| Through assimilation and surface play, camouflage is not to disguise, rather it provides a medium through which to identify with the other and engage with it by blending and becoming one with an environment. Neil Leach, author of the book Camouflage, states that this visually adaptive process operates as a form of connectivity by relating the self to the world through the medium of representation. Subsequently, fashion can be considered a contemporary form of camouflage. Conforming to the human body, dress can transition an individual between the events of life and time by manipulating the surface of our bodies to blend in or stand out within an environment, re-presenting ourselves. Through the aesthetic realm, the reciprocal dialogue between surfaces concealed and surfaces revealed has actively assisted humans in survival within un-static environments caused by social, cultural, environmental, and technological permutations.;Can the architectural body be camouflaged to adapt from the past to the present, and possibly the future?;Can this adaptive strategy be applied to the architectural body*? This thesis speculates how the process of camouflage and the strategies of fashion can inform an adaptive method for architectural design. The inquiry challenges current methods of conservation and rehabilitation, which already stress the significant role of surfaces by preserving them. Fashion conforms to the human body, visually assimilating through representation as a tool to adapt. Perhaps this concept can be extended towards an architectural body, such as the Sunnyside Library located in Ottawa, conforming and concealing to reveal the depths of its surfaces; reaffirming its past through surface play and representation. |
