The Object is Simple

Abstract

This thesis documents the development of a first architectural project: the conversion of an agricultural building into an office for a family-run business owned by the author's parents. The project is a renovation, and the pre-existing structure, a reinforced concrete frame with brick infill walls, no insulation, and a leaking roof, constitutes both the starting condition and the central subject of reflection. The work proceeds through a series of proposals presented to the clients, supported by theoretical reasoning developed in parallel. The thesis does not present a fully resolved project but recounts the process of its formation, the rejections, repositionings, and gradual clarifications that characterise the early stages of architectural practice. The theoretical framework draws on the work of architects and thinkers including Peter Märkli, Smiljan Radic, Eduardo Souto Moura, Jan De Vylder, and Tony Fretton, among others. Their positions are used as instruments for understanding a set of recurring questions: how to work on a pre-existence without losing its intensity; how to negotiate between technical necessity and spatial ambition; how to define the limits of a project when resources, time, and experience are limited. The structure of the thesis moves from the analysis of the existing condition through a series of thematic chapters addressing ruin, wholeness, programme, climate, material, proportion, and finish. Each chapter corresponds to a moment of decision or doubt in the design process. The conclusion proposes that the simplicity of the final object hides its complexity being a temporary, accidental, and open to future change resolution.