Designing for Outsiders: Building a Sustainble Future for Keaau

Abstract

How tolerant are we of people outside our community? Our ingrained instincts drive us as humans to seek positive interactions, to feel accepted and appreciated, to find purpose to help us thrive as individuals and as a collective. While positive instincts drive us to purpose, so does fear pull us into a defensive state, to protect ourselves and our own against the alien and unknown [5]. This duality, this push and pull, is center stage in regards to interpreting new peoples and cultures and attempting to find a balance between the two is a hard task. Throughout history there has always been turbulence between people we associate with and people we disassociate with. We tend to compare ourselves to others and point out their differences; and deem if those differences will be an asset (positive) to the group or a liability (negative) and disassociate ourselves from them [2]. This is most apparent when new groups of people move in to or next to an existing group of people. In more modern times with immigrants in the western world. The exploration of how architecture can help mediate and facilitate cultural and sociological acceptance among others will be the backbone of my thesis.