Artefacts within a Landscape

This thesis utilises the programmatic elements of ‘Home’ as a foundation to better involve users within the architecture, while also reconnecting persons to places to strengthen a sense of belonging. This investigation will be achieved through three different experiments ascending in scale and complexity: An installation, at the scale of the body; A mid-scale project, and; A final project that engages with a public scale. By doing so, this thesis aims to improve understanding of how the concept of ‘Home’ can be re- interpreted at different scales in relation to its landscape, and utilised to expand our comprehension of architecture in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This research does not set out to create a guide of how to design within Aotearoa, New Zealand’s natural landscape. Rather it examines the elements of home, and uses them to encourage critical thought in the placement of architecture within Aotearoa, New Zealand. This research draws from my personal experience and comprehension of what these elements are, to inform a series of architectural explorations. This research acknowledges the significant role an Architect plays in understanding and interpreting the relationship between the household and the landscape. It further realises the notion of ‘Home’ plays in curating places of retreat. For example often the rituals behind ‘home’ process such as making the fire, making and eating food are held in a more significant light than at typical suburban homes. Although these architectures have the utmost basic programmes, they play an crucial role in creating a sense of place and encouraging a strong relationship between person, architecture and landscape. The term ‘artefact’ was drawn from this idea of man-made structures in a landscape and the phase ‘an artefact within the landscape’ was coined. The images are of a fire, toilet, sink and table and chairs, captured in an isolated camping ground on the banks of the Whanganui River led discovery led me to question how we perceive these small home artefacts within a large landscape and what is really necessary in order to live comfortably and better connect ourselves to the place and landscape.