Background
» How can we explore a place’s unnoticed conditions and make them visual to work as design informants?
What is this place? One might ask oneself as design work starts on a site. Architects often search for an answer to this question. But perhaps the question should be rephrased to: Who is this place? Understanding the complex and multifaceted identity of a place, we believe, is the foundation of a successful architecture.
Imagemaking tends to be used as representation of results, however the act of representation is even more powerful when used as a tool to drive processes. This, we want to make use of in site investigations. How architecture can differ, depending on whether the elements of the designs are directly, or indirectly, excavated from the site by means of the process, adds an interesting dimension to the reading of the design.
The purpose of the master thesis is to approach a place and its identity in a fun and exploratory way. This is a tool to challenge ourselves and loosen our habitual way of designing and analysing architecture. We have investigated how we can find a design language by interpreting a place’s existence into design informants to reintroduce to the site, which highlights features that may be invisible to the naked eye
