Thesis Defence: Desiree Geib

Friday, December 16, 2016 10:00 am - 10:00 am EST (GMT -05:00)

Of the thesis entitled: Mapping the City: Narrative of Memory and Place

Abstract:

How do we discover a new place and begin to get acquainted with it? In Canadian cities, the sense of place can be difficult to grasp. The relative youth of the built form of our cities and a constant influx of new people from other cities, provinces, and countries continuously re-calibrate what place means. In Calgary, the sense of place includes relationships to its surroundings and the stories that are tied to the city. Ideas surrounding place are essential for architects who want to design while considering context. The question this thesis examines is: How can we learn about place, describe it, and share it, while respecting a multiplicity of experiences and histories of the city?

The act of mapping is one of the ways in which designers can begin to understand and express a sense of place. This thesis explores the connections between place, memory, and narrative and how mapping can share these aspects of experience. Through mapping, four stories of the city of Calgary emerge from a mixture of personal experience, historical maps, and research. These maps begin to express place through describing official and unofficial histories, experimenting with material and scale, and presenting narratives of the city that come through lived experience in a place.

The examining committee is as follows:
 

Supervisor:

Committee Members:

Anne Bordeleau, University of Waterloo

Rick Andrighetti, University of Waterloo

​Val Rynnimeri, University of Waterloo
  

External Reader:

Chris Pommer, PLANT Architect


The committee has been approved as authorized by the Graduate Studies Committee.

The Defence Examination will take place:  

Friday December 16, 2016                
10:00 AM               
ARC Loft


A copy of the thesis is available for perusal in ARC 2106A.