Abstract:
Situating itself within the process of conceiving architecture, this thesis is focussed on developing a methodology centred around drawing, making, and the space in between. It is not
concerned with a built architectural solution but rather creating a framework which facilitates
an intimate relationship between drawing and landscape. The amalgamation of the open fluidity
found in analogue practice with the rigour in structuring a reflective making methodology nourish the connections and dialogue between line and surface. Critical analysis and reflection are
throughout the phases and their translations within this thesis as a tool to deepen an understanding of landscape. Landscape is a powerful condition which often becomes intrinsic within New
Zealand architectural practice. A mark making methodology drawn from the importance of
landscape: a pursuit of understanding. It develops a making and drawing framework which can
be followed and implemented on a site which the participant wants to create a dialogue with.
Drawing and making techniques are adduced and used interchangeable to create a body of
speculative work which is constantly beginning. The practice utilises making timelines ranging
from the iterative to the deliberate and extended. Between the making phases are divisions of
pause and contemplation which is where the reflective natural of this thesis can be collated and
used as an anchor when continuing the pursuit of distilling the complex connections – chiasmatic in nature – between drawing, making, and building.
As a finalised – but never complete – body of work, this thesis contributes to the formalization
of architecture from an approach which begins by looking inward. It is one which uses the exercise of drawing and making as the genesis to arrange reflective and translative formal composition in landscape. Creating architecture which is deliberate and sensitive within its landscape
is possible through many methods which differ from a built outcome. Architecture can be used
as a response or a representation of a deepened understanding of oneself and the environment
we dwell in.