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Virginia Tech

Intertwinements: Building Community Through Intertwining Conditions

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

To intertwine: to twist or connect together. Intertwinement can be two or more elements, physical or metaphysical, that interlace and fuse with one another. Architecture that is designed for people and the human experience, as all architecture should be, must be intertwined in many ways at a variety of scales. As said by Steven Holl in his book titled "Intertwining", "By weaving form, space, and light, architecture can elevate the experience of daily life through the various phenomena that emerge from specific sites, programs, and architectures." Architecture that intertwines with its surroundings and encourages entwinements within is what impacts and builds the human experience. Throughout this year long exploration, ideas of intertwinements have been a reoccurring theme that's been studied under three main concepts: •Relationships – Perceptual and physical relationships, the relationship of the building to the site, and how the architecture impacts human relationships and interactions. •Ideas of pushing and pulling as a condition of intertwinement •Ideas of unrestrictive, loose, ambiguous boundaries These three main concepts were analyzed at a variety of scales including site scale, building scale, and spatial or room scale. Each example of these ideas at varying scales is in the form of a duality, exploring how two or more opposing ideas intersect and entwine with one another. These dualities include: •nature/campus •movement/node •stone/glass •social/recreational/study •together/separate •in/out •table/object •active/quiet •large group/small group/individual Examples of these dualities of intertwinements were studied through the design of a residence hall on Virginia Tech's campus to explore how the architecture of a residence hall can also contribute to building community and fostering an inclusive environment.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Architecture
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Architecture
Department dc:contributor.department
Architecture
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2024

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Freireich, Jenna Leigh
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Jones, James R.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Jones, Kevin William
  • Hernandez, Jessica Maria

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:40497
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119206

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Freireich, Jenna Leigh. Intertwinements: Building Community Through Intertwining Conditions. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2024. https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119206