which further supports
living beings in this area. The existing state resembles a depository waste land, where the Anthropos
is entitled to dump any material that they deem un-necessary.
Fig. 113. Waste dumped right on the plot
This material supported by the molecular composition of plastic will not biodegrade in the years to
come. It will create a polluted soil, by slowly releasing its toxins, and will create a fragmented,
damaged, unappealing environment in which nobody will take responsibility for. Further their
presence will limit the growth of the plants except for bacteria and microorganisms which have
always thrived in any condition. Nevertheless, an example of a biologically diverse space here
fails to exhibit its presence.

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However, the soil is there as material basin which could support living Gaian entities, we just need
to reveal it and embrace its services. By removing the waste that has been accumulated for years
by the human mindset, we can relieve the tension that is brought upon this entity group. Then we
can finally proceed with the required steps to bring back natural agency into our cities. When we
have a territory as such, that does not have any construction permit due to its close location to the
railway and the plot itself is formed of natural systems, then it would be negligence to dismiss the
presence of Gaian entities upon it. Especially when the conditions favor a spacious growth of
required living beings which would only enhance the quality of life for the humans and for the vast
network which sustains life on our planet.
We have removed the waste and have met with a material which accumulates life within its
substance. Now we ought to regenerate it, bring forth to its potential, support the conditions which
it strives upon. As John D. Liu asserted, even desserts could be revitalized to host large scaled
ecosystems (D. Liu, 2017).
Fig. 114. The process of composting, regenerating the soil, and the growth of biodiversity (Edited by the Author)
A similar approach could be tackled as the previous case study, where the residents itself are
participating in creating rich soil basins that stimulate growth and evolution. By adding the compost
rich in nutrients, microorganisms, and mycelium we create a communication amongst living beings
which is in a marginal state currently. Littering is strictly forbidden and the new spaces ought to be
maintained by municipal supervision in order to limit the return to the existing state of the territory.
This way ownership is dedicated to the visitors of the plot, the entities could strive from the volume
of a nutritious soil, and Gaian entities could be regenerated.
Water cycle –
The territory contains no water bed that accumulates water. However, the site is rich
with underground water because it is located in the lowest altitude of the City. The rainfall is
relatively average in Prishtina but the water is accumulated from the neighboring hills in the
underground aquifers. This might imply that the soil nearby it is rich in the possibility to sustain a
healthy ecosystem. Nevertheless, due to the current absence of the water infrastructure, the
upcoming green system of the territory ought to rely on rain water, and eventually on the public
water services. Definitively, the area has not been analyzed and designed to protect and distribute
water resources evenly and requires comprehensive planning to cover this actor. With the creation
of a fungal network which connects the root system of trees and other plants, the rain water might

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provide an abundance capacity to sustain biodiversity. An example of such situation is the forests
in Gërmia hill which grow smoothly and largely without any intervention from the human hand. If
the rain water is accumulated and disposed around the site, there might be enough substance to
host the exchange of nutrients through the roots of plants making the trees itself to act as a container
of the material.
Exchange of gas –
Because the chosen area is already characterized by having no infrastructure,
nevertheless, the green space which is dominant is highly neglected. This negligence by the
municipality has led to the present state of the territory, even though its position is of high value.
The current state of the art is as the following images, with a grassy land, but left out and not
regulated for a proper usage for anyone.
Fig. 115. Site conditions
Bearing in mind that this zone lacks open green space for any sort of activity, it becomes crucial
for an intervention to rethink its potential, and to further halt any construction which jeopardizes the
health of soil and community. The space itself could support the reforestation of a major plot near
the city center of Prishtina. This intervention could possibly lead to many benefits for the future. By
increasing the land occupied by trees, we engage in the micro exchange world of CO2 and O2.
Even though tackled in a minor scale the effect of its introduction could outreach the energy of the
cause. By creating a forested environment, people are sheltered from the intensive heat of the
summer, and gain a micro climate space where they could separate from the quick urbanized
lifestyle. Whereas the entities of the plot could form conjunctions with these organisms and grow
reciprocally by sustaining one another. The trees will distribute the nutrients to grow as a unit,
whereas different animals could arrive back, creating shelters, enhancing biodiversity and creating
a small micro ecosystem, which then could be connected to the future regenerated plots of the
capital.
The participation of living entities, ensures that the regular exchange of chemical reactions occurs
by the rules of Gaia. For it is in these processes that perhaps life on our planet ought to be sustained.
Additionally, the regenerated space could pose an example which demonstrates that any plot of
even urbanized areas could be a space for the various and diverse entities to live and evolve
continuously. The reach that the actors of Gaia have in this territory goes beyond what can be
traced on this essay. The relationships with the rest of natural systems and the pollutant of the

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humans are beyond this research. However, the awareness that Gaia theory provides associates
the necessity to revitalize our living urban conditions. These green zones are as significant to the
healthy living conditions of humans too.
That is why through a simple process of regenerating a lost territory, we could benefit and support
vast actors that derive from the city, but actors that lay their network in relation to the whole planet.
Indeed, supporting Gaia too by bringing it back into our designs as architect and as planners of
the cities of the future.
Fig. 116. Gaian actor nodes of the reach deriving from the Railway Station of Prishtina. (Edited by the Author)
Conclusion of Actors
Now that we have gotten acquanted with the groups of actors of the railway station territroy, we
have earned a much more valuable empirical understanding on what are the requests and the
necessitties of the actor groups. Through methods of survey, interviews, observation and tracing
present and grounded actors we can finally assamble one of many versions of a collective which
is diriving from this particular territory. But, this collective ought to change quickly, with the
possibility of involving many actors which may have missed the assemblying in groups.
Fig. 117. Actor groups and their color coding
We have now managed to form however the first version of one such collective, which will now
help us generate a feedback of what architectural decision making ought to be taken? The following
images portrays the vast reach that the actors have as they derive from the railway station territory.

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Fig. 118. Nodes of the reach of the actors 1,5,6,7. (Edited by the Author)
Fig. 118.1. Nodes of the reach of the actors 2,3,4,8,9,10 (Edited by the Author)
The first group of time as an actor, reasons of the significance that the location of the railway station
has had over the years, and continues to do so in the following Century. It serves as a connecting
point to the regional towns of Kosovo, and potentially could connect Kosovar country to the rest of
European states. The plot itself has developed drastic change over the past years that is why the
remaining green structure ought to be considered as an important asset to the neighborhoods
around it.
The second group of actors gives voices to the many residents who live and reside upon the
surrounding dwellings. Their concerns have been stated by the method of survey and these people
have voiced their vision of how they would engage with the space. The basic requisites associate
to a safe path that would protect the citizens from the risk of infrastructure and stray animals. These
people actively move throughout the site that is why basic elements were voiced to be
accommodated in the space. A park would help people engage in outdoor activities, and
playgrounds for kids would reduce the time which is spend outdoors. By providing these basic
interventions the people of all ages residing around the territory could engage more often with the
site itself.

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The third group appears as an extension of the previous group. These are people who because of
their daily activities engage with the site. They are traveling from all over Prishtina, and other cities
of Kosovo too. That is why their voices pose a significant evaluation to the services of the territory.
Them too do not require much, for they would be satisfied, so far, with basic interventions that
would enrich the quality of the territory. Safe pathway has to be secured from Arbëria towards the
city center, and a park to host various public activities.
The fourth actor of the railroad structure communicates directly with the human actors. The structure
of the rail track possesses a threat to the continuous movement of the people, that is why their
reciprocal configuration ought to help improve their wellbeing. Considering that the train is crucial
to the space, the infrastructure which supports it ought to benefit the safety of the other actors. This
was influenced by pinpointing areas of higher flux where the actors met.
The fifth actor group as well generates fluxes of activities which reach the site. The diversity of
buildings around the territory as well hosts various groups of actors, mostly human ones. However,
their presence is what makes a space successful, that is why the territory seeks to drive these actors
towards it to create a mutual spatial exchange.
The sixth group radiates a risk and a boarder which separates two areas of Prishtina. The high
traffic passing through these almost parallel roads denies a fluent movement for the actors which
cross the territory. That is why limitations on to how this traffic progresses might help create a safer
and enriched environment which allows life to prosper.
The seventh group of actors generates another type of activity which supports the life on the site.
By having various services around the area brings around the requested diverse humans, which
further help enrich the presence of human actors on a plot. An important asset in order to create
safe spaces for the neighborhoods.
The eighth group of actors are the responsible stakeholders for this area to grow. Without the
support of municipal bodies, the area will degrade even more. However, their voices are near it
and aware of the situation. Many activities have portrayed this space as a zone with high potential
to be revitalized. Meeting of Styles festival and recently the Manifesta Biennale have both shown
interest to the following territory, as a space which out to stich the fragmented urban frame of
Prishtina.
The ninth group of actors, portrays perhaps the unsettling view of the territory. With the vast waste
spread all over, the area, it creates an environment which is not inviting. However, once observed
and tackled it could increase the quality that this space so much deserves.
Last are the group of Gaian actants. They have clearly voiced for a comeback upon this plot and
guarantee an improved landscape for all. By a little activity from the public and relevant
stakeholders this group could strive and be an example on how to treat Gaian entities who come
in relation to our cities.

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The actors of the Railway Station of Prishtina are assembled and look to enlarge their voices in the
decision-making of the city planners. Their voices are loud and seek to fall on the right ear to ensure
their evolution. Now we finally can try to translate their voices into an architectural language.

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Part III.
Discovering an enlarged architectural discourse

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Translation to architecture
After having analyzed the actors, who were grouped with similar attributes, the following chapter
and the following tables generate an interpretation of what the actors are speaking and translate
their desires into architectural terms. It is through their perspective, voices, action, energy, or
feedback that the characteristics of their attributes emerge as decisive factors on the architectural
design. By accumulating their substances, we move towards a language that determines more
accurately the conditions upon a selected territory. Knowing that each actor portrays different
requests, it is valuable to compile them together into a cohesive architectural language to further
develop more Gaian and ecological project. The translation of actors follows first the Bazaar case
study and continues with the Railway Station of Prishtina.
Prishtina Bazaar
In the table below the results about the actors who make difference for the Bazaar layout are
presented. The first column presents the actor groups. Second column explains the method which
was used for retrieving their information and presence. Dominant methods used are the surveying,
observation, interviews, and literature review. This collection of information helped to generate an
empirical knowledge about the actors. The third column encompasses the entire feedback that each
actor has produced during its tracing. This column then impacts the fourth one because it guides it
towards the architectural solutions. The last or the fourth column is the translation onto an
architectural language. Its initiative is to create a work frame of important information that need to
be considered in order to apply the requests of each actor during the design stage. Their translation
will then further be concluded in an architectural project in Part IV of the thesis to potentially create
the Gain friendly architecture.
Fig119. The old Prishtina Bazaar (Bazaar, 2014)

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Table 1.
Actors Groups
Method of
Analysis
Actors Feedback
Architectural Translation
1
Time
Document
Analysis Web
Research
Interviews
- Historical development of Prishtina
- Oldest part in the city
- Residents associated with the Bazaar
- Tradition to the natural surfaces
- Cultural, economic, and social significance
- Evoking the eldest part of the city that was
demolished
- Tradition in local artisans
- Lack of changes since the last Century
- Conservation of the historical part as
integrated project
- Regenerate natural approach
- Construct by considering vernacular
traditions.
- Construct using the style of the territory.
- Use local materials for a more ecological
approach for example: wood, bricks,
ceramics.
- Maintain the Cultural / Social / Economical
character of the Bazaar.
- Keep the Bazaar in the area, rather than
relocate it.
- Cobblestone streets.
2
Merchants
Survey
Interviews
Observation
- From the Pristina region
- Travel by cars, bus or foot
- Working time 6d/wk, 8-17:00
- Unsatisfied with conditions
- Unsatisfied with organization
- Bazaar does not fulfill safety measures.
- Lack of maintenance.
- No environmental protection
- New structure is required.
- Area around is much polluted.
- Little or no support from the Government.
- Adequate spatial organization of the
Bazaar and its surroundings.
- Adequate distribution of the goods traded
inside the Bazaar.
- Well isolated from winter and well-
ventilated during summer for cooling.
- Clean environment with waste
management.
- Clean toilets for the merchants.
- Overall, a new Bazaar which follows the
proper work standards.
3
Visitors
Survey
Interviews
- Different ages
- Coming from all around the city
- Familiar with the existing state
- Travel mostly on foot or public transport
- Similar to Merchants
- Adequate circulation for the visitors to
experience the Bazaar.
- Hierarchy of materials which are traded.

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- Unsatisfied with the existing state
- Unsatisfied with the organization
- Indicate lack of safety measures
- Traffic is an issue to solve
- Not well maintained by the authorities
- No environmental protection
- New structure is required.
- Area around is very polluted
- Little to none support from the Government
- Safe movement inside and outside the
Bazaar.
- Waste bins for a healthy space.
- Overall, a new Bazaar which follows the
proper standards and quality of service.
4
Bazaar Structure
Survey
Interviews
Observation
- The structure is at a miserable state.
- Missing proper roof
- Lack of isolation from winter cold
- Polluted state / rodents going around
- Water leaks
- Lack of appropriate toilets
- Existing work space is collapses
- Weak structural system.
- Lack of efficient lighting
- No water management
- Most
of the ground sealed in concrete
- Positive flow of people
- Positive location of the Bazaar
- New structure to fulfill the necessities of
the human and nonhuman actors
- Keep existing spatial layout
- Keep existing move
ment of people
- Form a hierarchy of spaces
- Increase number of stores inside
- Use local materials
- Harvest the rain for usage
- Harvest the solar energy
- Create a sealed structure to maintain cool
in summer and warmth du
ring winter
- Maintain the existing hard structure to
reduce demolition cost.
5
Objects around
the Bazaar
Interviews
Observation
- Important historical landmarks of the city in
the neighborhood
- Potential to collide with old town
- Walking distance from the main square
-
Culturally rich objects and institutions
- Two main museums within 3min walk
- Low-rise housing
- Nearby schools and government buildings
- Ideal zone to preserve and develop
cultural area and promote it as a cohesive
whole and revitalize the old town part of
Prishtina
- Generate a communication between the
museums, landmarks and the Bazaar
- Use the existing infrastructure to minimize
cost in construction.
6
Street
Infrastructure
Survey
Interviews
Observation
- Cars overtake pedestrian sidewalks
- Traffic is
threat to safety of the people
- Traffic increases greenhouse gase
s
- Create conjunction of the movement
- Create a car free road
- Block the Iljaz Agushi Street from vehicles
- Allow emergency vehicles to enter based
on sensors

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- Large parking spaces required
- Pollutes the environment
- People not satisfied with infrastructure
- Specific entrance for goods necessary
- Allow the merchants to bring their goods
based on a schedule to avoid conjunction.
- Block all the adjacent streets from cars
entering the Bazaar.
- Create small parking spaces for people
with special needs.
- Promote public transport connections to
reduce dependency on cars.
7
Municipal
Policies
Interviews
Observation
Documental
Analysis
- Users dissatisfied with public management
- Lack of appropriate maintenance
- Failure to revitalize the Bazaar
- Unclear future plans to integrate Bazaar
within the cultural area
- Economic, cultural and social opportunities
are not fully utilized
- Environmental policies are missing
- Define clear urban policies regarding the
values of the area around Bazaar
- Develop contemporary urban plan for the
area, old town and connection with center
- Improve relations between the Bazaar
actors and the municipality.
- Plan and define new structure
- Develop appropriate public services
8
Material Goods
Observation
Survey
- Three types of goods: fresh food, clothes,
technical accessories
- Majority of goods stored within the
structure other material comes daily
- Goods are supplied from different locations
in Prishtina and outside
- Quality threat due to unclean area
- Infrastructure lacks appropriate facilities to
store and handle the goods
- Create proper infrastructure to store and
handle goods and transport form outside
- Create a division of spaces which support
dairy products, fruits & vegetables, and
other materials.
- Consider application of Quality Control
- Provide spaces to recycle wasted food
(Exp. storage, compost bins, etc.)
9
Utility services
Observation
Survey
- Basic electricity
- Minimal water supply capacities
- Lack of waste-water treatment
- Minimal maintenance
- Lack of waste bins
- Unclear area
- Improvised and unorganized space
- Develop appropriate electrical installations
- Develop appropriate water supply
- Develop waste-water treatment
- Create spaces for waste management
- Create compost areas and use food waste
as a fertilizer for the area
- Place bins for recycled material

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10
Gaia Agency
Survey
Interviews
Observation
- Almost none Gaia entities
- Soil completely sealed in cement orstones
- Land polluted with leaking toxins
- Little to no living non-human entities in the
territory
- Heat-island effect present in hot summer
- Human construction dominant to Gaia
qualities
- Suffocation of the soil pertains the growth
of plants
- Water leaks with toxins into an
underground aquifer
- Rain not well managed
- The presence of cars adds greenhouses
gases
- The electricity from fossil-fuels
- No plants in the neighborhood
- Good Southern orientation of the plot
- Three existing areas of the Bazaar to be
revitalized completely with green
architecture features
- The sealed cement surface to be removed
and replaced with natural materials
- Part of the existing cement surface to
transform into the natural areas(park)
- Close streets for public cars and leave
controlled access for services and
emergency
- Change pavement of the streets with
natural stone
- Add greenery at the streets wherever
possible
- Harvest rain for the reuse (irrigation,
technical water, cleaning)
- A water fountain to be formed to increase
the being’s interaction with water
- Install local waste-water treatment
- Install solar panels to reduce dependence
on the fossil-fuel.

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Summary of the incentives
Based on the observation of the groups of actors and after an interpretation of their impact in
architectural briefing the key steps required to improve the totality of that territory are defined. Each
actor group deployed various requisites in order for them to persist. The main incentive to be
followed is the construction of a new Bazaar which so evidently appeared to be requested
throughout the analysis of all the actors. This new construction should enable architecture that
considers the presence of Gaian entities with purpose of creating natural bodies. Retrieving
territories for Gaia might then lead to a return of natural systems, and a proliferating life for each
actor. However, other incentives were equally determining. For example, the quality of the space,
in terms of organization and healthiness, must be integrated into a coherent plan. Municipality of
Prishtina, is entitled to create feedback, or a communicative line with the space, in order to
guarantee their support and prosperity. Since the facility is located in one of the oldest parts of
Prishtina, the relationships with its history, and historical landmarks and buildings, have the potential
to form a space with unique character that springs from the past. Together, articulating the space
by following the voices of actors, the Bazaar of Prishtina emerges as an environment that seeks to
regenerate the quality of terrestrial life. The following diagram showcases, through semiotics, the
primary feedback which was retrieved to have an effect on the architectural planning.
Fig.120. Semiotic summary of the architectural translation from actors

138
Translation to architecture
Prishtina’s Railway Station
Similar to the previous analysis of the actors, the following chapter aims to translate the many voices
of actor groups into an architectural interpretation. These are assembled from the second case study
- Prishtina’s Railway Station. Actors follow the same numbering system as per Part II. The groups
slightly differ from the previous case study due to the different typologies and characteristic of the
project. The second column is dedicated to the method utilized to retrieve the knowledge and the
understanding of each actor groups. Methods are equal to the previous case. The third and a fourth
columns are also equal with previous example. They are filled with short sentences inside the
columns in order to compile the results. The third column portrays actors, their voices, their requests
and their necessities in the context of existing situation. The fourth column is the final translation on
what the project follow would in order to fulfill the identified necessities and weaknesses. These
main conclusions represent an important attribute which ought to be considered in the project.
The following table aims to translate what is the interpretation of actors towards an architectural
language. The purpose is to create an architectural project that follows and fulfills the necessities
that the actors portray. This then might open possibilities for Prishtina to be developed towards a
more Gaia-n and ecologically friendly design of the city.
Fig.121. Railway Station of Prishtina (Andresen, 2019)

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Table nr.2. Translation of the Railway Station of Prishtina Territory Actor Groups
Actors Groups
Method of
Analysis
Actors Feedback
Architectural Translation
Time
Document
Analysis Web
Research
Interviews
- Economic and social value to the city
- Connection of the city to the region
- Rapid urbanization around the territory
- Commercial-residential infrastructure
- Increase in residents around the site over
the past 20 years
- Consider development of Railway route and
Station in a wider urban context
- Preserve main values: economic, social,
commercial, cultural
- Adapt to the timely changes in the
surrounding area
- Keep the space open with no infrastructural
intervention
- Enable sustainable traffic infrastructure
Long-term
dwellers
Survey
Intervie
ws
Observation
- Opinion of the residents living around
Major neighborhoods: Arbëria, Lakrishte,
City center
- Consider age of the residents
- Dissatisfaction with the overall conditions
- Dissatisfaction with the traffic safety
- Dissatisfaction with the maintenance
- Dissatisfaction with environmental
conditions
- Suggestion to fit the space for the park
- Enable safe passage to connect to the city
center
- In general, develop a new spatial organization
that considers the voices of the actor groups
- Adequate spatial organization for the Railway
Station territory
- Adequate passage through the railroad
- Safe and spacious environment for the
residents
- Plan, develop and maintain the green spaces
- Promote an improved neighborhood
Short-term
dwellers
Survey
Interviews
- Visitors from all over the Kosovo
- Majority requests park and safe passage
- Dissatisfaction with the conditions
- Dissatisfaction with the safety conditions
- Dissatisfaction with the maintenance and
the environmental conditions
- Feeling the space was being neglected
and it failed to pursue its potential.
- Improve overall conditions at the site
- Enable safe and fluent movement for all ages
- Increase the value of the green space
- Increase the presence of human actors
coming from other locations by providing a
well-organized space
- Enable adequate circulation for the arriving
actors

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Railroad
Structure
Survey
Interviews
Observation
- Train interferes directly with the
movement of pedestrians
- Relatively not busy schedule
- Railway Station as a major building,
following its rail tracks
- Interaction with other groups of actors
- Acting as border between neighborhoods
- Undefined safety measurements
- Abandoned rail tracks on one part of the
site
- Connect the railway with wider urban context
- As much as possible, preserve the existing
railway tracks
- Work along the functionality of the train
- Create a safe intersection between
pedestrians and railway structure
- Create a safety barrier between rail tracks
and the park or green areas
- Regenerate the abandoned rail tracks and
bring it to the functional level
- Create a continuous flow of passengers
deriving from the Railway Station of Prishtina
- Enhance general flow of people at the site
while simultaneously allowing the
functionality of the train
Objects around
the railroad
station
Interviews
Observation
- Intensive flux of people and potential for
a fluent human exchange
- Low rise dwellings in the ‘Arbëria 1’
neighborhood
- High rise dwellings and commercial
activity of the new ‘Arbëria 2’
neighborhood
- Residential buildings emerging from the
‘Lakrishte’ neighborhood
- Close proximity to the city center
- Significant buildings around the territory:
Youth Center and trading area 4-5 mins;
Prishtina Stadium 3 min; ‘Rilindja’
Government building; ‘Newborn’
monument
- Create a coherent communication between
the areas with significant buildings
- Bring forward to the site the fluxes generated
from these objects
- Utilize the territory to serve the vast users of
these buildings
- Create spaces which grow the presence of
human actors
Street
Infrastructure
Survey
Interviews
Observation
- Traffic presence poses a threat and a
barrier between the areas
- Traffic produce risk to environment
- Complete the road infrastructure on the
upper side of the railway
- Create a separation between the green
territory and the roads

141
- Traffic actors interfere with the
movement of humans
- Active streets in both edges of the site
- Intersecting connection point of various
districts of Prishtina
- Majority of people are pedestrians,
indifferent to the presence of traffic
- Traffic threats to youth and elders
- Limit the speed of the traffic along the site
- Promote a healthy environment which
minimizes the requisite for cars and vehicles
and encourage cycling routes
- Create more space for people rather than the
machines
- Landscape development potential
Commercial
and social
activities
Interviews
Observation
- Transit state and valuable node for the
fluxes of people
- Active commercial zones in the
surrounding areas
- Diversity of actors with diversity of
requirements
- Probability to grow as a coherent whole
through improvement of the Railway
Station
- Lack of coordination of the activities due
to low level organization of the site
- Create a proper infrastructure which allows
the actors who occupy such zones to engage
with the site
- Grow the reciprocal activity amongst the
selected territory and the commercial activity
- Enable green or natural areas to be
appropriate for social activities
Municipal
Policies
Observation
Survey
- Undefined land ownership upon the site
- Space left unmaintained with no proper
steward of its environment
- A green zone has not been integrated
with the Railway Station
- Request for rail transportation in the city
(Trams)
- Dissatisfaction with the status and
planning of the place
- Feel of isolation by the residents from the
rest of the urban frame
- Work with the municipality to turn this space
into a park and active node for people and
nonhuman actors
- Connect the selected territory with the rest of
the urban fabric of Prishtina
- Grow reciprocally towards a healthy capital
Utility
Infrastructure
Observation
Survey
- Basic electricity
- Lack of water management infrastructure
- Lack of waste management and
appropriate infrastructure
- Design and develop appropriate electrical
lighting and signage
- Design and develop appropriate water supply
and drainage infrastructure

142
- Lack of maintenance around the site
- Major part of the territory polluted with
various wastes
-
- Little to no effort given to create a
healthy coherent zone
- No proper waste management around
the site
- Create proper waste management with
continuous clearance
- Plan and install appropriate system of waste
collection and collection points for recycling
materials
- Promote a healthy regenerated green space
- Enable residents to participate with the
municipality to grow the site together
Gaia Agency
Survey
Interviews
Observation
- Scarce Gaia-n entities
- Soil completely polluted with waste
- Little living non-human entities grow
healthy in such conditions
- Pollution of the area limits the healthy
biodiversity
- Space serves as a waste deposit rather a
green environment
- Presence of rain fall and water collection
- Ideal space for a park which serves the
community
- Close proximity to the natural basin of
the two rivers of Prishtina
- Little to none trees which could reverse
the climate change factor
- Potential to create carbon sinks in the soil
and on trees
- Potential to engage the residents in
composting and revitalizing the soil
- Potential to plant a forest which serves for
the benefit of health to the people and Gaia-
n entities
- Create an urban park which is desperately
needed for the area
- Create continuous urban ecosystems which
increase the presence of Gaian entities
- Introducing soil regeneration techniques

143
Summary of the incentives
Based on the observation of the groups of actors an interpretation of their impact on architectural
tone, it becomes easier to recognize the crucial steps required to improve the totality of that territory.
The main incentive to be followed for the improvement of the Railway Station of Prishtina’s territory
is to regenerate the existing plot of land. This regeneration shall improve the quality of the soil which
later sustains the return of Gaian agencies. Additionally, upon the reorganization of such space,
as it was requested by the people, it has to improve movement of pedestrians, to guarantee a safe
exchange. This intervention specifically helps towards the elders and the younger generations to
have a smooth transition through the urban spaces of the neighborhood. Furthermore, due to the
presence of the railway station and its structure, the spatial layout ought to grow reciprocally
towards the continuous functionality of train-related actors and living entities which pass through or
reside upon the site. The territory itself being in close proximity to the city center, and having
significant activity from social spaces, to commercial and economic factors could further benefit
towards the increase of human diversity, a requisite mandatory to generate healthy and active
public spaces around neighborhoods. Whereas, the municipality should enrich this space with their
funding, in order to create an environment suitable to all the surrounding residents as well as to
grow the presence of Gaia-n entities which are so crucial to our life, as was observed throughout
this research.
Fig.122. Semiotic summary of the architectural translation from actors

144
Part IV.
Discovering a hypothetical intervention

145
Re-thought proposal of the Prishtina’s Bazaar
Fig.123. Ida for the new Bazaar in Prishtina (Edited by the Author)
As we continue to imagine the architectural proposal that seeks to land upon the Bazaar, it is
important to simultaneously ask the following questions in order to find out decisive affects. What
could be the treatment of the Bazaars selected territory, whilst considering the discovered narrative
of the populating actor groups? What are the decisive interventions that give profit, or an
improvement, to the collective of actors in this area? How are the Gaian beings interpolated, or
inhabiting, the rediscovered areas of the Bazaar?

146
Environment morphed with actors
Fig.124. A potential interaction in the territory
The new scenario of the Bazaar explores to be transformed into a space that embraces the pluralism
of its persistent actors (figure 124). This is achieved by giving an equal representation to every
decisive actor group, and unfolding their necessities into an architectural intervention. The actor’s
translation itself guides the project and describes an originality which resides specifically to its
territorial boundaries. Here, the articulation is portrayed through the interaction of various groups.
Primarily a novel proposed Bazaar structure helps sustain the intersections of other actor groups.
For example, the merchants and their products reside and function upon the construction of this
volume, visitors benefit in their movement through an adequate infrastructure, and Gaian agents
proliferate its relationship with the broader actors of the site.

147
An upgraded Bazaar
Fig. 125. Site plan proposal of the novel Bazaar Structure / Scale 1:750
The following figure 125 delivers the spatial layout, in relation to the surrounding buildings and
infrastructure, upon which the Bazaar will stand. This plan indicates that a hierarchy of organization
could designate an upgraded action that preoccupies the spaces of the Bazaars territory.

148
Axonometric perception
Fig. 126. Metabolic Advantages from Solar Radiation
Fig. 127. Metabolic Advantages from Rain Water Harvesting
Considering the position and the orientation of the parcel of the Bazaar, and while accounting the
amount of solar radiation and rain fall that accumulates within this geo-location, the metabolic
approach ought to take advantage of these two phenomena by harvesting their substance and
utilizing it for an ecological vision of the building (Fig. 126 & Fig. 127.).

149
Fig. 128: Bazaar Spatial Service Reorganization
Fig. 129. Increase in soil permeability due to the radical growth of Tree Agency
By distributing the materials traded upon the Bazaar, a matrix of products is displaced throughout
the building, creating a subtle arrangement of the services and distributing them in an improved
spatial organization (figure 128). Whereas, the final axonometric in figure 129 depicts an increase
in the existence of natural agencies by creating a symbiosis between the built environment and
Gaia.

150
Bazaar structure
Fig. 130. Exploded Axonometric
The proposed structure carries within it an authentic and vernacular typology. The novel Bazaar
embraces the local methods of construction and considers the materiality which is to be used for
building. The main construction material is timber to imply into architecture a carbon neutral
material. Timber is used to create the load-bearing frame of the bazaar, and additionally to create
the interior partitions of the trading stands. The roof is composed of locally sourced and traditionally
made clay tiles. The walls are filled with compressed hay to provide an insulating layer. And lastly
the façade is coated with lime plaster to distinguish the traditional Albanian construction.

151
Fig. 131. Axonometric Detail. & Fig.99. Cross Section 1:200 scale

152
Gaian agency
Fig. 132. Feedback loops emerging from Gaia
This crucial group of agencies is identified as a determining actor-network that seeks to confront the
orthodox method of planning by positioning itself as a dominant, unavoidable process in the
discourse of architecture. Gaian actors with their voracious beings, take their place in the plot of
the Bazaar as leading decision-makers. Through their presence, as was followed in the first part of
this paper, these entities sustain advantage to the proliferation of human and nonhuman life. By
increasing the participation of Gaian feedback loops, the question of architectural built environment
is traced towards the confrontation with the anomalies generated by the Anthropocene. Through
dedicating a specific space for their growth, these entities are encouraged to prosper, in order to
enhance the benefit that is amalgamated with the quality of life that they produce on Earth.

153
Re-thought proposal of the Prishtina’s Railway Station
Fig.133. Railway Station of Prishtina (Edited by the Author)
The second case study, that of the Prishtina Railway Station insists on answering similar questions
to the previous situation. What could be the treatment of the Railway Station territory, whilst
considering the discovered narrative of the populating actor groups? What are the decisive
interventions that give profit, or an improvement, to the collective of actors in this area? How are
the Gaian beings interpolated, or inhabiting, the rediscovered areas of the Railway Station?

154
Environment morphed with actors
Fig.134. A potential interaction in the territory.
Existing scenario of the Railway Station explores to be transformed into a space that embraces the
pluralism of its persistent actors. Similarly, to the previous case study, this scenario, gives an equal
representation to every decisive actor group, and unfolds their necessities into a landscape and
architectural intervention. However, contrary to the previous scenario, it works with the existing plot
without creating any concrete structure. This is due to the typology and the situation of the site,
where a preference of natural entities, that currently reside there in scarcity, is prioritized by the
studied actors. Through an increase of Gaian agency and its projection on site, humans then
additionally, obtain their spatial layouts which recognizes their feedback and turns them into a
friendly, diverse, resilient, welcoming park. This way the arrangement of the plot treats, human and
nonhuman actors, as equally determining factors to its function.

155
An upgraded landscape
Fig. 135. Site plan proposal for the territory of the Railway Station of Prishtina / Scale 1:3000
The figure 135 portrays the newly proposed spatial layout of the Railway Station territory, in relation
to the surrounding buildings and cities infrastructure. This plan indicates the transformation of the
plot towards a multi-activity spatial organization as an area which embraces its diverse actors and
creates spaces that sustain Gain agency and abides to the necessities of the neighboring residents.
Additionally, the squares in red on the site plan are the plots that are detailed through axonometric
cuts. From left to right the figures are equivalent to the top-bottom arrangement on the following
pages.

156
Axonometric perception
Fig. 136. Interaction emerging near the Railway Station
Fig. 137. Interaction contracted within the territory of the Railway Station of Prishtina
The space adjacent to the Railway Station is to be used as a memorial of the Exodus during the
90s war in Kosovo, (Sculpture design by the Author), see figure 136. Whereas the figure 137
shows an interactive space that serves as a friendly park that communicates to the surrounding
territories.

157
Fig. 138. Interaction contracted from Arbëria neighborhood towards the city center
Fig. 139. Interaction between the territory and its two adjacent streets
Figure 138 focuses on the spatial arrangement that recognizes the necessity for an adequate
movement of humans and train actors. It embraces the presence of the train and incorporates it
within the movement of humans. This space serves as an intersecting point between the site, Arbëria
neighborhood and the city center, further increasing the reciprocal reliance between these areas.
The last figure 139 shows the area where the site reaches one of the narrowest points..

158
Territorial structure
Fig.140. Spatial services for the Gaian actors
Fig. 141. Spatial services for the human actors
A novel site proposal contains features that assert a transformation of services in favor to Gaian
agency and human actors. Figure 140. portrays the inhabiting of the plot with diverse nonhumans
which seek to enhance the quality of Gaian agencies, through an improvement of soil, towards the
creation of a bio-corridor. Whereas, the figure 141 defines the spaces that are of benefit to the
human occupying actors. Through the activities created upon these spaces, the territory ought to be
turned from an abandoned strip, towards a land of diverse activities and liveliness. Simultaneously
enriching the natural systems upon where mutual terrestrial well-being depends on.

159
Gaian agency
Fig.142. Feedback loops emerging from Gaia
Railway Station of Prishtina currently, contrary to the Bazaar case study, is characterized with a
relatively high amount of land which has not been occupied from architectural construction. This is
due to the close proximity to the rail tracks and the policies that follow such situation. Thereby, the
Gaian opportunities emerge as leading beings that could regenerate its existing conditions. By
helping them reside there, and increasing their inhabitation, such space could aim to be transformed
into a terrestrial rich zone. Here then, Gaian beings take the role of self-improving the parcel and
articulating healthy atmospheres. They additionally from a linkage with the human residents who
become participants in assuring its well-being. By methods of composting and determining spaces
where Gaian agency evolution assures, the two actor groups could grow reciprocally in symbiosis.

160
Part IV.
Discovering the conclusions

161
Conclusion
Is it possible for the architectural discourse, in order to construct a thorough and multiplicity inclusive
project, to be extended through the involvement of the two theories, Gaia and ANT? Has it become
able to include as many diverse assemblages, that emerge from a specific territory upon where a
project is to be built? Is this version of architectural research able to help shift the perspective that
has been injected by the Anthropocene? Furthermore, can architecture escape the orthodox,
modern, methods of planning, and turn towards a softer, slower, involving, grounded, and
empirical construction?
As long as there are humans alive on this planet, architecture will follow. This profession at the
same time supports civilization development, and be of presence in the network of social
multiplicities. Styles, concepts, traditions, cultures are constantly deployed to enhance the
articulation of architecture, with the main goal of sustaining human habitat. Architecture indeed
protects human’s fragile lifestyle. Such discipline and its nature of creation, springs from a process
of physical material metamorphosis. In parallel, before and after its arrival to existence, architecture
achieves to knit ties upon the mesh of the multiplicities that are deployed by the social spectrum. It
participates in the relationships of entangled nonhuman and human actors. It participates in the
processes and the feedbacks of the planet, that through Gaia theory, entitle a land with sovereignty
that goes beyond public-private sectors, but is supported through the foundations of life. Architecture
here, twitches a reactive-feedback in relation to the action that it produces. It becomes a part of the
flows, transformations, communications, assemblages, continuities, and threads that entangle one
another through vast territories and spaces.
And because it is so expressively involved in these systems, architecture with a physical substance
has the potential to embrace the continuous transformations ongoing on our planet through
implementation of determined, multidimensional, and vast multiplicities. Different modes of
existence, like economy, law, politics, religion, as well as Gaia all push the positioning of any
architectural project towards a node in a collective. Actor-Networks allow the profession to be
traced empirically upon the social mesh. Architecture now increases the number of cycles in order
to relate and trace its action upon the network onto which it is projected. By slowing the step of
tracing actor proliferations, the attached policies now surpass the mono-safety of humans, towards
the magnitude of the collective, that of Gaia. Consequently, this new positioning, of communicative
lines amongst heterogeneous bodies, signifies the relationships that could determine our future
urbanisms. Because these actors, have never been silent, and now are felt and perceived
omnipresent, they become impossible to be mute. The space that architectural project lands is
continuously used, utilized, activated, maintained by them. Architecture is now capable to be
opened to the voices, and movements of these diverse multiplicities. It enters into symbiosis with
Gaia, and most importantly, in this symbiotic evolution, it begins to give instead of constantly
extracting. Now, indeed the humans and nonhumans are able to communicate to the project
through encountering with one another, and capable to express what are their necessities and
strengths.

162
The case studies determined above conclusions. Through the analysis of sufficient information and
actor tracing, the theories are enlarging the architectural perception. While simultaneously, and
this is perhaps most important, architecture is interfering powerfully within them too. They each
share reciprocal feedbacks that has been brought upon there through forms of multiplicities. Hereby
this paper is annunciation that seeks to create a prolific architecture, through the multiplication,
inspiration, the aid of the terrestrial, and of the opportunities the social world constitutes. The
architectural discipline might finally measure if its paradigm could be extended by involving all the
multiplicities that come into contact with it. Entrusting our future planning’s with a novel architecture
policy, new principles if we must. An architecture of assemblies, an architecture of fruitful and
prosperous relations, architecture that fabricates life for terrestrials without damaging or
fragmenting it. It is a heterogeneous architecture! Architecture guided by movements, by
transformations, by breaks, by entanglements, by relationships, a composition of entities, with their
necessities. Architecture becomes the factor of the unity of cities, which maintains its strength upon
its circular or cyclic dimensions. Through this version and perspective of urbanism, why can’t our
currently distorted cities aim to be metamorphosed into their accurate inclusive environment?

163
Appendix
Survey for the merchants of the Bazaar of Prishtina: [
Survey is in English but is to be
translated & conducted in Albanian
]
General information:
1. Gender: M / F / O
2. Age: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Information on how familiar the participants of the survey are with the area.
3. Which neighborhood or municipality do you live in? _______________________________________________________
4. How many times a week do you trade in the bazaar? ______________________________________________________
5. How have you traveled to arrive at the bazaar? ___________________________________________________________
6. How do you transport your goods? ______________________________________________________________________
7. What time in the day do you usually trade? _______________________________________________________________
8. Which day is usually the busiest? ________________________________________________________________________
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1-5, where 1 is extremely unsatisfied and 5 is
extremely satisfied.
9. How do you evaluate, in general, the existing state of the spaces around the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
10. How do you evaluate, in general, the existing state of the structure of the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
11. How much do you believe the bazaar structure fills the security standards? 1 * * * * * 5
12. How much do you believe that this space is well organized for fluent movement? 1 * * * * * 5
13. How much do you think are the criteria for defending natural entities respected? 1 * * * * * 5
14. How do you value the level of maintenance and pollution management in the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
15. How satisfied are you with the presence of traffic in the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
The following questions are again open questions.
15. What do you think, which would be the necessary interventions to improve the functionality in the bazaar?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
16. Which necessities would be fulfilled by the intervention you are proposing? __________________________________
17. In terms of your proposed intervention, what urban elements would bring additional value, or higher occupancy in
the area? _______________________________________________________________________________________________
18. What do you think, are the activities of the main actors, that transform this area into a territory for everyone to use?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

164
Survey for the visitors at the Bazaar of Prishtina: [
Survey is in English but is to be translated &
conducted in Albanian
]
General information:
1. Gender: M / F / O
2. Age: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Profession: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Information on how familiar the participants of the survey are with the area.
4. Which neighborhood do you live in? ____________________________________________________________________
5. How often do you visit the bazaar? ______________________________________________________________________
6 How have you traveled to arrive at the bazaar? ____________________________________________________________
7.How familiarized are you with the area around the bazaar? ________________________________________________
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1-5, where 1 is extremely unsatisfied and 5 is
extremely satisfied.
8. How do you evaluate, in general, the existing state of the spaces around the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
9. How do you evaluate, in general, the existing state of the structure of the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
10. How much do you believe the bazaar structure fills the security standards? 1 * * * * * 5
11. How much do you believe that this space is well organized for fluent movement? 1 * * * * * 5
12. How much do you think are the criteria for defending natural entities respected? 1 * * * * * 5
13. How do you value the level of maintenance and pollution management in the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
14. How satisfied are you with the presence of traffic in the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
15. How satisfied are you with the service provided from the merchants in the bazaar? 1 * * * * * 5
The following questions are again open questions.
16. What do you think, which would be the necessary interventions to improve the functionality in the bazaar?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
17. Which necessities would be fulfilled by the intervention you are proposing? __________________________________
18. In terms of your proposed intervention, what urban elements would bring additional value, or higher occupancy in
the area? ______________________________________________________________________________________________
19. What do you think, are the activities of the main actors, that transform this area into a territory for everyone to use?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

165
Survey for the residents near the Railway Station in Prishtina: [
Survey is in English but is to be
translated & conducted in Albanian
]
General information:
1. Members of the family: ________________________________________________________________________________
2. Ages: _______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Professions: __________________________________________________________________________________________
Information on how familiar the participants of the survey are with the area.
4. How familiarized are you with the space? ________________________________________________________________
5. How often do you pass through this territory? _____________________________________________________________
6. What activities bring you to this area? ___________________________________________________________________
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1-5, where 1 is extremely unsatisfied and 5 is
extremely satisfied.
7. How do you evaluate, in general, the existing state of the spaces in this area? 1 * * * * * 5
8. How much do you believe this space fills the security standards? 1 * * * * * 5
9. How much do you believe that this space is well organized for fluent movement? 1 * * * * * 5
10. How much do you think are the criteria for defending natural entities respected? 1 * * * * * 5
11. How do you value the level of maintenance and pollution management in this space? 1 * * * * * 5
12. In which level do you value the traffic around the site? 1 * * * * * 5
The following questions are again open questions.
13. What do you think, what would be the proper function for this area? ________________________________________
14. Which necessities would be fulfilled by the function you are proposing? _____________________________________
15. In terms of your proposed function, what urban elements would bring additional value, or higher occupancy in the
area?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
16. What do you think, are the activities of the main actors, that transform this area into a territory for everyone to use?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

166
Survey for the visitors at the Railway Station in Prishtina: [
Survey is in English but is to be
translated & conducted in Albanian
]
General information:
1. Gender: M / F / O
2. Age: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Profession: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Information on how familiar the participants of the survey are with the area.
4. Which neighborhood do you live in? ____________________________________________________________________
5. How familiarized are you with the space? ________________________________________________________________
6. How often do you pass through this territory? _____________________________________________________________
7. What activities bring you to this area? ___________________________________________________________________
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1-5, where 1 is extremely unsatisfied and 5 is
extremely satisfied.
8. How do you evaluate, in general, the existing state of the spaces in this area? 1 * * * * * 5
9. How much do you believe this space fills the security standards? 1 * * * * * 5
10. How much do you believe that this space is well organized for fluent movement? 1 * * * * * 5
11. How much do you think are the criteria for defending natural entities respected? 1 * * * * * 5
12. How do you value the level of maintenance and pollution management in this space? 1 * * * * * 5
13. In which level do you value the traffic around the site? 1 * * * * * 5
The following questions are again open questions.
14. What do you think, what would be the proper function for this area? ________________________________________
15. Which necessities would be fulfilled by the function you are proposing? _____________________________________
16. In terms of your proposed function, what urban elements would bring additional value, or higher occupancy in the
area?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
17. What do you think, are the activities of the main actors, that transform this area into a territory for everyone to use?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

167
Interview for the architects, urban planners, and governmental bodies.
The first part of the interview focuses on the overall situation of the urbanism in the city of Prishtina.
1. Please, could you tell me what is your profession and what is your actual position in your workplace?
2. Could you share a few information’s regarding the role that you are practicing?
3.Could you describe, in a few words, your professional opinion regarding the existing state of the
urbanism of Prishtina?
4. Could you share a few examples of functional urban solutions in Prishtina?
5. Could you share a few examples of non-functional urban solutions in Prishtina?
The second part of the interview focuses specifically upon two independent urban scenarios (Photo):
1. Prishtina’s Bazaar, &
2. Prishtina’s Railway Station.
Primarily we will discuss the Bazaar of the city and its surrounding space!
6. Are you familiarized with the existing situation of the Bazaar of Prishtina and its surrounding urbanism?
7. Could you, in a more detailed form, describe the existing state of the urban spaces, around and including
the Bazaar of Prishtina?
8. According to you, what would be the mandatory interventions which would improve the overall
situation of the urban spaces within the Bazaar and around it?
9. According to you, who are the main actors that identify and influence the functionality of the urban
spaces around the Bazaar and within it?
10.What are the primary roles of these actors in relation with the usage and development of the urban
spaces around and within the Bazaar?
11. Could you identify the main relations in between these actors within the Bazaar of Prishtina, in
accordance with the usability of the spaces around?
Now I ask you to discuss the case of the territory which spreads from the Railway Station of Prishtina
all the way to the roundabout of Arbëria neighborhood.
12. Are you familiarized with the existing situation of the Railway Station of Prishtina and its surrounding
urbanism?
13. Could you, in a more detailed form, describe the existing state of the urban spaces, around and
including the Railway Station of Prishtina?
14. According to you, what would be the mandatory interventions which would improve the overall
situation of the urban spaces within the Railway Station and around it?

168
15.According to you, who are the main actors that identify and influence the functionality of the urban
spaces around the Railway Station and within it?
16. What are the primary roles of these actors in relation with the usage and development of the urban
spaces around and within the Railway Station of Prishtina?
17. Could you identify the main relations in between these actors within the Railway Station of Prishtina,
in accordance with the usability of the spaces around?
Lastly, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding the natural systems and their role in the urban
spaces of Prishtina.
18. How and how much are taken into consideration the natural systems during the design brief and urban
planning in Prishtina?
19. Could you share a few examples?
20. According to you, what would be the necessary interventions, that stimulate an adequate presence of
the natural systems in relation with the urbanism of Prishtina?
21. Specifically in relation with the Bazaar of Prishtina and its surroundings, could you tell me how these
natural systems are being involved within its urban spaces, and what ought to be improved?
22. Specifically in relation with the Railway Station of Prishtina and its surroundings, could you tell me
how these natural systems are being involved within its urban spaces, and what ought to be improved?
Thank you kindly for your time!

169
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Artmann, M. (2014) Assessment of Soil Sealing Management Responses, Strategies, and Targets Toward
Ecologically Sustainable Urban Land Use Management.
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