Memory and Form: An Exploration of the Stari Most, Mostar (BIH)

This paper explores the performance of memory and forgetting through the urban palimpsest that is the Old Bridge (Stari Most)in Mostar, BiH. Drawing on the results of qualitative fieldwork done in the city in 2009/10 a framework is established to analyze the site through two axes: one as an object seeped in history and commemoration; and the other through its representation (pre-/post-destruction, monument for reconciliation). Through these axes, the paper aims to understand the role that architecture or form plays in performing urban memory and forgetting.