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ARCH 502: Quirky, Imprecise, Unexpected 2026

Instructor: Doris Sung

Desirable Side Effect

Summary: Architecture typically treats the physical exhaust of human activity as unwanted waste requiring mechanical extraction. This project flips that paradigm. Through a series of localized architectural inventions, pure form and ingrained material intelligence are deployed to passively intercept these unmanaged secondary outputs. The intuitive acts of everyday habitation become passive engines. Without superimposed technology, a side effect is no longer a flaw, but a catalyst. By re-framing ignored waste, this thesis proves that an unmanaged side effect can produce a tangible, net-positive result.

Desirable Side Effect