Where Ravens Dream: Encountering Property in Relation

Abstract

This thesis asks a personal question that I have struggled with since before the Masters program: Is Architecture inherently an imposition on place? Through personal relation, reciprocity and dialogue with a particular place, Willow North, and the life that calls that place home, I offer a counter position to the implication of architectural imposition. Presented as a series of personal narratives, this thesis records my encounters and continually evolving relation with Willow North, a family property at the base of the Bruce Peninsula. These narratives include my relation to the Ravens that inhabited this place, memories of my first visits to Willow North and reflections on home, a history of the landscape and property formation, a further description of my visits and activities over the course of a summer, and an account of my struggle to find personal meaning in architecture during the process of designing architectural responses for Willow North. The outcome of my encounters and self-reflection on the question of architectural imposition in my relation to Willow North is presented as four designs: the Foxberm Residence, the Ravenbarn Studio, the Monarch Lookout and the Boneforest Waystation.