Fragments: A Poetic Approach To Place-Making

The notion of regional particularity and sensitivity to place remains in constant struggle with the persistent autonomous approach evident in most contemporary architecture, which under the pressures of globalization has paved the path toward commodification and the creation of universal non-places. Meanwhile the decline of craftsmanship within architecture and the perpetual emphasis on visual images and iconic forms continues to undermine human connection to the built environment. The use of Fragments in architectural design involves a distinct understanding of perception of space that takes its theoretical basis in the communicative and situational character of Synthetic Cubism and Picturesque Landscape theory. Brought into an architectural context, these theories work in contrast to the rational approach based on proportion and perspectival imagery, bringing focus towards the experience of the body moving through space with emphasis on the poetics of construction, materiality, corporeal experience, and details that express craftsmanship, meaning, and emotion. Guided by Kenneth Frampton’s theory of Critical Regionalism with the aim of resisting placelessness, the nature of such tectonic articulation is informed by the context and specificity of a site.