We, The Unspoken Ones.
This is what acculturation looks like through our eyes.
This is what architecture is capable of saying about our culturally confused journey.
This is how everyone should perceive it.
So, start looking.
Start listening.
We have stories, too.
May they live timelessly on.
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This thesis is a love letter to families of first generation immigrants. It’s a celebration of the sacrifices that were made, and the hidden suffering that has been endured, silently, steadfastly. Although it may seem like nothing but privilege to many, it came with its own set of challenges. Many of which go unspoken, but have intrinsically become a part of who we are today.
As such, this thesis delves into the microcosm of acculturation, and the role that architecture plays within it. To be more specific, it investigates if the discourse of architecture is in a position to uncover the unspoken acculturation journey of first generation immigrants through the mundane everyday act of eating.
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The research involved as part of developing this proposal relied heavily on anthropological theory within the discourse of architecture. This was coupled with compositional autoethnographic research (from interviews and contextual extraction from personal experience), forming the overarching methodological development and framework of the project.
The results presented as part of this thesis begin to mark the initial steps that the discourse of architecture can take towards uncovering the unspoken acculturation journey of first generation immigrants. It is represented in a variety of ways, namely through digital and analogue means of design communication, extending the ways in which anthropology influences the way humans view and interact with architecture, and vice versa.
