Spatial manifestations in pluralist cultures : the case of the Isleta de San Juan

Abstract

This thesis examines the complicity of architecture with structures of power and dominant ideological agendas in society, which implicates architecture in the political project. I look specifically at the Isleta de San Juan, Puerto Rico as the subject for this investigation. Primary to my discussion are the manifestations of cultural identity in space. I call particular attention to Puerto Rico's need to articulate cultural identity in the face of dominant economico-political ideologies and I discuss existing productive tensions that might help feed a design process of resistance. I re-examine notions of cultural identity currently attached to existing spaces within the isleta by challenging the latent socio-spatial assumptions made in architecture, in order to reveal alternative possibilities for the production of architecture. I have focused on two ways that power defines and impacts architecture: capitalism and historical rationality. I propose that more important than style is how we conceptualize space and how that conceptualization might affect our built environment through a reformed process of design. This thesis connects this inquiry to contemporary cultural and architectural critique as well as historical analysis.