one thousand and one nights
Architecture and Color as vehicles of imagination and self-expression
ucla mfa thesis / Environment Design · Visual Development · Architectural Exploration
Design Thesis
How can architecture communicate the difference between confinement and the freedom of imagination?
Scheherazade's reality and imagination are expressed through opposing architectural languages: symmetry, repetition, and enclosure communicate the king's authority, while geological irregularity and expansive environments represent freedom through storytelling.
This interpretation of One Thousand and One Nights approaches Scheherazade's storytelling as an expression of her psychological struggle. Her reality is defined by the king's authority and the constant threat of death, while the stories she tells offer an imagined world of freedom, movement, and possibility.
The environments follow two contrasting design languages: controlled symmetry, repetition, and enclosed luxury for the king's palace; organic forms, irregularity, and expansive spatial relationships for Scheherazade's imagined worlds.
King Shahryar’s Chamber:
Luxury as Confinement
Repeated arches and symmetrical proportions express authority, while an indoor tree symbolizes the king's control over nature. Falling leaves mark Scheherazade's dwindling time.
Tale of the City of Brass:
Geological Research and Shape Exploration
Studies of erosion and monumental rock formations informed an irregular, organic design language for the legendary City of Brass. Variations in massing, negative space, and eroded profiles investigate forms that depart from the rigid geometry of the King's Palace.
Integrating Architecture and Geology
A monumental gateway, minarets, and architectural surfaces emerge from layered geological structures, establishing a civilization inseparable from its landscape. Entrances, engravings, and ornamental elements extend the city's larger formal language into recognizable architectural components.
The Dhow:
Freedom Through Movement
Open water, a luminous sail, and an expressive palette extend the language of freedom beyond architecture into movement and atmosphere.
