Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2014
Capstone Advisor
Sinead MacNamara, Assistant Professor
Honors Reader
Kyle Miller, Assistant Professor
Capstone Major
Architecture
Capstone College
Architecture
Audio/Visual Component
yes
Audio/Visual Location
Honors Library Drawer
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Creative
Subject Categories
Architecture | Other Architecture | Urban, Community and Regional Planning
Abstract
I posit that architecture can serve to expose the vital immigration, labor, and consumption processes underlying food production in the United States through a clear narrative made evident by techniques of sequence, mimesis, and composition in a functional monument containing an Immigration Advocacy Center, Community Garden, and Farmer’s Market for the city of Sacramento.
In architecture, narrative is the observation, interpretation, and implementation of ideas developed through stories. The architect formulates an observation about something in a society that exists or should exist in the form of a story, finds a time and place where the narrative is applicable, and uses architectural techniques to express this interpretation.
This project uses the narrative architectural tools of sequence, mimesis, and composition to guide immigrants and the broader public through the sequence of interrelated programs, evoke familiar contemporary symbols through mimesis, and participate in the creation of meaningful public space and the artful composition of the city of Sacramento.
Architecture that can express culturally relevant narratives is able to benefit society by making issues apparent and accessible to the public. This project demonstrates how architectural tools can be implemented to provoke this change.
Sacramento, California marks the greatest point of overlap between the four processes of this American Narrative (Immigration, Labor, Transportation, and Consumption). Therefore, this is the right place for the project to expose this narrative and function as a vital interface between different socio-economic groups with the intention of promoting public understanding of and participation in the production of food and the importance of immigration.
The site is the Capitol Park in Sacramento. This is centrally located within the city, is essential to a formal urban promenade of governmental buildings and monuments, and is near the commercial center. These factors make this an ideal site for a symbolic monumental work of architecture that has the capacity to manifest this American Narrative.
Here, I am designing a functional monument containing a community garden, market, and immigration advocacy center. It will connect consumers of agricultural produce with the means of production and will promote an acceptance of and appreciation for the immigrant workers who support our economy.
Recommended Citation
DeVries, Kelsey Requeña, "The Manifest Narrative" (2014). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 721.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/721
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
