Mediating architecture, spatial perception & memory through simulation and digital fabrication

Summary: This thesis outlines an exploration of the relationship between memory and architecture through the lens of technology. I discuss how memory and knowledge have become outsourced into computers and devices which can change our perception of reality, in particular the architectural spaces we inhabit. The research explores the following questions to a variety of degrees: What is the relationship between space, memory and technology? What are the deeper impacts of simulations on our understanding of space? How can a digital to analog process shed new light on the way digital culture has changed our perception of space? Working from the perspective of my background in architecture, I describe my foundational understanding of the built environment and its’ ability to reflect meaning beyond its functionality and communicate the desires of others. This is related through an anecdotal architectural history of late modern architecture pertaining to the region where I spent the formitive part of my life. I introduce the philosophical concept of Metamodernism and demonstrate how it applies to our understanding of the built environment and how it explains some of the phenomena I encountered in my architectural practice, specifically the idea of depth and authenticity as it relates to our perception of space. I outline the relationship between space and memory with references to Gaston Bachelard and Rebecca Solnitt and discuss how my experience in designing for late life has led to a new understanding of the perception of space and how this is a flexible concept that changes throughout our lives. The methodology I have developed for this research is presented in a discussion about the Digital to Analog process and how that process leads to the production of new knowledge and insights about materials. I demonstrate the process of reconstructing memories of architectural spaces using computer modelling and then the mediation of those models into analog form. The methodology shows how mediation is used to emphasize the gap or fault in memory that occurs over time, and how the medium alters the original. Key concepts that emerged in this research are situated in the theoretical works of architectural scholar Anthony Vidler, new media scholar Timotheas Vermeulen and philosopher Jean Baudrillard. Further contextualizing of the work is found in a comparative discussion about the work of contemporary artists Sabrina Ratte, Jon Rafman and Thomas Demand. The body of work that is supported by this thesis document investigates a range of subjects that, when combined together reflect a larger societal phenomena of Metamodernism and the concurrent idea of ‘creation of depth as a performative act’. The concepts and methodologies examined throughout include the manifestation of memory through digital fabrication, elements of postmodern architecture and the formal language of architectural space, and the attempt to portray the depth of memory but inhibiting that process by imposing mediation strategies.