MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE
Nicole Li—RAIC Student Medal
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Nicole Li—RAIC Student Medal
About the Awards:
RAIC Student Medal:
For a student graduating from a professional degree program in each accredited University School of Architecture in Canada who, in the judgment of the faculty of the respective School, has achieved the highest level of academic excellence and/or has completed the outstanding final design project/thesis for that academic year.
BLURRING BOUNDARIES: AN ARCHITECTURAL SYMBIOSIS OF HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN REALMS
There exists a divide between the human and non-human realms, imposed by architecture’s spatial definition in which non-humans are suppressed by the modern city. The exploitation and marginalization of the non-human realm continually contribute towards anthropocentric thinking and threaten ecological stability.
This thesis will question the boundaries between the human and non-human realms, by dissecting their components and attempting to negotiate new relationships. Operating between scales, perception, time, and contexts, the thesis aims to reveal the nature that has been concealed by architecture. Seeking alternative perspectives to the conditions of future co-existence will inform the conception of a new architecture which dissolves the binary distinctions between the human and non-human. A speculative future will be drawn to explore architecture’s transformative potential in supporting a symbiotic relationship between both realms, thus offering a critical redefinition of our current reality and worldview.
RAIC Student Medal:
For a student graduating from a professional degree program in each accredited University School of Architecture in Canada who, in the judgment of the faculty of the respective School, has achieved the highest level of academic excellence and/or has completed the outstanding final design project/thesis for that academic year.
BLURRING BOUNDARIES: AN ARCHITECTURAL SYMBIOSIS OF HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN REALMS
There exists a divide between the human and non-human realms, imposed by architecture’s spatial definition in which non-humans are suppressed by the modern city. The exploitation and marginalization of the non-human realm continually contribute towards anthropocentric thinking and threaten ecological stability.
This thesis will question the boundaries between the human and non-human realms, by dissecting their components and attempting to negotiate new relationships. Operating between scales, perception, time, and contexts, the thesis aims to reveal the nature that has been concealed by architecture. Seeking alternative perspectives to the conditions of future co-existence will inform the conception of a new architecture which dissolves the binary distinctions between the human and non-human. A speculative future will be drawn to explore architecture’s transformative potential in supporting a symbiotic relationship between both realms, thus offering a critical redefinition of our current reality and worldview.
