This thesis, Luminous Land of Phon, explores how architectural spaces, even interior spaces, interact with nature along different dimensions. Light and sound are the two very powerful elements of nature and are the focus of this study. Louis Kahn once said: "The sun does not realize how wonderful it is until after a room is made." (Source: https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-louis-kahn#GdaYdAIrZ8tmvcyh.97) The question of nature is explored in an urban environment to challenge the tired dualistic division between the human and the natural world. This project transforms the way we think about the urban so that architecture and nature can have great harmony and elevate each other instead of canceling each other. The project is a school of architecture and landscape architecture that promotes fine spaces with desirable qualities of light and sound for the design professionals of the future. The project is sited in the University of the District of Columbia as an expansion of their existing campus and programs. / Master of Architecture / The architecture is a school of Architecture and Landscape architecture consisting of a full scale natural water pool underneath the building, Gallery and shop space under the pool, studio spaces, class rooms, faculty offices, cafeteria, and ceremony halls for the University of the District of Columbia at its Van Ness Campus sited at the Connecticut Ave, NW Washington D.C. The thesis is an exploration of the concept of bringing nature into architecture and a formal study of their harmony with each other, Architecture, structure and construction of the building.

This study focuses on the importance of the quality of space through the introduction of water and its influence on the human reactions. Each space we enter has the potential to create a lasting impression in our mind. In other words, a space evokes emotions and reveals the phenomenological nature of elements such as water. The nature of water is revealed as it is presented in different ways. Each water event seeks to be a catalyst for creating atmospheres for human experience. / Master of Architecture

The rose window is a bridge between heaven and earth, a spiritual encounter, and an expression from within to allow the love of joy. Ornament and beauty are the adoration of light. Layers of composition and layers of light allow form to follow feeling through the structural repetition and thought of light as a material itself. / Master of Architecture

Our life experience can be enriched by observation; acknowledging this as a way of "seeing" can positively influence architectural design. This thesis records personal observation of light and looks to historical precedents in which natural light is revered as an element that both defines space and emphasizes importance of place. The culmination of this course of study is a project for light in which a monumental sundial becomes an amphitheater for the town of Newport, Virginia. / Master of Architecture

Transition is the movement between the past and the future. In architecture, transition is both temporal and spatial. It is the interstitial space where changes happen. A thoughtful architectural transition prepares for journey ahead by intensifying aspects of space and relating it to the before and after. In the analogous the trifold structure of time and tenses, transition could be designated as the present, situate between past and future. Transition is always assumed as a space that connects the two other spaces. The thesis claims that a building functions better with a thoughtful transition. It is based on an assumption that a well-considered transition is an architectural offering to better comprehend change. / Master of Architecture

A church performs many functions. It presents an image; prepares the believer for worship; introduces the unbeliever to God; facilitates worship services; projects the words of the pastor; resonates the music of the choir and orchestra; deepens knowledge and understanding of the faith; instructs children as well as adults; promotes fellowship; shelters the needy; hosts meetings; serves meals; strengthens families; supports missions and ministries; and accommodates weddings, funerals, and baptisms. These functions are performed in obedience to the Word of God. They are expressions of Scripture. In the past, the church building itself expressed Scripture. The cruciform plan of the great cathedrals was the most profound example, depicting the symbol of Christianity. Clerestory windows filled the vaulted heights above the nave with heavenly light. Mosaics, reliefs, icons and stained glass windows illustrated biblical stories. How else can the architecture of the church building express Scripture? How can Scripture inspire architecture? / Master of Architecture

Beauty is something momentary and ever - fleeting, and if it is not appreciated while it is fully charged with life, it will become a memory, and its liveliness will be entirely lost.... Beauty is ever alive, because it has no past, no future, but the present. You hesitate, turn your head, and it will not be there any more... The project is a bookstore, located in a plaza between two high-rise buildings in downtown Chicago.The idea came from the desire to give people a place to sense the ordinary but precious lightness in their lives, to give them a place to read, to dream, to see the life of other people and to feel the beauty of nature. / Master of Architecture

It is in human nature to preserve things and objects from the past, study, enjoy and cherish our history. This need to learn from and cherish the objects from the past has resulted in the development and evolution of spaces such as museums where people can come and see these objects, either to know or learn something or out of personal interest and curiosity. Somewhere in all this, is architecture from the past taken for granted? A lot of the prominent historic buildings have been well preserved and are known to people. But at the same time there are numerous historic structures, story tellers from the past, being ignored and even trampled upon. Should we not look at these also as valuable objects that have to say so much about our social, cultural and technological past? Do they need a museum space as well? Can architecture be housed and preserved in a museum? Or maybe become a museum, displaying itself, allowing people to experience it from outside and within. Watson's Hotel is one such historical building that lies today unnoticed, uncared for, decaying and falling apart. My thesis is an intervention into this urban situation. The goal of the design has not been just preservation but rather an elevation or celebration of the structure, bringing forth its true nature that lies in its structural framework, a cast iron grid of columns and beams. It aims to highlight this essential core of the building by revealing the grid in different spatial conditions. There is also a constant wish to tie the structure back to its surroundings, to bring back the dialogue that the building shared with its surroundings in the past. The structural framework is revealed and experienced in different spatial conditions achieved with the help of geometry, light and material, surfaces added in and around it, and the grid runs through all these elements bold, undisturbed and uninterrupted. / Master of Architecture

Life is a series of moments. Architecture is experienced by a series of moments. Prison is experienced by a series of measured moments. / Master of Architecture

This thesis explores the variety of spatial conditions that can be created with simple planar elements by modulating light. The result is an architectural space in which children better comprehend natural phenomena through the constellation of architectural elements. / Master of Architecture