Extract

Preoccupations with the aesthetics of a building’s envelope, and the pursuit of technological
advancement, have led to a singular understanding of the façade as a mechanical boundary. This
investigation challenges the hermetic nature of the contemporary façade and its legitimacy as a subject matter of architectural design within the overall architectural discourse. Drivers for this project include the need to revisit historical precedents, the ambivalence of the label ‘façade’, and a speculative siting as a campus expansion of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. The design response to the site’s topography via the theory-charged, re-oriented, and as a heterogeneous space, and threshold redefined, façade enables a novel way of projecting a building’s images without depleting the façade’s autonomy. The paper reports on the theoretical background and case studies and their application to the initial design stages.

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