Body | Movement | Architecture

Architecture is considered a permanent and solid structure incapable of responding and adapting to the constant changing needs of the user. This thesis questions the static nature of architecture and instead seeks to create a typology of flexible and dynamic architecture which engages the body with the built environment. The thesis focuses on the direct relationship between the body’s movement and architecture to understand how spatial experiences can be created in the built environment. In order to answer the thesis question how can movement be used to engage the body with architecture, investigations into architecture at the micro, medium and macro scale were completed. Two strategies of using movement; the physical and the contained (“conception/perception of movement in the architecture” ) have been explored to understand which strategies work best at what scale. This inquiry into how movement engages the body with architecture was investigated using a design through research methodology . An iterative design process including model making, photography and sketches was used to create a body of work that tests architecture and movement. The results of this inquiry into movement in architecture were three architectural outcomes at three scales. Firstly the design of a mobile installation tested the user’s personal engagement with architecture at a micro scale. Secondly a medium scale house was designed to test how movement could be used to create different experiences in one space. Finally the findings of these two outcomes were incorporated into the design of a macro scale transport hub that used movement to create spatial experiences and engagement for the user. The use of movement in architecture, enables user to have an engagement with architecture through the varying spatial experiences created in the space.