Ece Ican

On a Building's Agency - Thesis

We build things to last forever without necessarily understanding what forever really means. While It can feel like a lifetime for humans, It could be hundreds of years for a structure. We designate functions to these structures even before they are built and our creations live as long as they serve these purposes.What happens to these structures when their given purpose is no longer relevant to our time? Do they adapt, oppose or stand as permanent reminders of something that once existed, or can they simply die?If they are born when we build them, they live as long as they serve their function. Following this logic; what happens during their death, if we were to not force new functions on them as we often do?This thesis aims to imagine a speculative future in which a building – in this case the Malting Silos – regains a sense of agency through acknowledgement life cycle that allows it to choose its own functions as it continues to deteriorate/die.Separated by a wall of protection the structure will be isolated from humans almost completely. I predict a new habitat that will come to life over the span of 500 years, giving the structure freedom of choice this, it's own agency.This thesis in not about the wall structure itself, but rather the conditions it will create.

“In absence, nothing becomes everything.”