Arkhē-Tiktō : reimagining architecture from origin to manifestation

Abstract

In this dissertation, I shall attempt to reimagine the concept of architecture by pursuing the various notions arising from the etyma of the first and second morphemes of the word 'architecture': arkhē and tiktō. In doing so, I shall attempt to move past the concept of architecture as 'the bringing into the world' or 'manifestation' (tiktō) of 'the origin and/or the beginning' (arkhē). I shall begin from the etymon tiktō to find that it signifies the 'physical aspect' or 'manifestation' of architecture, and then proceed to examine this 'manifestation' as it is grasped by the faculty of perception and as it is acted upon by the imagination. I shall then move on to the etymon arkhē to find that it discloses a 'process of emergence' from an 'origin' to a manifestation in different states. With reference to the myth of the 'Primitive Hut', and later with reference to the notion of 'liminality', I shall attempt to identify the fundamental characteristics of architecture by characterising the 'static states' and 'states of transition' of this 'process of emergence' respectively. I shall then end by examining the notion of the 'origin' of architecture, and thereby formulating a complete reimagining of the concept of architecture from 'origin' to manifestation.