The Undoing of the Architectural Body

Abstract

Architecture can be closely linked with the human body and often it requires the look into its inner operations. For this analysis to take place, an architectural dissection is required as the body is exposed to the external public eye. It is the investigation of the undoing of an architectural body, to view and analyse. It will be undone in two ways: to cut and to disassemble. Through experiments in both two dimensions and three dimensions, the concept will be explored. Seen as a negative action on an existing architectural system, the undoing actions break down the barrier between the public and private, the seen and unseen. In working with this, the undoing is seen as the redoing. It has a two-fold operation, where it defines as it undefines it. The once hidden is now on display. This undoing is applicable in the architectural context of the art scene: the artists' studio space. It is a personal space, a place for thought and the generation of creative ideas. This is a comparison to an art gallery with the intention to expose the work to the wider public. Through the undoing of the art studios, the two opposing conditions are brought closer. There can be the co-existence of these functions, referred to as the 'studio-gallery'. This undoing is applicable in the architectural context of the art scene: the artists' studio space. It is a personal space, a place for thought and the generation of creative ideas. This is a comparison to an art gallery with the intention to expose the work to the wider There is to be an architectural ending to this thesis. The undoing actions are to be given physical presence through the negative acts of cutting and disassembling, and the selected art gallery is fragmented and opened up as a dissected architectural body. As the redoing, artists' studios are then placed in these exposed spaces, blurring the boundary between the studio and gallery spaces; in result are studio-galleries. It allows the artists' creative process, of the 'hidden act' to be on display to the public, providing an alternative presentation of art. In the context of the Auckland Art Precinct, a linear path is redone by cutting through Queen Street, Lorne Street and Kitchener Street, and establishing a stronger connection between them.