Undisciplined: of architectural nomadism and the rebellious practice

This PhD is concerned with questions of the transformative effects of crisis in architecture as a discipline. This concern emerges from a critical examination of my own practice and work, which, although founded on the discipline of architecture, results from its contingent amalgamation with other disciplines. The research reflects on projects developed in contexts of profound socio-political instability (i.e. corruption, violence, poverty, and forced exile), including informal settlements in Venezuela, which provide the background to the discussion of recent projects undertaken elsewhere. In this process, the research interrogates the volatility of this crisis refrain, articulating a framework to propose an 'undisciplined' form of architecture and spatial practice. This framework not only advocates for working across different fields, but also, for practising both rebelliously and nomadically. To practise rebelliously is to exercise the practice of architecture as an act of resistance. In other words, it is to engage with the problem of space from a sceptic point of view, defying architecture's entrenched structures of power and question its figures of authority, expertise, and specialisation. Likewise, to practise nomadically suggests the condition of being perpetually on the move - both physically and intellectually. This means to practise architecture while navigating diverse cultural contexts, and infiltrating into disciplinary areas supposedly located at its periphery. With this, the research questions preconceived and entrenched disciplinary categories, developing unorthodox methodologies that facilitate the construction of new and increasingly necessary architectural narratives. The research provides examples of such narratives, including speculative and realised projects that support this claim. The examples also provide evidence of how the proposed 'undisciplined spatial practice' (or USP) has challenged some of the precepts established by architecture's intelligentsia, as well as some of its associated structures of disciplinary control. In consequence, this PhD's contribution to the field lies not only in the articulation of a malleable, ever-flowing framework of architectural production, but also, in the proposal of an expanded mode of spatial practice which can contribute to the preservation of architecture's disciplinary freedom. Furthermore, the research looks at the nuances of practising in Australia as a migrant from the Third World. From such a conflicted position, the research provides additional instruments, which contribute, anticipate, and react to the spatial implications of conflict at the architectural, urban, and territorial scales of the Developed World - particularly in Australia. To recap, this PhD provides insight into the practice of architecture as the contingent and sustained elaboration of new spatial narratives, which, emerging from unforeseen disruptive circumstances, contribute with productive, generative, and transformative opportunities.