Abstract:
Auckland has expanded geographically as its population has increased. In a rapidly growing city, the decisions made in its design are greatly influenced by the power of consumerism and capitalism. Opposing the capitalistic tendencies, theorists like Henri Lefebvre and the Situationists criticized the negative aspects in the urban environment where the spaces become a commodity, highlighting a bourgeois society. Beginning with the desire for breaking the capitalist framework, the Situationists developed their theory of psychogeography, which is a key idea throughout the thesis. Applying the theory of psychogeography, this thesis questions how neglected space in Auckland city can be transformed to become energetic space. In architecture, one of the main principles of psychogeography, the dérive, has been used as a methodology for discovering psychogeographic findings through a sensorial experience of the city to reconstruct the form of the urban environment. The focus of this thesis narrows down from the city scale to a singular built form in order to use the idea of dérive as a design methodology. Analysing precedents, it focuses on how the notion of dérive operates in the architectural work and practice. The Situationist argument for “unities of ambience” is articulated through collecting atmospheres of architecture: the city consists of numerous places, each having its own atmosphere. This ambience attracts people and gets them out of their habitual routine. It gives people an opportunity to discover the extraordinary in ordinary life. The different atmospheres constructed by the integration of intangible elements and architectural qualities provide a wide range of perceptual phenomena to discover a new way of perceiving our world beyond the visual realm. This thesis investigates the potential of the playful sensorial experience in the urban environment. In understanding psychogeography, the design process engages physical interaction between body and space. Thus, the thesis proposes psychogeography as a catalyst for the playful atmosphere in sensorial aspects.