Contemporary Surface Architecture : The correspondence between surface and space

This thesis aims to investigate aspects of contemporary architecture that concentrate on the role of surface, in sense of demateriality. The word 'demateriality' denotes the spatiality rather than a physical substance; it does not refer to the actual absence of matter or the abolishment of the solid materials of construction. Rather it describes the phenomenal perception of a particular spatialisation that the surface creates through either the way it is formed or through the optical quality of its materials. The terms surface and surface architecture discussed in this thesis thus have specific meanings beyond the generally received understanding of 'architectural surface', 'material surface' and so on. What is focused on is the particular role of surface architecture as a spatial boundary, especially between inside and outside spaces. In this context, the research aims to explore the correspondence between the surface and space, between the forms of the surface and the experience that they induce.

As a programme of PhD with design, this research includes both theoretical and practical approaches, including a design research project supported by an extensive literature review and theoretical argument. The thesis mainly consists of five parts. It begins from an Introduction including subject and questions, context, definition and methodology of the research. Chapter One is about a critical review of history of surface-space architecture, both in theory and design will be considered first. This will mainly focus on the architecture of 20th century modernism. Chapter Two focus on contemporary theories and practices of surface architecture, as well as the conception of surface in other intellectual areas such as philosophy and cultural theory. Based on a rigorous theoretical framework built by the historical and contemporary research, a series of design works will be developed in Chapter Three, and attempt to offer a further understanding and rethinking of the knowledge gained from the first phase. Finally, at the end of the thesis, there is a brief Conclusion.