Studio Project. 2024. Black House and Universe: An Exploration into a Black Phenomenology … What Can A House Be? This studio aimed to analyze architecture’s relationship to its representation. By examining the translation of imagery into a matter of fragments, the design process of bricolage was used to test new approaches to the creation of new domestic space, making the imagined explicit. The catalog of digital images was collected through a deeper study of phenomenology that opened the question: What is Black Phenomenology? If the original source material is devoid of “Black Space”, can disassociated fragments lead to the self-exploration and preservation of Black Aesthetics? The following project uses Bell Hooks’ essay “An Aesthetic of Blackness—Strange and Oppositional” as a precedent to begin a journey of Black phenomenology and aesthetic exploration through space. As Hooks believes, aesthetics is not organic but an intentional consideration of the function of beauty in our spaces. “Black House and Universe” enters a site a family has stewarded for generations specifically to explore self-expression, cultural preservation, and beauty. These projects originated as homes occupied and lived in by the family, their collection of personal art and generational objects has now transformed their spaces into a cultural center and museum. What began as an important human need has now expanded to become an archive of the family’s past, begging the question, what can a house be? The thought experiment was inspired by the stewardship of land owned by my father’s family for generations in a time when black ownership was unrealistic in the South. Elements of these collages were sourced from images of my family on their land.

Artifacts.

| Study | Objects of Topophilia, Objects of Identity Here is Google’s AI Overview when you search topophilia: “Topophilia is a term that describes a strong emotional connection or love that people develop for a particular place or environment. It can also refer to a person’s mental, emotional, and cognitive ties to a place. The term is derived from the Greek words topos (place) and philia (love or affection). Topophilia can encompass a range of emotions, such as: Satisfaction, Attachment, Fascination, and Nostalgia.” This lamp attempts to objectify phenomenological aspects of the Portuguese tradition, specifically studying images of its coast and the tradition of fado music.