The momentary monumental

Abstract

Everyday life has always existed and for its repetitive cycle it is often ‘taken for granted’. Days follow one after another and resemble one another especially when living is bounded to a routine; it is easy to become insensible to recognise the significance of small moments that make up a life. Grounded on Henri Lefebvre’s notion of the everyday, this thesis explores the concept of moment as the in-between spaces in the text, as the opportunity to seize and repose. Momentarily inhabiting within the invariable constancy of everyday life, the intermittent moment exhibits a paradoxical sense of ‘partial totality’ in its transient nature. It signifies the contact with the ‘here and now’ that embodies a sense of presence, alive and connected at least for that moment. Each moment thus conveys an irreconcilable innate quality that cannot be replicated otherwise, and therein lies the monumental value of the momentary everyday encounters. Through the process of designing from the micro scale of moments, this thesis explores the mental role of architecture as an emotive catalyst that inspires to reflect upon one’s intimate identification. The consequent proposition is a building of the in-between, a threshold composed of intimate pieces of reality that helps to confront, encounter and relate to the essential intimacy offered in the everyday.