meta-odyssey

My thesis examines and redefines the role of architecture in the modern consumer market where the consumption of intangible commodity have become increasingly desirable. Experience driven events such as festivals, installations, and pop-ups have evolved and hybridized traditional retail typologies, reshaping architecture into a medium for tactility, the interface of consumerism. This project aims to expand the idea of experiential consumption through emphasis on metaphysical elements. Architecture will facilitate the procession through space and time where the user collects experiences through the exhibited ephemeral and stimulating immateriality. Located by Salton Sea in the Palm Springs desert region, the sense of placeless-ness and surreal atmosphere echos the prominence of the experiential expressions through a metaphoric composition of therapeutic and restorative programs such as spa and wellness. The building creates resonance with the user through control of its surrounding landscape and architectural intentions.