death and life of flora: an architectural exploration of flowers

Abstract

the blooming flower exhibits itself from the cluster of other flowers. its petals open softly and sit harmoniously along the centre of the flower with the stem and leaves protecting it, making the specimen beautiful. • there is a special relationship that exists between flowers and humans, similar to that of insects. throughout history, there is prominent evidence to suggest that we as humans have been attracted to flowers in different aspects correlating to art, architecture and ways of life and being. they are alluringly sensuous, which invites us to get close to them, interact with them, smell them and be with them. these embodied interactions with flora within our everyday lives are catalysts towards creating positive emotions. • when flowers or flora are associated with architecture, society overlooks the significance of the flower with its aesthetic. historically, society associates them as decorative components added to the building as a secondary element. this thesis develops from my passion for sensory floral arrangements and questions how they can be influential to modern architectural construction. • through the methodological analysis of flora and floral arrangement, the research pursues the translation from the unconventional and intangible qualities depicted in flora to the conventional language of architecture. it imposes surrealist characteristics of the over-scaling of flora and looks at the qualitative aspects of them. • in turn, they are manipulated, composed and represented into a living architecture where the design methods emerge from floral arrangements. the result is an architecture that embodies various extraordinary qualities of selected flora, activating an enticing and sensual experience for users where they will become like an insect inhabiting the flora.