Spatial Retrofits in between the Domestic Marginal Voids
Despite the waves of technological advancement, the Modern Movement of architecture
stubbornly demands static solutions, limiting the visions of architects to unresponsive and
passive spaces. Consequently, the individual’s rights to pursue freedom and happiness in
space have been deprived. The Modernist’s obsession over uniformity has increasingly
solidified the way of life preferred by the architects.
More specifically, as inhabitants, we have, very much, lived in the margins, in the modernist’s dreams of utopia and zealous pursuit over “thinness” of space. Not only has our lifestyle been marginalized into a stagnant stage, but various panels have also been placed in the physical margins (ie. wall, floor, and ceiling) of our room and ostensibly, their lesser presence is positively correlated with the advancement of technology; besides their structural usage, more and more often, the panels are perceived as two-dimensional elements.
Therefore, “Depth of Panels”, an architecture oxymoron, intentionally operating on three (of many) thinnest panels in a typical domestic setting, challenges to create spatial depth. In other words, the panels which are only the components of our physical space, have been reimagined to be the generator of spatial experiences itself.
The thesis consists of two facets, a physical model of architectural diagrams and speculations on the augmented experiences created through the adjustment on panels.
Pt 1. Construct
One physical desk was assembled, from 3/4” plywood panels -to a spatially interactive installation which stands firmly and change forms. The structural feasibility and adaptability of the desk anchors itself in the present moment as a concrete manifestation of modern furniture of “thinness”.
Pt 2. Speculation
Digital collages representationally describe the spatial experiences projected from the some of the thinnest panels to the interior. The fictitious speculation presented in the collages reimagines the architectural potentials of the existing domestic environment.
A quiet revolution in the domestic environment, therefore, needs to happen, directed by us, the inhabitants.
Following the footsteps of our visionary and brave-hearted precursors in mid-twentieth century, we ask for spaces of adaptable and interchangeable parts, of emancipating and dynamic atmosphere. We want to live in spaces where the needs and happiness of tenants are paramount.
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Note_
Situated in the current COVID-19 circumstances, the thesis also adapted a new method of designing, which aimed to blur the boundary between physical modeling and the digital realm. As a result of the constraint of time in this semester, the thesis positions not as an end to itself but more as the beginning of a new academic endeavor.