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
Can Altay
Abstract
In an era defined by unease, uncertainty, paranoia, distrust, and literal, limitless, and constant surveillance, the human condition has been sliced in half, scraped out, and plopped down to rot under a microscope and then sold skincare because we can see it’s crow’s feet. It’s not a pretty picture. If we zoom in a little and look at the minutiae…it’s even worse. But! If we zoom out a little bit after we zoomed in and try to get the focus right, it’s possible to distinguish the little squiggly shapes of joy.
If you can’t quite make that out, you might be able to muster a chortle at the absurdity of it all. That is where this thesis sits: it is a not-quite-zoomed-out and not-quite-zoomed-in examination of humanity waiting (for life, for death, for the oil change) while attempting to make it laugh. Though laughter may be the most deranged response, it may also be the healthiest (and cheapest) coping mechanism we have in the face of our existence. And though Interior Architecture may not be the most intuitive backdrop of this particular conversation, it is in fact the setting of some of our most hellish experiences and so it is the goal of this thesis to make a fertility clinic waiting room funny. To do this, I have called upon time-tested gags and absurdism to create a variety of objects and interventions that can be applied to the site (fertility clinic) specifically or to waiting rooms at large.
Recommended Citation
Farias, Lauren Schell, "Mirth" (2026). Masters Theses. 1640.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1640
Creative Commons License
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