Arrival / departure : architecture of dislocation

Abstract

Our identities are defined by a qualitative set of parameters that are at once universal and site specific. We are, as an old saying puts it, "products of our environment." Our knowledge and our beings are constantly being tested and changed through our interactions, both physical and cerebral, in our environments. Historically this sphere of influence was rather narrow, but as technology and travel have increased, environments have become fragmented; they no longer have clear edges, are discontinuous, and above all, are always changing. I am at once a product of where I live, where my parents lived, where I study, what I have read about, where I have traveled, and where I dream to be. I consequently have many homes, many anchors, and many points of reference. The following architectural thesis investigations study architectural responses to the complexity of the conditions created in individuals and communities through the modern migratory process. Using the theme of ambivalence (the coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings), this thesis addresses many independent and overlapping issues of identity and migration from both the scale of object and architecture. The thesis posits the question: is an architectural infrastructure possible that can allow for communication between migrants and local communities and between migrants themselves that can span time, language, and space? And can such infrastructure protect ethnicity while still allowing to be shared?