Observing and analog processes: Engaging in architecture trough a phenomenological practice

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explore an analog design process and how it could deepen a sensory relationship to architecture, both in the way we analyze it and how we assign it a speculative form. My question is: What sets analog design processes apart from other design modes, and what could analog drawing techniques contribute in an increasingly digital context? Would it be possible to better engage human agency and, thus, put ourselves into a more deliberate relationship with the surrounding physical world by better taking human bodily consciousness into account, the basic physical predicament described by phenomenology? My starting point will be the texts of Juhani Pallasmaa, specifically those related to the intersection of phenomenology and architecture. Both philosophers and architects have criticized the rational type of thinking that paved the way for the blessings of modernity, and, at the same time demystified (and perhaps dehumanized) our perceptions of the world. The jumping-off point for this thesis is a look at what could be learned from adopting a more bodily oriented design process by means of analog methods, hand drawing and model making. The theoretical framework for my project builds on the subject of architectural phenomenology and I intend to take this opportunity to dig deeper into the publications of Juhani Pallasmaa and Gaston Bachelard, among others. On a practical level the aim of my thesis is to design a hermitage starting with analog recordings of the chosen site and explore modes of drawing. The goal is to design a building large enough to accommodate one or two people for roughly 5 days. This typology or building will be of a suitable scale to serve as the point of departure for my exploration of the questions raised in this thesis. In a contemporary setting this typology could support a more general phenomenological reflection over life, diving deeper into the bodily experience of existing in space and in the world at large.