Home: Conflict and Duality

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the architectural language of duality within the personal domestic context. In the present social landscape, New Zealand is a country swiftly increasing in diversity and therefore is rigorously merging in different socio-cultural discourses. The concept of duality is increasingly present in family dynamics as differences arise from the prevalence of diverse relationships. General disagreements in personal values are made more aware due to the celebration of differences in today's society. As a result, this thesis aims to navigate the hybridity in domestic households by creating a new architectural language that has the ability to unify and cater to the gender, culture, and personal values between two distinctly different people. This project aims to design a successful “home” catering to an imaginary relationship between two 20th century architects envisioned to live in the modern time. This fictional narrative is based on non-fictional people: the New Zealand architect - Claude Megson (1936-1994), and the Chinese architect - Lin Huiyin (1904-1955), who held starkly contrasting convictions for architectural design . The former embodied experimental modern attitudes to Kiwi housing design while the latter designed with traditional Chinese philosophy and Feng Shui principles. Beyond the two architect’s conflicting sentiments on architecture, their personal lives also suggested opposing lifestyles and values. The challenge for this project is to formulate a design which would cater to the prospects of both parties. Therefore, reflecting the wider context of diversity integration in residential architecture.