a conscious act

I sat down with my studio advisor, Schnabel, and after checking out some diagrams I had done we started talking about the fact that my thesis project has evolved into a small house built by myself for myself, and that I should just go gung-ho and embrace that fact. Actually the origins for my thesis began years ago, before I ever went to architecture school. I lived in LA and was spending any free time I had learning google sketchup so I could design affordable houses out of, get this, shipping containers and quonset huts, which is not exactly my style now. At least several years of architecture school has taught me something. The point is that I was then and still am now, interested in designing a place I can call my own.

So why the hesitation with my thesis to call it what it is? Well, for starters there was such an academic, philosophical headiness that was instilled in school that you couldn't possibly say that you were simply going to design a small, affordable house for yourself. So what followed was a lot of research, followed by a lot of theories and statistics. Namely, I embarked on an academic investigation. Except not quite. My final thesis book from last semester became a zine (see it here), and my products were all films about my friends and I.

But I've since learned something in the process of doing research and making films and that's that it all leads inevitably back to myself. No matter how I dressed it up it all the projects I undertook led back to me, to my personal history. It's the direction I was heading in, plus it feels right when both my thesis advisor, Nora, and studio advisor told me to get down right personal and not hold back, that I should make it a conscious act to apply this thesis project to myself. So here I am proclaiming it to you all,

                             i am designing a small home for myself

Besides, an anecdotal/personal thesis does not need to lack in the heaviness, importance, rigour of academic theses. In the end, my intention wasn't ever really to write an academic thesis in the first place. It's not my style. I feel passionate about my thesis and a dry, academic thesis wouldn't have sufficed.

Jeff gave a great example about when chef's cook that they taste all along the way (always with the food analogies!). So from now on I'm tasting my way through because there's no better way to see this thesis through then to live it and apply these theories and studies to myself. What better way for me to relate to clients in the future then to put myself in their shoes and become my own client. The same tools I will learn to use on myself will apply to others in the future. Plus I no longer have to imagine what others would want, which is really an impossibility, but I can move on to what I want and why (based on a specific list of criteria I will post about later). What I'll share with you will for the most part no longer be perceived realities but will be understood as actualized realities. I wouldn't want it any other way.

forever yours, consciously,
klara