Student’s work a hit

July 16, 2012

By Jessica Wallace

Anna Batebe’s project analysing parallels between architecture and fashion has gained some online attention. Photo courtesy of Anna BatebeEnvironmental Design (EVDS) thesis student Anna Batebe’s project, Architecture and Fashion: Constructing Identity, was recently featured on the popular architecture blog, suckerPUNCH.

Batebe’s project analyses the parallels between the disciplines of architecture and fashion as material products of our culture, and their capacity to generate multiple identities. While the definition of identity suggests a defined construct, its very nature is complex, multidimensional, and far removed from being singular.

“Identity succumbs to the complexities and uncertainties of our human nature,” says Batebe. “Through mechanisms of our material culture, such as fashion and architecture, individuals are constantly negotiating new avenues of expression of individual and collective identity. Couture Fashion, as a vessel of expression, has the potential to augment the appearance and identity of an individual.”

Referencing the work of Couture fashion designer Alexander McQueen, Batebe uses anti-fashion, aesthetics and the concepts of ambiguity and ambivalence to propose new trajectories for experimental architecture.

Batebe’s thesis was supervised by EVDS Assistant Professor of Architecture, Joshua Taron who specializes in integrative computational design.

Check out Batebe on suckerPUNCH.

The Faculty of Environmental Design (EVDS) is a graduate level program, founded on an overarching commitment to the integration of design, ecology and culture in the making and managing of meaningful and functional human and bio-social environments. EVDS offers Master programs in Architecture, Environmental Design and Planning, as well as a PhD program.