The existential significance of buildings is considered with the aim of discovering an ahistorical paradigm for architecture based on the assumption of an ultimate or primary reality which is innate and unchanging. Particular attention is paid to the cosmogonic functioning of buildings through their role as places. Two aspects of the concept of place are considered: that of an inhabited realm which is set apart within undifferentiated space; and, that of an axis mundi about which a habitable world may become ordered. A vocabulary of architectural elements consisting of a chimney, plynth, wall, and roof is then used to pursue these ideas within a design project. / Master of Architecture