The human being may no longer be reduced to the bounds of organic matter. An organism – a life form constructed from interdependent components that maintain various vital processes – may now reach beyond the limits of biological materials. Beyond the skin, thumbs, eyes, and organs of the average human being, we may notice the mutually dependent system of parts, functioning simultaneously as autonomous and interconnected components. These organic systems are now capable of fusing with foreign systems that help maintain the vitality of the macroscopic system – the human. Between human and machine, recent advancements in technology and prosthetic designs have enabled humans to graft with mechanized and computerized systems, challenging the preconception of what it is to be human.
The advanced prosthesis has become an integrated extension of the human body. This realization begs the question: how intimate can architecture become? Pros+Tithenai analyzes the body’s imposition on space – transforming, manipulating, conforming to the void – and the equivalent imposition of space on the body. Pros+Tithenai examines how the human body unfolds in the creases between architecture, biology, engineering, cybernetics, psychology, and emerges reassembled.
The examining committee is as follows:
Supervisor:
Donald McKay
Committee Members:
Eric Haldenby, University of Waterloo
Wayne Brodland, University of Waterloo
External Reader:
David Dennis
The Defence Examination will take place: Thursday, April 18, 2013 2:00 PM Main Lecture Hall
This defence is open to the University Community ONLY and all attendees must sign a non-disclosure agreement 15 minutes (1:45 PM) prior to the defence start due to the pending patent.
A copy of the thesis is available for perusal in ARC 2106A. Non-disclosure must be signed prior to perusal.
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