110120. Thesis Abstract Evolution

What is the relationship between Immigration and Identity? In an effort to preserve a cultural heritage outside the homeland, immigrants tend to romanticize the idea of home; a polished version of reality. In the host society immigrants of similar backgrounds gather, form communities, and express their foreign identities through food, media and recreation. When different immigrant groups are aligned in the host society, edge conditions are formed, spaces where culture is called into question and boundaries are blurred. These ethnic groups share space and traditions, borrowing from each other and growing farther away from the authenticity of the homeland identity. What then, if the edge were celebrated as a transitional space between cultures? Here lies the opportunity for an architectural space that allows cultural exchange and, simultaneously, the preservation of a cultural identity.