Date of Submission
Spring 5-12-2026
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Jade Yang
Abstract
In an era of placeless architecture and fragmented civic identity, this thesis investigates how design can cultivate belonging through cultural and historical meaning. It examines the disjunction between spatial function and symbolic resonance in contemporary civic institutions, proposing a framework for architectural memory — a system of strategies that translate narrative, context, and collective history into spatial experience. Through precedent studies and design research, the project explores how rootedness can be achieved through materiality, sequencing, and light, transforming civic space into a vessel of memory and participation. The design proposal, a Romani Museum in Triana, Seville, situates architecture within a geography of erasure and resilience, reimagining the built environment as a living archive of identity. Ultimately, this work argues for an architecture that does not merely reflect history but performs it — one that remembers, belongs, and endures.