Hull of a home: Vessel as refuge and experience
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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Language
en
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112
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Abstract
A sailboat is a place for escape and refuge. When at sea, the hull relies only on buoyancy, the sails on catching wind and the sailor is left in silence, besides the rippling water. Any route is possible amidst coastline and on board there are minimal necessities. My research begins by asking: How can we learn from sailors by creating opportunities for environmental meditation, a shared intimate environment, and preservation of material? I search in my thesis to encapsulate this feeling of freedom of movement, simplicity of experience, and comfort of a personal enclosure to create an experimental spatial structure with possibilities for solitude or social engagement. Collaborative mobile space, like a sailboat, allows one to have agency to control one’s atmosphere and to utilize potential space. The constraints set for the project are motivated by my research of how aspects of sailing experience and culture can be emulated—a stand-alone structure that is easy to carry and assemble, creates an enclosure via translucent textile, and is large enough to accommodate company. Through several spatial iterations, the final prototype structure is comprised of bamboo segments and a spinnaker sail. The structure can be folded to travel and the sail can return intact to its original use. This space-making practice offers a new perspective on material reuse and encourages a proactive approach to infiltrate initially designed and accepted spaces and products. In an age of ecological catastrophe and comfortable standards of living, pragmatic ingenuity needs to be activated and inspired by examples of designerly methods. I explore methods of crafting value in everyday material with a focus on retaining imbedded meaning. I consider how this awareness of material history and potential can effect the quality of daily lived experience. Surrounded by consumerist excess, I feel an obligation to evaluate my real needs and what I can do to extend the lifespan of material possessions as an investment in precious materials. How can I influence the mindset of users to empower their amateur designerly skills to think of future potential of reuse, reinvention, or rebirth to create solutions rather than buying them? This work represents a process of searching for relevant insights into the sailing phenomenon, the effect of space, and feelings of comfort as associated with identity and home. My personal narrative is included in this research as autoethnographic research, including my fascinations, experiences, and motivations, which influence and lead the design process.Description
Supervisor
Mäkelä, MaaritThesis advisor
Giabardo, GianlucaLohmann, Julia