| dc.description.abstract | Attributable to the legacy of modernism, within the Western world there
exists a widespread and as-yet unresolved sense of detachment from place;
our contemporary, globalized condition has given rise to a visually-biased,
alienating architecture lacking in meaningful, human connections to site or
context, relying all too often upon the abstract projections of the distant and
objective architect rather than on the realities of needs and experience.
Whilst the field of environmental psychology (within which the topic of place
has been widely researched) has suggested theoretical solutions, few practical
methods for the translation of relevant findings into strategies for the
generation of place and attachment have been developed. Following a
literature review, this thesis identifies two key place-related theories which
address the characteristics and psychological impact of the physical
environment (Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995) and Canter’s
place theory (1977)); in binding these theories to architectural practice, the
author offers a strategy capable of aiding the successful understanding and
creation of place.
Providing an architectural brief to which this study responds, the practice-based
element of this research focuses upon the context of North Lands
Creative Glass, in Lybster, Caithness. Through a personal account of the
impact of place and its manifestation within the author’s works in glass,
mixed media and on paper, this thesis proceeds to promote an honest, haptic
narrative between the architect and the realities of context and experience; in
doing so, it illustrates how an architecture conducive to a sense of place and
attachment could be understood and created successfully. | en |
