Spatial manifestations in pluralist cultures : the case of the Isleta de San Juan

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-78).This thesis examines the complicity of architecture with structures of power and dominant ideological agendas in society, which implicates architecture in the political project. I look specifically at the Isleta de San Juan, Puerto Rico as the subject for this investigation. Primary to my discussion are the manifestations of cultural identity in space. I call particular attention to Puerto Rico's need to articulate cultural identity in the face of dominant economico-political ideologies and I discuss existing productive tensions that might help feed a design process of resistance. I re-examine notions of cultural identity currently attached to existing spaces within the isleta by challenging the latent socio-spatial assumptions made in architecture, in order to reveal alternative possibilities for the production of architecture. I have focused on two ways that power defines and impacts architecture: capitalism and historical rationality. I propose that more important than style is how we conceptualize space and how that conceptualization might affect our built environment through a reformed process of design. This thesis connects this inquiry to contemporary cultural and architectural critique as well as historical analysis.by Heather Crichfield.S.M