the realREAL: EXPERIENCING ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DANCE

My design derives from my definition of “the real” which I consider as that which is true, authentic and sincere.

When considering the influence of an architect and how architecture encourages and guides the experience and thoughtfulness of the inhabitant, I began to investigate how the architect and the audience can influence and change both each other and ultimately the design.

I chose to design a network of dance studios because dance is another form of structural artistry that provides an outlet for both internal and external expression and impact. Additionally, the environment can heavily shape the dancer’s tools — their body, mindset and movement. My design facilitates and enables an exchange of different movement principles and styles of dance within a shared space and varying proximities to embrace the conflict of a traditional ownership hierarchy and value system.

At the scale of the community, the openness of the design and the aggregation of the endless network enables both dancing both in and around the building (through the interstitial spaces) to generate an accessible exchange of truths.

Using my background as a dancer I further defined the three programs of dance which I consider to be training, socializing and performing to investigate what fundamental and foundational architectural components are necessary for each of these three spaces and programs. How can these elements be transformed to specify how the dancer interacts with the space and moves the body?

My film aims to show the experience and influence that my architectural designs and details have by establishing a narrative that indicates who the users are and what their lives are like. The filming techniques such as the framing, transitions and audio aim to merge dance and architecture through language, composition and rhythm.