Explorations on collective order for individual identity--an alternative approach for housing

Abstract

This thesis is an exploration on generative collective order as establishing a physical built framework for individual identity. The emphasis on the collective stems from the premise that while incremental building may be integrative at the level of the dwelling, it may not be so at the urban level. This study proposes an alternative approach to the meeting of the scales in which the relative values and freedoms at th e various levels can be maintained under conditions of transformation. A series of observations and analysis of the vernacular settlement La Pastora are done to understand the principles present at several scales in a context where variety follows rules that are legible and reproducible. The site is analyzed with respect to its immediate context. The context is representative of three systems based on approaches to building at the urban and dwelling levels. The design for the site develops a built framework that maintains the transferable principles present in the context generating variations and aggregations that are associative to individual identity.