Man-made Landform Architecture

Topography is new issue of contemporary architecture. The research of topography has been expanded as designing experiment which emphasizes creative observation and operation, combines pragmatism and expressionism. Based on"research by design", the study is to explain principles of man-made landform so that to find the formal logic behind nonlinear representation.The study can be divided into three parts. One is to explore the contemporary discussion of topography. The second is to analysis the principle of man-made landform by topics. The last is to study the phenomenological characters and space of man-made landform architecture by comparing with usual linear architecture.The dissertation first establishes a concept of"place-writing"from topography to explain landform architecture and studies the contextual research about it including construction, folding, deformation and other topics. These issues from different perspectives concern landform architecture, and the perspective of this dissertation is the methods of place-writing, that is the principles in developing man-made landform architecture.In the second part, the dissertation analysis the principles of man-made landform to the order of time. Early principles mostly come from the natural topography. Then the development of mathematics and geometry becomes the quantitative basis of landform architecture. Such principles concern more about the algorithm. Behavioral science, psychology and other social sciences can also become the principles. Under these principles, building becomes a carrier, making a corresponding deformation on space and form according to human's behavior.Finally it compares man-made landform architecture with usual linear architecture in figure/ground, weakened border and convert of spaces, so as to study its attitude in relationship between human and land, and its unique spatial strategy.