Abstract:
Both architecture and privacy express ideals of personal, social, and cultural identity. From the development of virtual
social environments has emerged new boundaries between the public and private. Consequently, this progression
has shifted the historical normalities of privacy. While architecture appears to develop within its own conditions of
creating material expressions, it has yet to show awareness of the reality and developments of our contemporary social
environments. This thesis addresses the shifting boundary between public and private through an architectural enquiry.
It proposes that the traditional boundary between public and private be re-evaluated in conjunction with contemporary
social norms, focusing on the contemporary notion of publicity and control.
This thesis explores the design of a public museum as a manifestation of contemporary society. It establishes an appropriate
relationship between public and private situating itself as a mediator. It builds upon the influence of the theoretical
and conceptual means through an architectural analysis and experimentation to find one architectural design solution
that re-configures the public and private boundary.
The outcome of this research reflects a new boundary between public and private; however it states that its spatial and
organisational form needs to engage with contemporary society. It finds that online social environments offer new opportunities
useful for the re-configuration of boundaries between public and private. This thesis concludes that the new
mediation of virtual environments does not limit architecture, but rather presents a new space that mediates and reflects
contemporary social interaction.
