Identity Disinterred: The uses and abuses of a past in architectural representation of a present
(Supervisors: Marina Lathouri, Vida Norouz Borazjani)
This thesis aims to clarify a relation between the use of history and the expression of a collective identity and focuses on this matter in architectural domain –its historiography, theory and design as a product of an educational system. From this point, it will focus on the architectural practices in Iran where the questions of national and cultural identity have become prominent since the modernization of the country in 1920s. Using these studies, the thesis then seeks to construct a critical platform for looking at such representations of identity in contemporary architecture while it tries to revisit the almost ignored value of contemporary for expression of a collective identity.
Biography:
She started architectural studies in 2003 in Iran where she particularly became interested in history of the discipline. In 2009 she received her master degree in Histories and Theories of Architecture from Architectural Association. She then enrolled again at the AA for the PhD course in 2011. As well as her research, Niloofar works on architectural projects in Iran.
