Abstract:
This thesis attempts to apply Gilles Deleuze's philosophy of desire to the Hanok of Korean architecture and towards heterogeneous space. Deleuze's work provides opportunity for us to re-interpret space as heterogeneous multiplicity, encompassing and eliciting differences departing away from reduction of uniformity and stratification. Modernists' obsession with space as essence, most prolific through their rational, homogeneous space, has yielded with rise of Post-Modernism where surface and form became the site of meaning in architecture, space being neglected once again within architectural discourse. While Post-Modernism pursued concept of heterogeneity in the name of bringing back meanings to architecture and to communicate with its users, its shift of focus to forms and surface often treated space as residue, the negative of form, where heterogeneity of forms were often left unmediated with its space. This thesis argues that for Deleuze space is not just a locus where production is carried out but is also a product of different relations, of desiring-machines. According to Deleuze, desire needs to be emancipated from lack and negativity as they are originally a productive and generative force of creation. They are the force behind connection/disconnection of different 'desiring-machines' to become 'new' machines. Thus with insertion of desire into spatial discourse, a Deleuzian would argue that space is not an absolute or static being, but manipulative and productive becoming. In order to bring Deleuze's discussion into architecture of Hanok, his work will be juxtaposed with philosophy of Buddhism and Taoism. It is argued the spatial quality of Hanok was directly influenced by the two latter philosophies. Reason for this cross-cultural examination is that while traditional East and West philosophy had radically different approach of thinking styles and thus being incompatible, number of scholars are now suggesting that traditional Eastern philosophies share rather more affinities with contemporary Western philosophies which often provides more pragmatic and heuristic approach and solutions to a task. Thus by working between East and West, I will seek to explore how heterogeneous space articulated through notion of desire can be approached within architecture.