( s/h|i-p+s )

“A house is a machine for living in” -Le Corbusier. A ship is essentially a machine for living on water. The ship has always been prevalent in the field of architecture but rarely studied in the school of architecture. As a student of architecture, I find there is a certain quality and fascination about ships. One can argue a ship is a floating city or building, (ie Ron Herrons Walking Cities). I like to think of Noah’s Arc, whether you believe in this story or not…it is an idea; an idea that at one moment in time, a ship had housed everything on Earth. This thesis uses the ship in a very specific way but I believe the “ship” can contribute and influence the field of architecture even more than it has already.

This study alludes to possibilities for ships and their remnants to enter the discipline of architecture. The decomissioned ship removes all preconceptions of program and purpose, offering new possible readings that intersect both art and architecture. The loose system of dismantling the ship results in unique parts that are often left to lay in the landscape. Through autonomous operations this thesis explores the medium of ship parts as objects that sit between art and architecture.

“Architecture is the action or process of building.”

In contemporary society, new buildings can be built within a week and can be demolished even faster. Using naval architecture or ships as a case study for dismantlement of structures, one can explore the different possibilities of architectural components. This alludes to the value of disassembling a structure rather than destroying.
Our industrial society is constantly under pressure to apply these latest technological developments especially in urban areas; but when new ideas or products are created old ones are replaced. It has become a vicious cycle of renovation and replacement because everything has a shelf life. What is interesting about this is that the physical entity almost always lasts longer than its purpose. The built structure can already offer itself for a chance of speculation for different program.

Ships are constantly being built around the world and are just getting bigger and more advanced; this is the same for buildings. The problem of technological advancements is that it creates ‘dead tech’. Ships are floating “ruins” the moment they are sent to be recycled; they become functionless.

“Ruins contain this promise of the unexpected. Since the original uses of ruined has passed there are limitless possibilities for encounters with the weird. Ruins may become spaces for leisure, adventure, cultivation, acquistion, shelter, creativity. These curious spaces allow wide scope for imaginative interpretation, unencumbered by the assumptions which weigh heavily on highly encoded regulated space.” - Tim Edensor

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