Seeing: The Multiple Narratives of Northern Xinjiang

This thesis investigates the relationship between land, mobility, and representation in Northern Xinjiang through the lived experiences and spatial practices of Kazakh pastoral communities. Beginning from a position of uncertainty and misalignment, the research questions how dominant narratives of modernization and settlement shape the perception of land while obscuring the invisible systems that sustain life upon it. Rather than treating architecture as a fixed object, this thesis approaches architecture as a constellation of relations involving movement, memory, material cycles, and everyday practices. Structured as a fragmented exhibition composed of three galleries, the project traces the tension between surface narratives and lived realities. Through mapping, speculative drawings, material studies, satellite imagery, and installation works, the thesis examines how mobility is transformed into sedentary frameworks through systems of enclosure. Particular attention is given to the material and cultural significance of sheep and wool as mediators between land, body, shelter, and memory.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Xie, Melanie

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2026 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2026-17178

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/45335