Time, Space and Adaptation: A Strategy Towards Growth From Within

Abstract

To adapt is to transform to become better suited to the conditions of an environment. Through expressing a narrative of adaptation in architecture we can evoke both cultural continuity and the potential for change through an entity commonly thought to be static, a building. This expression of the adaptable nature of the world confirms our potential as the sovereign arbiters of the conditions of our environment. At best this would inspire continued adaptations, building upon our past successes and directly confronting the failures of our current reality.

The concept of this thesis has been explored through architectural studies of the St. Patrick’s Alexandra site in the North End of Halifax. The site currently contains two vacant school buildings and is the locus of a political controversy involving the community, a developer and the government. Based on historical research, dialogue with the community and architectural studies, my work is oriented towards design that understands the existing culture as the foundation that supports the demands of the present and carries the potential of the future.