Unmasking the Wiesner : a technological transformation : this is not a building

Abstract

Introduction: A Technological Transformation The proposition to be argued is that architecture has the potential to reawaken us to the most basic and satisfying nuances of human experience. In this thesis the query is made into possible ways of dealing with technology as it relates to expanding the scope of human experience. Building technology has the capability to expose the fundamental characteristics within things, including natural phenomena. It could be suggested that a psychology of materials exists, which educates people who associate with them. The perception of lightness and light, for example, could be combined in a simple manner in the form of a sun scoop. Technology can through its tectonics "reveal" the phenomenon of building. Mainstream architecture, with some exceptions, does little to offer affordances with which a person can establish a cognitive dialogue. Yet, it is these aspects of buildings that correspond to a person's existing knowledge, and at the same time, offer new sensibilities that can be interpreted and inform one's perceptions. Building: Many architects seek the "safety" of conventional architectural details and materials to mask the tectonics of their buildings and, as a result, tend to dull the understanding of the architectural and tectonic fact of those buildings from the people who use them. The Wiesner Arts and Media Technology Building at MIT, the subject of this study, contains some good examples of the prevailing dilemma. The transformation of the Wiesner will be a critique of the existing building as well as the baseline for testing the assumption that the expression of our technological capabilities in our buildings can reunite us with ourselves and the world around us. Proposal: The objective is to maintain a mapping between alternative ways of addressing the existing building's systems and human perceptions of touch, smell, sight and sound As the author's intention is not to resolve the building as a whole, the proposals made for specific components of the building posit a series of questions which form the foundation for something which transcends the thesis. It is a critical way of approaching the often time intuitive making of architecture. This is merely the beginning of an inquiry which is ongoing and will extend into professional practice.