| dc.description.abstract | We live in a world of physical and conceptual edges that
guide and shape our lives, and challenge us every day
to choose whether to cross them or to remain within their
shepherding corrals. Often we forget that edges connect
different planes, worlds, and ideas, all of which, if explored,
enrich the human experience. Storytelling is a vector of
consciousness and is a catalyst of change, transporting
one beyond the edges of preconception to a realm of
understanding, where the speaker shares their experience
and the audience learns new knowledge. This transforms
casual listeners to interested parties, where the connection
of understanding and interest grows empathy within the
listeners, helping to experience the other side of the Other.
Can architecture create, promote, and foster empathy?
My thesis proposes a library and interpretive center of the
United States soldier experience to raise awareness of the
myriad journeys of service members before, during, and after
service. Sited on the California coast at decommissioned
Fort Ord, the project is nestled in a bluff that marks the edge
of Western Civilization, and looks across the plane of the
Pacific Ocean to the Eastern world. The thesis examines
how architecture can empower and amplify the veteran’s
voice to foster civilian empathy for United States service
men and women, and reveals, over time, the strength of the
veteran experience and its transcendence beyond the edges
of understanding. | en_US |
