What troubles me? What troubles me in architecture?

Representation being more definitive than the thing, event or experience itself is a growing problem in the digital world. What happens to meaning when the simulation or copy becomes more prevalent and understood than the source?

Fashion, physical appearance and image (body) can often be portrayed as being more important than process or the social benefits that define architecture (soul).

Is architecture purely advertising, revenue and PR or can it make a difference to peoples lives and enhance the way we interact?

My thesis will explore these themes and also compare the digital world (primarily single sensory) with the analogue world (haptic and multi-sensory).

So how do I show this? The following are a series of animations to get my initial thoughts out there. Without something to talk about I have nothing to improve and refine so here goes:

http://www.youtube.com/user/d7forlife#p/u/4/eJuYQER8c5o

Mirages are not hallucinations, they lie somewhere between a trick and reality. Russian dolls steadily change and peel back layers to reveal a new and altered form within.

http://www.youtube.com/user/d7forlife#p/u/3/CZ9tmDl_ptM

I created a constantly shifting billboard or images and reflection to portray the media world we occupy with one of the three sides starring straight back at the viewer.

http://www.youtube.com/user/d7forlife#p/u/2/z4RuAdBAIz0

This clip shows a trapped soul without a body to inhabit.

http://www.youtube.com/user/d7forlife#p/u/0/06zIfSXyRWk

The final clip attempts to show a body being manufactured but without a soul.

This is my start point for the year so any thoughts or comments would be hugely appreciated and helpful to move forward and strengthen the concept.

Rob Tadman (Birmingham School of Architecture, D7 Thesis)