Design, Craft, Build - The journey of the self-built

Abstract

Can the act of the self-built create a highly human house? A low cost but deeply personal dwelling, that can enable the growing population locked out of the housing market a chance to create an honest and simple shelter, a place to call home? This thesis is an exploration into the act of self-building. Redefining home as a journey rather than an object. Through design, craft and making, this journey investigates the potentials of self-built small living in the present architectural context. To carry out the act of self-building, the home becomes a simple envelope with sensitively detailed and personal moments. Learning through making anchors this thesis in humanity, for a home is about memories and moments as much as the materials from which it is made. As such, this becomes a thesis centred around reexploring the relationships between architecture, family, and place. Creating affordable and sustainable architecture that becomes deeply personal to the individual and site it rests on.