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This thesis is about the journey of an Acadian “architect” discovering the essence of his homeland in Caribou Harbour, Nova Scotia. This thesis is a way of contributing back to the Acadian community and honouring the Acadian heritage based in the area of study. The results of the dialogue between present and past have been recorded in the following pages and represent the discoveries made along this journey. Observations have been noted of the ancestral heritage of the inhabitants of this place. Visual representations in combination with oral histories and material artifacts have been the main methods in reconstructing and understanding the living cultures of the place of study for this thesis. This thesis also examines questions on the subjects of place, time and memory. Through this examination it is expected that an interpretive portrait of the place known as Caribou Harbour has been created. This thesis also proposes a vision of future inhabitation for the area. This proposal is accomplished through means of an architectural design for several pieces of architecture. As a poetic interpretation of the place known as Caribou Harbour, Nova Scotia, this thesis brings together the current and past inhabitants of the area through means of architectural interventions on the lands, waterfront and harbor waters of the eastern-most point of the now enclosed harbour.

This thesis is about the journey of an Acadian “architect” discovering the essence of his homeland in Caribou Harbour, Nova Scotia. This thesis is a way of contributing back to the Acadian community and honouring the Acadian heritage based in the area of study. The results of the dialogue between present and past have been recorded in the following pages and represent the discoveries made along this journey. Observations have been noted of the ancestral heritage of the inhabitants of this place. Visual representations in combination with oral histories and material artifacts have been the main methods in reconstructing and understanding the living cultures of the place of study for this thesis. This thesis also examines questions on the subjects of place, time and memory. Through this examination it is expected that an interpretive portrait of the place known as Caribou Harbour has been created. This thesis also proposes a vision of future inhabitation for the area. This proposal is accomplished through means of an architectural design for several pieces of architecture. As a poetic interpretation of the place known as Caribou Harbour, Nova Scotia, this thesis brings together the current and past inhabitants of the area through means of architectural interventions on the lands, waterfront and harbor waters of the eastern-most point of the now enclosed harbour.

The aim of this heuristic research is to develop a framework that is relevant and applicable for use in the description and explication of the semiology of Kenyan architectural artefacts from the paradigmatic perspectives of Phenomenology and Critical Regionalism, which are conjointly proposed for entrenchment into architectural pedagogy and praxis within the Kenyan context. The research study is initially situated within the global body of existing research in architectural theory through acknowledging the achievements of selected works of past researchers while identifying pertinent lacunae with regard to the semiology of artefacts1 - including the linkages between Kenyan architecture and its evolution, based on both tangible and intangible multivalent aspects of Kenyan culture, derived from politics, tradition, religion, economics and issues of identity as well as a context-specific history as anchor and an epistemology that favours Afrocentricity without entirely disparaging Eurocentricity and is therefore useful for architectural analysis and evaluation - within the architectural heritage of the Kenyan region. The study then addresses some of these lacunae by adopting an ecosystemic approach, where the historical milestones and key developments of the Kenyan nation are highlighted and structured using a historical timeline in which the various significant epochs are isolated and selected architectural artefacts therein are analysed within the cultural ecology of each epoch. The issues engaged include colonisation of the country, struggle and attainment of independence from British Imperialism, post-independence governance of the country as well as aspects of totalitarianism and pluralism, African Nationalism, culture, statecraft, zeitgeist, socio-politico-economic dynamics and geography which are extensively elucidated and elaborated as appropriate, outlining their roles in the genesis and evolution of Kenyan architectural forms and artefacts. The issues pertaining to the semiology of Kenyan architectural artefacts are then explored from a theoretical position in order to ground the perspectives of the research study within a datum of a broad and integrative architectural theory. The relevance of historicism, typology, language and poetry to the paradigms of Phenomenology and Critical Regionalism is corroborated. The case is presented for the justification of the adoption and inclusion of these two paradigms into the Kenyan context. Existing criticisms and prejudices directed against the epistemological bases of the two paradigms are presented in outline, discussed and evaluated in order to address the extent to which they would invalidate the use of the two pardigms in anchoring the framework that is developed and established herein. The manifestations of the two paradigms within the case study artefact, Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), are exposed and articulated. After a brief evaluation of the present architectural curricula in Kenya, exemplified by the programme at the University of Nairobi’s department of architecture, the methods by which a broader Phenomenology and a more inclusive Critical Regionalism could be co-opted into the existing Kenyan architectural curricula are proposed as a means of introducing rigour in the description and explication of the semiology of Kenyan architectural artefacts and to architectural practice within the Kenyan context. To achieve this objective, it was necessary for this study to consider other aspects of phenomenological philosophy that could be integrated into the proposed (new) curriculum beyond the Existential and embryonic Heideggerian based Phenomenology that was initially proposed and co-opted by Christian Norberg-Schulz. Phenomenology is then presented as a first order theory as well as a second order unitary and integrative theory that can anchor, complement and sustain the practice of Critical Regionalism in Kenya. The new curriculum is presented and motivated. Thus, the semiological explicative and interpretive framework for analysis of Kenyan architectural artefacts is established and substantiated. Further areas of research, emanating from the considerations in this study, are then proposed as a means of continuing and maintaining the dialogue that is initiated herein, through employing the developed framework to build a corpus of the semiology of key architectural artefacts in the Kenyan context. Such a corpus will be indispensable in the training of the next generation of Kenyan architects. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Architecture / Unrestricted

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Understanding of place is fundamental to architects, a complex topic with many layers. The purpose of this research is to explore how architects can answer to the given conditions of a specific site and through the act of making, explore and provide insights as input for a series of Pioneers (design proposals).  This investigation takes place in a rural coastal village forty kilometers north om Umeå, a  tranquil place named Ratan. Six in-situ artifacts are identified and analysed through an extensive iterative process where drawings and models are made along with reflections and theory, constituting an archive.  A pioneer is among the first to explore and to settle in new territory, it can also be groundbreaking in utilizing new methods or areas of knowledge or activities.These pioneers are just that, objects that pushes boundaries and are willing to try new things. The focus lies in unfolding that process and to explore how that understanding can be achieved through a specific process of making an archive. The archive has been used as a conscious tool to reflect and learn. In turn, it has provided insights into the three pioneers to be placed back in Ratan on three specific locations representing different typologies.   The aim has been to find methods and strategies of providing insights to be used into creating thoughtful born-out-of-place architecture that reflects back to its location and surroundings, to learn through the act of making and to involve all senses into the process.  For architects, the outlined process is relevant as it proposes alternative approaches and methods to understanding space. To make meaningful architecture with character, that is both rooted into the past and the future. Perhaps it is true as expressed by Christer Hollinder that we need a historical foundation as not to be fluttery and rootless.

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“It is evident that home is not an object, a building, but a diffuse and complex condition that integrates memories and images, desires and fears, the past and the present. A home is also a set of rituals, personal rhythms and routines of everyday life. Home cannot be produced all at once; it has its time dimension and continuum and is a gradual product of the family’s and individual’s adaptation to the world. A home cannot, thus, become a marketable product.” - Juhani Pallasmaa, 2005 The topic of this thesis is about how a diverse community and the feeling of home come together at different scales, the scale of the city , of the neighborhood, of the street and of home. It is also about how architecture weaves these scales to adjust the boundaries of “self ” and “other”. It focuses on how to transition from the big scale of the city to the intimate scale of home. It examines the walls of home and how they interact with society. Also, it extends the elements of home beyond the intimacy and safety of our bedroom. It embrace mixtures of uses and it seeks to generate diversity. The topic seemed important to me because it is a reflection of the constant movement and change of times. Also, it explores the elementes that make a home. It has always intrigued me what is it that makes you feel at home. It sometimes seems that units are treated like garages that can easily park in and out individuals. In these layouts dwellers fail to feel rooted. It is almost as if they are never able to “unpack”. Finally, it serves personal interests. I am one of many young, early professionals and parents from diverse cultures that move frecuently and seek fertile ground for re-invention and to build a home. In my own search, my inspiration and point of reference in this exploration led me to the Southwest region of Washington DC. / Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture / Department of Architecture / David R. Seamon / This thesis examines the notion of regional identity and connection to place as a means for developing countries to use their cultural heritage, traditional construction methods, and everyday life patterns to create a built environment appropriate for contemporary needs. Regional identity expressed through architectural form not only establishes a connection between people and the space they inhabit but also contributes to conserving the natural environment and strengthening people’s attachment to place. To support this claim, the thesis focuses on two design thinkers who have examined placemaking from a regional perspective: Architectural theorist Kenneth Frampton and his theory of critical regionalism (Frampton 1983, 1987); and architectural theorist William J.R. Curtis and his theory of authentic regionalism (1986). Using criteria derived from Frampton’s and Curtis’s theories, this thesis analyses two Mexico City houses designed by Mexican architect Luis Barragan: his home and studio, built in 1947; and the Eduardo Prieto Lopez house, built in 1950. Using contrasting criteria from Frampton and Curtis, I examine these two houses' relative success in evoking a sense of regional identity. I argue that my analysis of the two houses, first, offers possibilities for clarifying Curtis´s and Frampton’s understandings of good regional architecture; and second, indicates how local tradition might be adequately integrated with global modernity, while at the same time providing a unique sense of place.