Place Identity Architecture : Rethinking Moments of Transition in the Age of University

Places. We shape them - they shape us. They are a fundamental part of our human existence, bestowing on us identities and experiences. However, places, today, are converging on universality and homogeneity, becoming uniform, monotone, and placeless, lacking inspiration of identity and unique experiences due to modernization and globalization. This thesis explores the idea of “being” and “identification” in city gateways, places of transition in cities, such as train stations, within the inevitable modernization. It is especially at the moment of arrival at a place of transition that place and the surroundings affect one’s experience, perception, identity, and orientation of the destination. By understanding how a place of transition can reflect its surrounding context and identity, this approach re-thinks and re-establishes the idea of place at gateways to form impactful and heightened experiences of transitions and connections to the destination, in addition to creating a momentous arrival into a place.