Synthesis

Theoretical Foundation

My approach uses architecture as a means to help people develop critical consciousness as explained by Paolo Freire’s Liberation Theory. In this theory, humanity---both the oppressor and the oppressed---have internalized de-humanizing, oppressive ways of thinking. These modes of thought originate in power structures that support exploitative systems that damage the individual, society, and the environment. According to Freire, liberation is possible once people achieve critical consciousness, where they are aware of the systems that shape their inner and outer worlds and have assumed responsibility to take action to change them. This approach to architecture aims to make the built environment a catalyst for developing critical consciousness. 

Architecture can be a catalyst for critical consciousness, because the built environment is a medium for the oppressive forces that humanity must first understand in order to be liberated. The role of architecture in perpetuating these systems can be explained by the dialectical materialist view of history. In this view, modes of thought are generated by the material world. In turn, we manipulate the material world to align with those modes of thought. In this way, mind and matter influence each other in a dialectical, or two-way, process. Therefore, history is not predetermined but constantly evolving. By analyzing architecture, we can understand the origins of what we think and what we make. By engaging with architecture, we can influence what we think and make in the future.    

Liberation Theory originated as an approach to education, and by applying it to architecture, this approach highlights the built environment’s ability to educate. Architecture can educate by harnessing the impact of embodied spatial experiences to inspire awareness, reflection, and changes in behavior.  The design challenge is to find ways to direct these experiences towards building critical consciousness. One method is to present a disorienting dilemma, a concept that was outlined by the educational philosopher Jack Mezirow. A disorienting dilemma is a situation that leads someone to question their worldview, revise their beliefs, and then change their behavior, in a process Mezirow called transformative learning. Since the built environment is the foundation for people’s conceptions of reality, it is a prime place to present people with disorienting dilemmas that will make them question their assumptions of the status quo.  

For this approach to architecture, the design challenge is to find ways to create disorienting dilemmas that lead to critical consciousness.