Category: ARCH 502A: Errors and Omissions

Exploring the oft-neglected facet of human experience, this thesis accentuates the significance of “emptiness” and underscores the primacy of self-reflection over conventional notions of “being affected.” It proposes a methodology that prompts individuals to engage deeply in introspection, perceiving existence through an exterior prism. This transformative journey, guided by one’s senses (lighting, sounds, etc.), transitions individuals from a heightened awareness of time to a state of disregard for it, culminating in the attainment of “emptiness.” Through this process, individuals actively cultivate a profound understanding of experience, embracing personal growth and insight rather than merely experiencing feelings.

Ghosts are architecture. Spaces accumulate errors and edits of their occupants over their lifetimes. Architecture becomes an active but uneven record of intimate histories: from accidental scoffs to full add-ons. Barely legible to the unfamiliar eye, we experience the collective phenomena as ghosts. Discovering forensic evidence can further uncover encoded past narratives. This approach realizes architecture not as static objects, but as a canvas for memories that live, remember, and forget; not unlike their human companions. A process of decay/forgetting and rewriting/repairing is key to situating our stories in time.