company
type
role
team
My thesis at IAUCTB
space
designer | researcher
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2020 | Iran best thesis competition
Abstract
This project is questioning the relationship between image and architecture. It’s based on the existence of images and space. What is an image in the first place? Roland Barthes said that we can’t understand the existence of an image at all because each image is not splitting into its reference.Barthes argued that images are complex and multifaceted, and cannot be fully understood by simply looking at their surface appearance. Instead, he believed that images have both a “studium” and a “punctum.” The studium refers to the general context and cultural meanings associated with an image, while the punctum is a specific detail or element of the image that captures the viewer’s attention and creates an emotional or affective response. Barthes also believed that images are deeply connected to language and culture, and that they can be used to communicate ideas and convey meaning. However, he argued that images are always open to interpretation and can never be fully “decoded” or understood in a fixed way. In “Camera Lucida” Barthes also explored the emotional and affective power of images, arguing that they have the ability to evoke intense feelings of nostalgia, longing, and desire. He believed that the emotional impact of an image is deeply personal and subjective, and that it depends on the viewer’s individual experiences and memories. Overall, Barthes’ ideas about images challenged traditional notions of representation and meaning, and helped to establish the study of visual culture as a distinct field of inquiry.
On the other hand, Gaston Bachelard, a French philosopher, argued that our experiences of space are deeply connected to our imaginations and memories, and that images play a crucial role in shaping our perceptions of space. He believed that the spaces we inhabit are not simply physical or material, but are also shaped by our subjective experiences and emotional responses. In his book “The Poetics of Space” Bachelard explored the ways in which images and metaphors shape our understanding of different types of spaces, such as houses, nests, and shells. He argued that these spaces are not just physical structures, but are also rich with cultural and psychological meanings that shape our experiences of them. Overall, Bachelard’s ideas about the relationship between image and architecture emphasize the importance of understanding the subjective and emotional dimensions of space. By examining the ways in which images shape our perceptions of space, we can develop a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between architecture, imagination, and culture.
The relationship between image and architecture emphasize the importance of engaging with the multi-sensory and embodied aspects of architectural experience. By designing with a deep understanding of the human body and its senses, and by evoking emotional and memory associations, architecture can create a more profound and meaningful experience for its inhabitants.
This project tries to give a new meaning to the philosophy of images.
Methodology & Process
In the first step, this project defines 3 types of resolution that each of which can be understood from variable distances from the project. The first one is the low poly of volumes. Second one: is the pattern that is projected by images. Third one: is the pattern that is created by images overlaying. Each of these resolutions is designed from different perspectives. We have two approaches to them. First: objective design which contains a Low poly level. And second, on subjective design which contains High poly (pattern with images) and patterns overlaying. This strategy helps us to reach a unique quality of space that can be understood differently from different points depending on where we are standing.
In the next step to relate the image to space, we developed three techniques. The first one is the body without organs. This technique, which we developed, is based on the boolean difference method. We thought this method represents the origin of the image somehow. Subtracting forms a face without any mass, and it’s an idea that relates an image to space in a unique way. The second technique is image contour. This technique is similar to Jiri Kolar’s works, which also create space. From a distance, when you see this part of the project, you see two different images but can’t recognize them completely. We achieved a hybrid quality of paintings that delay the understanding of art and space by separating the paintings into little pieces. The third technique is specifically for landscape and not for creating space.
This project fundamentally changes the relationship between part and whole. Previously, we understood paintings as a complete image, but due to the technique we’ve developed, our understanding of painting has changed. Now, we can see a small part of an image as a significant part of the artwork. This questions the existence of art on a higher level.
In addition, this project alters the meaning of reality and imagination. You can’t fully understand the whole painting or the entire space. The procrastination of the user’s understanding of space and art leads to a misreading of reality. When users see a part of a painting and want to see the whole, they must move and discover the rest. However, in their journey, they lose the first painting by discovering a new image.
Part to whole / Whole object
This project changes the relationship between part and whole fundamentally. If before that, we’ve known paintings as a whole image, because of this technique which we’ve developed, our understanding of painting changed and now we can see a little part of an image as the whole part of the artwork. This is questioning the existence of art at a higher level. In addition to this matter, this project changes the meaning of reality and imagination too. You can’t understand the whole painting or the whole space. Procrastination of the user’s understanding of space and art causes reality misreading. When users see a part of a painting and want to see the whole, should move and discover the rest, but in their journey, they lost the first painting by a discovery of a new image.
Reflections & Ongoing Thoughts
Through the Misread project, I deepened my interest in the relationship between images and spatial experience. One of the most compelling realizations was how images—especially fragmented or layered ones—can alter the way a person navigates and perceives a three-dimensional space. By using images not as static backdrops but as active spatial elements, I found that a single image could prompt movement, curiosity, and even disorientation, encouraging the viewer to engage with space in a more intimate and exploratory way.
What continues to stay with me is the way image and space can co-produce meaning. Drawing from the ideas of Barthes and Bachelard, I became fascinated with how imagery evokes memory, emotion, and imagination—elements that are just as architectural as structure or material. In this project, viewers could never fully see the “whole” image or space at once; understanding came in fragments, shaped by perspective, movement, and time. This layered perception reflects how we experience reality itself: not all at once, but through a series of personal, partial views.
Going forward, I want to continue exploring how 2D imagery can complicate and enrich 3D environments—especially how it can blur the line between reality and representation. I’m drawn to the idea that space doesn’t just contain images, but becomes image-like itself: shaped by emotion, expectation, and the body in motion. This way of thinking opens up a rich space for experimentation in my future design work.