THESIS WORK / Signage as Commonplace / Natalie Hui

THESIS WORK features the work emerging from the newly restructured Waterloo Masters of Architecture program which began in the fall term with Thesis Research and Design studios and seminars. The featured work has been selected by the TR+D1 faculty team of Lola Sheppard, Mona El Khafif and Matthew Spremulli.

Over the course of the TR+D1 studio, graduate students developed their individual research topics in preparation for a thesis in architecture. The intention is to establish a theoretical, historical and intellectual framework through a diversity of representational modes; mapping, diagramming, photo essays, writing, which will serve as the foundation for a graduate thesis to be pursued over forthcoming academic terms.

Signage as Commonplace, Reconstructing Clutter

TR+D1 Studio - URBAN_ISMS: Designing the Metropolis by Mona El Khafif

Abstract by Natalie Hui

The everyday commonplace urban fabric reflects the social diversity of place as it directly exists within the ordinary user’s reach. Collective and individual pursuits are expressed through a selective consumption of goods, resulting in a highly specific customization of space. Consumerism is therefore a form of cultural expression and identity building that physically manifests to define private and public interests. This thesis states, that once we begin to dissect the urban clutter as artifacts of the city, we can begin to understand the hidden logic and life of the city. The idea of the commonplace identifies specific artifacts of the city that bring a certain vibrancy and sense of place to the urban fabric. This thesis specifically focuses on high density signage as the physical manifestation of consumerism in the everyday urban fabric. It argues that the realm of signage is perhaps the most updated reflection of a city’s priorities and aspirations, and therefore becomes a layer of cultural skin.