The almost empty that Is full : a patient search in nature

Humans live with Nature, live in nature, and build within nature... We can find ideologies from ancient Oriental philosophies to some of the exemplary architectural practitioners/theorists of our own time that find validity in integrating the human living space with nature. Frugality, simplicity and synchronization of the environment heightens human experiences and purges excess energy. However, the contemporary trend of thinking has been one that views nature as sources of extraction, either scenically or resources wise. The reverence to the mountains and rivers has largely been lost in the shifting of historical paradigms. The appearance of certain cultural/religious institutions means something. And the disappearance of them also denotes something equally profound. The specific area of focus here would be a small piece of abandoned temple ground located on a mountain adjacent to the mid-section of Yangtze River called Lushan. Located in a relatively remote but accessible part of the mountain, a retreat complex that can host up to thirty people has been given a great amount of consideration. The project calls for an effort to look into ways of reuniting the modern beings with a landscape that is as large as a mountain, as small as a piece of stone brick and as old as the human history records. To take a step back in order to make two steps forward, and to empty itself so it can be full again.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Chen, Yan Jie Christina.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• James Wescoat.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115748

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/115748