The Destructive Construction Ecology of the Corridor Vc in Bosnia

Abstract

The Corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a 335-kilometre-long highway that began construction in 2001, yet in 2026 is only about halfway complete. The examination of the nuanced social, economic, and ecological problems that the construction reveals about Bosnia provides insights on how to approach complex architectural sites with contested narratives. A selection of satellite imagery, photographs, and drawings illustrates this complicated entanglement, but when read together offers a deeper understanding of how infrastructural projects can bring both prosperity and ruin. In using a Marxian underpinning to frame the writing with three lenses; borders, capital, and materials, the research portrays the deeply entrenched mentality that centres on difference and worth. The visuals and writing combined demonstrate that ethnic division, financial expropriation, and pollution arise from and guide the Corridor Vc’s construction. As a site relatively unknown in the Canadian context, the research approach deepens the architectural discipline’s understanding and execution of site analysis.