Category: ARCH 793b: Buildings, Drawings, Objects, and Tectonics

Shatter is a technique that can be used in architectural design to create a deconstructivist building that challenges conventional notions of form and structure. The process begins by selecting a base form or shape, which can be a simple geometric shape or a more complex form designed beforehand.

This project focuses on the basic property of deconstructivism, fragmentation, and takes “shatter” as the focus of discussion. Shattering is to use the debris produced after an object is smashed as a building massing.

The fragments can be arranged in different orientations and relationships to create new patterns and rhythms that evoke a sense of movement or dynamism. Some fragments can be emphasized to create a focal point or area of interest, while others can be arranged to provide functional and responsive spaces that consider factors such as natural light, ventilation, circulation, and accessibility.

The one ending of Modernism is Heroism. This should be a dead end and no further believers. Heroism as a manifesto and a paradigm evolving from modernism, is being consumed and evolved into a new mutation/variation: Post-Heroism.

My thesis starting point is not the Heroism Architecture in the past, but the relationship between the old and new heroism, and how this changing relationship could lead to a new form.

In this thesis, architecture is explored through the lens of persona. What if buildings are just as much of characters in the built environment as the people who occupy them? This study will explore two main determinants of a building’s persona; form and materiality. With collage as a way of working and a nod to the exploration of intertextuality, compositions of both form and materiality will be created. These resulting personas will be asked to interact with each other, just as the buildings architects design are asked to speak to their surrounding contexts.