Site + material + assembly: An exploration of the design of a portable tensile membrane structure in a high-wind environment

Structures that respond to the inherent opportunities of material, site, and climate have a long history in vernacular building. Within this tradition, unique and innovative forms evolved from the desire to provide high quality shelter exploiting the inherent properties of locally available building materials. Fully evolved shelters, such as the igloo and the black tent, demonstrate a "more for less" functional elegance of undeniable beauty.; Because of the dramatic productive success of the industrial revolution and the extraordinary capacity of global energy distribution networks, current practice finds little reward in the relentless pursuit of the "more for less" architectural solution: a solution derived from intense and exhaustive studies of the fundamental architectural elements of site and material. Through the design of a building solely based on detailed study of site (wind) and material (fabric structure), this thesis postulates that this circumstance might result in a loss for architecture, both in terms of formal and tectonic directions left unexplored and in terms of opportunities lost in building functionality.; Specifically, this project asks: What architectural form and tectonic expression can be resolved through the design of a portable, lightweight structure in an exposed coastal site in Atlantic Canada?...