Where the Walls Came Down: Reimagining the Disaster-Induced Modern Ruin

Author

• Zhenmi TangFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-22-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Adaptive Reuse

Department

Interior Architecture

First Advisor

Jeffrey Katz

Second Advisor

Francesca Liuni

Third Advisor

Can Altay

Abstract

In contemporary society, large-scale destructive events are continuously generating a new architectural condition: the modern ruin. Unlike historical ruins shaped and legitimized through time, the remnants left by war, wildfires, and other natural disasters remain embedded in lived reality and collective memory. These environments are not distant artifacts of the past, but recently inhabited spaces whose material presence and social meaning remain active. However, prevailing reconstruction practices tend to prioritize complete demolition and site clearance, followed by rebuilding on restored empty ground. While this approach provides reliability in terms of safety, engineering, and regulation, it often interrupts the material and spatial continuity between built form, memory, and place.

This thesis investigates whether an alternative mode of engagement with the modern ruin is possible, one that does not treat ruins solely as debris to be removed, but instead honors degradation as an active stage within the life cycle of architecture. Using the fire-damaged site of Altadena Community Church in California, destroyed during the January 2025 wildfire, as a point of inquiry, the project situates this case within broader contexts of disaster-induced modern ruins and public memory. Rather than focusing on complete reconstruction, the thesis develops a memorial park as a spatial response to loss, survival, and communal recovery. The project examines how material traces, landscape topography, and ritualized movement can reorganize a damaged site into a place that acknowledges absence while supporting continued public life.

This thesis explores the tension between memorialization and community use, between confronting loss and rupture and creating conditions for healing, gathering, and continued occupation.  Design strategies include the evaluation and retention of residual walls and landscape features; the overlap between the original spatial order and a new axis derived from the solar orientation at the moment the fire began; the reuse of debris and its translation into new material systems; and the construction of spatial sequences that guide bodily movement through memory, reflection, and everyday life.

Recommended Citation

Tang, Zhenmi, "Where the Walls Came Down: Reimagining the Disaster-Induced Modern Ruin" (2026). Masters Theses. 1552.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1552

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