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INDEXING THE ARBITRARY

CLARKE, JOSEPH

Abstract Details

2006, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Architecture (Master of).
As computer modeling opens new formal possibilities for architecture, the problem of haphazard form becomes increasingly acute. Contemporary architecture needs to find ways to generate meaningful order while avoiding both formal caprice and historicist imitation. This thesis examines indexical architecture as one answer. The philosopher Charles Peirce defines an index as a sign that refers to its own causation. Architecture is meaningful as an index when it reads as the result of a process of transformations in a particular historical context. Although the transformations are arbitrary, the difficulty of producing a clear indexical reading demands that they be carefully chosen for legibility. This thesis proposes four conditions of legibility for indexical architecture and examines their relevance for computer modeling. These techniques are applied to a rowhouse development in Cincinnati, which, though no less artificial than the surrounding New Urbanist housing, replaces simulated authenticity with a rigorously legible arbitrary.
Dr. Aarati Kanekar (Advisor)
75 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • CLARKE, J. (2006). INDEXING THE ARBITRARY [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1148058132

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • CLARKE, JOSEPH. INDEXING THE ARBITRARY. 2006. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1148058132.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • CLARKE, JOSEPH. "INDEXING THE ARBITRARY." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1148058132

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)