| This thesis was developed through an initial investigation of collage techniques as applied to architectural analysis. A strategy of using collage-based processes to read the existing conditions and uncover and develop architectonic potentials, beyond the scope of mere representation, was explored. The architectural site to test these processes was the decommissioned R.L. Hearn Generating Station in Toronto, Ontario. Collage techniques are especially suited to unlocking the layers of associations inherent in such abandoned, post-industrial sites. From the techniques of collage thinking and making, a series of explorative studies were developed, and a set of operations were derived for intervening on the historic structure in both a reductive and projective manner. These operations, to both the landscape and the building, were aimed at reconnecting the city to the lake, mediating between natural and industrial environments, and at providing a flexible stage for sustained civic development. |
