Time and Form: Designing in the Fourth Dimension

Abstract

The human vision for the built environment is characterized by contradictory ideals. Society values buildings that are able to resist or at least mask the degradation that occurs over time so that they can continue to serve their intended purposes and yet, society also romanticizes the fragmentary and deeply evocative ruin that has been completely surrendered to the weathering effects of the environment. Would it be possible to design continually functioning buildings that make the natural and human forces of change manifest, thus developing a narrative that represents more honestly our own fundamental relationship with time? This thesis will investigate how architecture can serve as a record of change in our surroundings and extend our temporal awareness beyond the present condition. To this aim, interpretation center that addresses sea level rise will serve as a testing ground.