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Of the thesis entitled:ÌýTHEÌýOTHER PLACE |ÌýBuilding a Retreat of One’s Own

Abstract:

How is one to ground themselves in an increasingly virtual andÌýabstract world?ÌýÌýThe Other Place offers aÌýcomplimentary environment to daily life. Here one can establish the necessaryÌýcritical distance from the conditionsÌýwhich define day to day life, and gainÌýthe perspective required to position ones self within, or against, theseÌýconditions.ÌýÌýInterpretations of The OtherÌýPlace, beginning with the ideology of Otium as expressed through theÌýromanÌývilla, continue today, varying widely across cultures, regions andÌýindividuals.ÌýÌýThe Other Place, then, canÌýbe understood as representative of characteristics that are at once general,Ìýand quite specific, reflective ofÌýbroad contextual considerations, and theÌýparticularities of its occupant.
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TheÌýrich and complex process of designing and building a retreat of one’s own, inÌýthe tradition of the Ontario Cottage, on an island property 3 hours northeastÌýof Toronto is used to engage with, in a rich and tangible way,ÌýtheÌýarchitecture, and understanding of the retreat as aÌýcomplimentaryÌýenvironment necessary in contemporary life.ÌýÌýThe act of building leads to an examination of how building and self areÌýinseparable.ÌýÌýBuilding, then,Ìýbecomes a meansÌýof architectural and self-understanding.ÌýÌýAs The Other Place facilitates a wholeness in contemporary existenceÌýfound through its experience, so too is a wholeness in architectural educationÌýgained in theÌýpragmatic relationship between theory and practice found inÌýmoving from the studio to building site and applying knowledge gained from oneÌýto the other.

The examining committee is as follows: