Abstract:
Can the act of the self-built create a highly human house? A low
cost but deeply personal dwelling, that can enable the growing
population locked out of the housing market a chance to create an
honest and simple shelter, a place to call home?
This thesis is an exploration into the act of self-building. Redefining
home as a journey rather than an object. Through design, craft
and making, this journey investigates the potentials of self-built
small living in the present architectural context.
To carry out the act of self-building, the home becomes a simple
envelope with sensitively detailed and personal moments. Learning
through making anchors this thesis in humanity, for a home
is about memories and moments as much as the materials from
which it is made.
As such, this becomes a thesis centred around reexploring the
relationships between architecture, family, and place. Creating
affordable and sustainable architecture that becomes deeply personal
to the individual and site it rests on.