Dialogues of abandonment : understanding the metaphysical significance of neglected architecture

Abstract

Ruined and abandoned sites; sites that have ultimately surpassed their defined function, sites that have departed from their initial social purpose; though one should ask, what is their purpose? And have they indeed become redundant to the society they find themselves within? Importance lies in the story these sites entail, of a human event that once took place among their forgotten walls. Once these silent bare sites are taken over by the course of nature, the possibility of new beginnings becomes infinite. This dissertation seeks to understand the ways in which we encounter and interact with decay and destruction, as consulted through literature, a number of interviews and an embodied experience. ln witnessing crumbling walls sprayed with messages, we are faced with far more than meets the eye. These walls dissolve into an uncertain state of transition that question the boundaries of architecture. Through the development of a model which frames our approach to interpret the things around us we may begin to decode the multiple affinities that are at play from the production to the experience of space. This research is driven by interrogating the place of such spaces within our lives and cities. By acknowledging the other side of the extravagant, we come closer to a humbling experience of architecture, one which is stripped off behavioural filters and imposing ideologies, one which allows for a reciprocal dialogue between the self and the space to take place.