2020

 This project began as a question- What relationships might be found between the human body and architecture, and how might we use these to form a more neutral understanding of the human body? Our culture seems to have a view of the body as something to be idealized or perfected, and I was interested in how I could use design to influence this perception. 

The first step of the process was to find forms which resembled bodily characteristics. I created four sets of characters, in which each of these sets appear to be performing a certain function resembling the human body. They create forms which appear to be intertwined in an embrace, devouring something, or lying on top of one another.

Once I had identified these characters, I was able to apply these traits to works of architecture, creating interiors in which floors appear to be tumbling on top of one another, or walls and columns tangle together in a knot. 

By creating these architectural forms which somewhat, but not quite, resemble the human body, my hope was to create a more neutral view of the human body itself. These characters seem so bizarre and alien, yet also possess characteristics we are familiar with. My hope in designing them in this way was to show that the human body is inherently imperfect, even strange, and to position it in a more utilitarian way- a tool for  performing acts like embracing, laying, or devouring, rather than as something to be viewed as perfect and ideal.