In search of hidden landscapes and new surfaces : fields and filters of architecture

Abstract

Serigraphy is an art print process which consists of a stencil technique. It is assembled through a series of layers containing fields of colors, which are superimposed in a single surface to create an image. Serigraphy is the most vital expressions of contemporary art in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. It represents a vision of a place in its own artificial landscape. The thesis explores the design of a Center for the Graphic Arts in Puerto Rico. The interest of this project lies in the idea of using the concept of serigraphy as a generator for methodologies in the formation of space and reading of landscape. The project explores the connection between graphics and landscape to reveal the fields and filters of architecture. Notions of fields are used to generate new perceptions of the landscape. While notions of filters are used to define spaces through different strata. This permits an interaction between building surfaces allowing transparency opacity and movement. Graphic abstractions of the site create an artificial landscape that generates new readings. In this way the elements of the site are simplified to enhance or reveal the non-obvious or imperceptible. The project explores the reciprocity between landscape and building to discover its hidden landscapes and new surfaces.