Abstract:
In today’s media obsessed societies, the widespread appropriation of
the image has deceived the modern human into believing the fabricated
experiences of a simulated world. Once used as a medium to reflect reality,
the image has been subverted and undermined by an aestheticised hyper
reality sustained through social media platforms such as Instagram. It is in this
process of aestheticisation that the image succeeds in objectifying the very real
experiences it once sought to capture. In a society inundated with images, the
uncritical privileging of the aesthetic comes to influence the values of a culture
“dominated by simulation.”
With the advent of virtual/augmented realities creeping into architecture, a culture
of simulation risks creating an environment where “all that was once directly
lived, has become mere representation.” When representation is premised
on aestheticised imagery, the discipline of architecture risks acquiescing to
ocularcentric design standards by privileging the visual at the expense of a
more multi-sensory and embodied experience, thereby abstracting the body
from reality. Consequently, architecture which fixates itself with the aesthetic,
becomes problematic for its potential to alienate its users from holistically
participating within its spaces. To counter this prevailing issue this thesis is
interested in answering the following question:
In a culture of simulation, how can we use architecture to reconnect us with
ourselves and the lived experience of our reality?
By drawing upon the field of secular mindfulness, my thesis explores how a more
embodied approach to architecture may help the alienated individual reconnect
themselves to their senses, their body and environment. Through a considered
and exploratory approach, this thesis aims to develop an architectural response
which seeks to deliver moments of life that “are concretely and deliberately
lived.” The implications of my research are explored through a conceptual
project which seeks to understand the extent that architecture can be used to
restore balance back into reality.