Date of Award
Spring 6-1-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Architecture (MArch)
Department
Architecture
First Advisor
Germán Pallares-Avitia
Second Advisor
Aaron Tobey
Abstract
The abstraction of land is a colonial process by which physical land is transformed into a conceptual or symbolic entity. This transformation occurs through various economic, architectural, and cultural practices that imbue land with abstract values, meanings, and functions beyond its physicality. This includes the division of land into parcels for economic transactions, the design and construction of built environments that shape human interactions with the land, and the cultural narratives and representations that ascribe significance to particular landscapes. Through abstraction, colonial powers devalue indigenous perspectives and relationships to the land, reducing them to mere obstacles in the path of “progress” and profit. Land ceases to be a living, interconnected ecosystem and instead becomes a tool of subjugation, a symbol of colonial authority imposed upon indigenous territories.
The sight of these abstractions is the Frontier.
Recommended Citation
Boatman, Jacob, "Frontier: Land, Architecture, and Abstraction" (2024). Masters Theses. 1269.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1269
Creative Commons License
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Included in
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