acase@tulane.edu / Scenic Design and Technical Direction concept and production process for Tulane University's Julius Caesar in 2016 / 1 / Mihai Razvan Plaiasu

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Architecture and Man: Berlin, with all its contradictions sets the stage for my thesis. I would like to receive you with pleasure in the reading of my drawings. To receive guests is a psychological proviso in which you invite them into the privacy of your home, a place that is not only physical, as sharing these spheres imply the cognizance of being together. The character of the host or hostess is unveiled not by way of the objects in the environment but via the representation or reflection of him or herself projected into these objects. The reception is in this way an attribute narrated by man's presence, emphasizing as indispensable requirement: the planning by man must include man. The planning criteria must embody architecture and man altogether, keeping in mind that neither may be limited to reducible, measurable canons and codes and notably the plan is just the initiation of a process in which the designer will be the first to leave and that will continue without their supervision or control. The reception is a classificatory division of behavior that is performed on behalf of a community where psychosocial associations generate the closeness found in the private realm. Going to the theater for example, meeting a friend for a theatrical production, and following it with drinks evoke rituals obtained from the first formed activities such as viewing a show and coming together. On behalf of the community these activities allow escapes from the everyday life of work and human relations in the form of little rites. I would like to continue with not only man's presence, but man's presence as an active agent with our built environment. Whether we are conscious of it or not our bodies and our movements are in constant dialogue with our buildings. It is a kind of choreography, if you will. Thus, I would like to give attention to architectural space and the dancer. The dancer and the space inspire one another as partners. Dancers speak of the constant need to find one's center. This is the region of the solar plexus, but the location is not as important as the fact that "center", the inside, must be felt before the dancer may confidently move in space, the outside. This is related to our need to sense the security inside our dwelling place in order to act with courage in the outside community. For me Berlin is like a lost child that is wandering in a marred landscape, constantly being reminded of a tumultuous past. Berlin is lacking this pivotal point or "center" and ultimately is lost to this gravitational pull that our physical bodies have to contend with. A Theater in Berlin was merely a working title for my thesis. It gave impetus to my thoughts in architecture. An architect sets the stage for the human figure. For me there is an excitement here which goes beyond technology to man's role as an active agent. / Master of Architecture