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oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/1588332025-04-07T08:25:28Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023

Clifford, Brandon Yoon, Jeonghyun Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture 2025-03-24T18:46:24Z 2025-03-24T18:46:24Z 2025-02 2025-02-18T17:20:14.398Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158833 Random, irregular, erratic, arbitrary, unspecifiable, and unpredictable—particles. In a post-extractive future, our reliance on standardized materials, continuously sourced through the exploitation of raw resources, will no longer be sustainable. Instead, architecture will increasingly contend with materials that defy standardization. This thesis focuses on these non-normative materials—particles, encompassing construction demolition debris, manufacturing defects, naturally occurring gravels, and locally sourced mineral waste. Ubiquitous yet underutilized, these materials hold potential not only for use, but also for reuse. However, they are often dismissed as rigid and unpredictable ingredients that require precise manipulation and cumbersome processing in order to achieve predictable results. What kind of architecture could emerge if we embraced the inherent nature of these particles, not as rigid materials to be controlled, but as dynamic, fluid entities? By embracing their uncertainty as a generative design agent, how would design approaches and construction processes transform? This thesis presents a catalogue of precisely loose methods for engaging with particles. These methods offer an alternative design approach that moves beyond the obsession with refinement and control over material behavior. By pouring, pushing, reconfiguring, and containing—in lieu of identifying, cutting, placing, and stacking—this series of interactions explores the potential of plurality, investigating how loosely controlled particles can adapt to collaborative construction processes. In doing so, this thesis redefines architectural material culture rooted in rubble, offering a framework to reimagine our relationship with the irregular, the unpredictable, and the overlooked. M.Arch. Massachusetts Institute of Technology In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ Precisely Loose: Unraveling the Potential of Particles Thesis application/pdf Master Master of Architecture Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="fa33bde9-e1ca-44ca-9d7f-bcfba26e512b"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Title>Precisely Loose: Unraveling the Potential of Particles</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2025-02</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Yoon, Jeonghyun</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/</License> <Abstract>Random, irregular, erratic, arbitrary, unspecifiable, and unpredictable—particles. In a post-extractive future, our reliance on standardized materials, continuously sourced through the exploitation of raw resources, will no longer be sustainable. Instead, architecture will increasingly contend with materials that defy standardization. This thesis focuses on these non-normative materials—particles, encompassing construction demolition debris, manufacturing defects, naturally occurring gravels, and locally sourced mineral waste. Ubiquitous yet underutilized, these materials hold potential not only for use, but also for reuse. However, they are often dismissed as rigid and unpredictable ingredients that require precise manipulation and cumbersome processing in order to achieve predictable results. What kind of architecture could emerge if we embraced the inherent nature of these particles, not as rigid materials to be controlled, but as dynamic, fluid entities? By embracing their uncertainty as a generative design agent, how would design approaches and construction processes transform? This thesis presents a catalogue of precisely loose methods for engaging with particles. These methods offer an alternative design approach that moves beyond the obsession with refinement and control over material behavior. By pouring, pushing, reconfiguring, and containing—in lieu of identifying, cutting, placing, and stacking—this series of interactions explores the potential of plurality, investigating how loosely controlled particles can adapt to collaborative construction processes. In doing so, this thesis redefines architectural material culture rooted in rubble, offering a framework to reimagine our relationship with the irregular, the unpredictable, and the overlooked.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>