The Greatest Peripatetic Show on Earth: The Re-coded Circus of Our Desire

Abstract

The show must go on. This thesis demonstrates that by re-coding the circus’ architecture to engage theatrically with the city, the rebellious character of both circus and nomadism will be reinforced, challenging our sedentary mode of living. This re-coded circus is nomadic, determining its engagement with the city and strategic applications of its architecture. While looking at the circus in its greatest art form, understood from its history, its role in society and as a common heritage, the design proceeds in a translation from the theatre’s domain to investigate an architecture of performance. Particular vocabulary is borrowed from theatre to create meaningful metaphors, specifically; scenography, acts-ion, and mask. This thesis advocates that the circus must remain, so to keep astonishing ourselves by the spectacular and to keep the live performance, acting in the immediate, here and now; in real-place, real-time, as it transgresses the mundane everyday rhythms of city life.