An open and flat parcel of land sits as blank as a sheet of paper. The site has neither order nor scale to its presence. A Datum refers to a line, plane, or volume of reference to which other elements in a composition can relate. It organizes a random pattern of elements through its regularity, continuity, and constant presence. For example, the lines of a musical staff serve as a datum in providing the visual basis for reading notes and the relative pitches of their tone. The regularity of their spacing and their continuity organizes, clarities, and accentuates the differences between the series of notes in a musical composition. —Ching The purpose of this design investigation will be the creation of a project which, using the ideas of the datum, will meet all my concerns and criteria as the composer of this thesis. / Master of Architecture