Five motifs

de Han Cheol Yi, Mark Lee, Harvard University. Graduate School of Design

"Five Motifs of archaic buildings from different cultural pedigrees (Mosque of Córdoba, Naksansa Temple, Fujian Tulou, Medhane Church, Bandjoun-Hut) evoking humane sentient dispositions (levity, ardency, placidity, humility, curiosity) are portrayed anew in a contemporary design. The reinterpretation of these dissimilar cultural constructions entails a conscientious shift toward cross-cultural common grounds of intuition. Contemporary architecture is oversaturated by an unprecedented abundance of styles that are not rooted in historic continuity. As an antidote, the motifs are streamlined to their essence by the act of purification. The ongoing debate about the reestablishment of the Bauakademie by Karl F. Schinkel in Berlin sets the framework of this thesis, which embodies an alternative to the planned, nostalgic verbatim reconstruction that was recently issued by the German Parliament." -- https://commencement.gsd.harvard.edu/thesis2020/portfolio/han-cheol-yi/ (viewed October 9, 2020)