SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE REALISATION OF THIS PROJECT.
Jovanovic, Damjan
CONTRIBUTOR* THESIS ADVISOR THESIS PREP ADVISOR
Rotondi, Michael
Huang, YiHong Exa
Zäch, Ben
Armando, Julian
Ding, Wei
Allio, Brady
Rupkey, Peter
Azizeh, Janet
Ramirez, Raquel
Jin, Lindsay
Chen, Ke
Dittmer, Krish
Manferdini, Elena
Bai, Yoon Kyung
Tan, William
Auth, Carrisa
Cheung, Yi Yvonne
PREFACE
The journey of this thesis has come a long way. A year ago, it was almost impossible to imagine bringing it this far, especially with the amount of uncertainty, heading into the final chapter of my academic path, a finale for the seven years in architectural study.
The idea of the body has always held a particular fascination for me, and I believe for the architecture world as well, mostly because of the parallel nature of body and architecture, two entities deeply interwined on a metaphysical level in shaping our perception of space. The bodily experience, a personal sentiment that entwined by those who inhabit it, with architecture often stands as a constant: a static object in physical form. Yet, space, itself is never fixed; it continuously reshapes and redefines itself through the presence, movement, and lives of its occupants.
ABOUT THE UNCANNY
Thesis Statement
This thesis project is an experiment on the agency of the bodily perception in architectural space, using a filmic environment, and garment construction, as a lens through which to understand, and re-script the formality of the immediate surrounding, social codes, and our own self-perception. It investigates the relationship between bodily identities and architectural space, through repositioning the contextual body as a dynamic mediator between the sensorial and symbolic understanding of space. By manipulating bodily perception using garment, the project aims to take on our conceived cultural structures, and reinterpret the hierarchical nature of the perceived reality.
Adopting a practice-based methodology, the project unfolds within a non-normative environment: a corporate office where time loops and routine repeats, until a small disruption forces its way into the mundanity of the office. By systematically
destabilizing normative configuration of corporeality and spatiality through abstracted frame and time, the film examines the reciprocal modulation of garment design elements that traditionally associate with specific context, reframing them through the uncanny.
Garment-making becomes an act of spatial manipulation, Seams, cuts and folds are wielded as tools to alter the bodily experience. Within the seemingly mundane office setting, these bodily shifts create a quiet estrangement, reframing what was once certain. It subtly challenges the bodily relationship of individuals with the contextual space. It re-examines traditional anatomy and construction techniques: using strategic manipulation of bodily silhouette and fine detailing, questioning the traditionally perceptive identities. By disrupting familiar bodily archetypes within the seemingly conventional setting of an office, the design engages with the
viewer’s instinctive reading of both body and space.
By entwining garment design and filmmaking, the project seeks to reveal the spatial consequences of alternative bodily variables in the form of narrated visual story: a narrated visual study between body and architecture, between what is seen and what is felt. An audacious attempt to explore the subliminal ways space and bodily identity shape, and are shaped by, the clothed body.
Boddle in splunge.
Splunge in boddle.
Threads cut the air like slow knives through corporate pudding.
The office blinks — time forgets itself, then forgets it forgot.
We stitch the walls shut, fold the floor in half, crease the windows into origami that no one reads.
Garments are not worn; they consume.
A seam is a law.
A hem is a rebellion.
The silhouette is a weapon aimed at your memory of your own body.
We drape the loop, we loop the drape.
Fabric speaks in the dialect of fluorescent hum.
The chair is not a chair — it is a pause.
The desk is not a desk — it is a stage.
We unbody the body.
We unspace the space.
Between what you see and what you feel is the hum, and the hum wears a suit.
A movement happens before the body decides.
It is small, so small it almost belongs to the room instead.
The air shifts, and you are no longer where you thought you were.
The desk leans toward you without moving.
The floor presses upward, a slow pulse under your feet.
Your arms feel longer here.
Your head feels further away.
Shadows do not match their owners.
A man bends forward and his outline stays behind, sitting perfectly upright.
Two people cross paths, but the crossing never ends.
Their steps keep folding into each other until the hallway swallows them.
Some spaces blink.
Others breathe.
The ones that breathe feel like they are thinking about you.
You notice your spine as if for the first time.
You notice your shoulders, heavy and unfamiliar.
Your body is a room you have not finished walking through.
The ceiling tilts without falling.
The walls narrow just enough to change the sound of your breath.
Every movement here is an instruction you didn’t mean to follow.
There is no beginning to this loop, and no end only the sensation that you are being carried, not forward, not back, but inward, into a place you are already standing.
THE UNCANNY IS NOT MERELY AN ARTIFCIAL CONSTRUCT BUT AN INTRINSIC ASPECT OF NATURE, ONE THAT ELUDES HUMAN COMPREHENSION. THE DISPLACEMENT OF OBJECTS FROM THEIR EXPECTED CONTEXTS.
The Bodily Canvas: A Manifesto
This is a manifesto for the curious: for those whose focus not only on the façades and system of our architectural world, but also on what lies beyond.
It is for the mind of creatives who saunter, seeking for the mind of the others. A curious mind who wanders in the “reality” that we once know, threading a path through the intricate webs of human connection. There is estrangement, in the contemporary architectural realm: a widening distance between the secluded mind of the orchestrator and the intimate heart of the audience. We chase grand gestures, yet forget the small, fragile moments that move us.
This is for those who see and feel. For those who have drifted from architecture’s embrace. For those who see the world with an architectural mind. Forget the colossal endeavours that pierce the earth. Forget the eternal pursuit of perfect alignments laid by human hands. Forget the steel that
measures time in centuries. The moment is here. It is your surroundings. The tip of your finger brushing a surface. The lingering gaze that catches light. The quiet oscillation that hums in your ear. The immediate reality that fills the void of the mind.
Perceived space and assumed frame are an intricate intersection of individuals: the visible and the unseen. The way we frame and the way we see is shaped by the layered sediment of past, present, and imagined futures, all bound together by a single pull of the thread that can change everything. Our bodies travel and weave between spaces. Our movements, our presences, are not passive: they shape our understanding of reality. This is an endless waltz between the sensorial and the symbolic, a question not only of what we perceive, but how we choose to engage.
UNDERSTANDING METERIAL AND TEXTILE
IN PURSUIT OF MATERIAL
Choosing the right fabric started with a mix of research and exploration, moving between fabric stores, sample swatches, and material tests. The search was about more than just finding something that looked right; it had to feel right against the skin, move in the way the design demanded, and respond well to light and space. Color, texture, and weight were tested side by side, sometimes in unexpected combinations, to see how they shaped both the body and the mood of the piece. Every option was held up to the larger vision, ensuring that the final choice could carry the design’s presence in motion and stillness alike.
screenshots from Obsidian Vault, mixed research images from internet.
BALANCING FRAGILITY AND STRENGTH
The search for an unconventional material focused on finding something fragile yet able to hold its shape, with a texture and color that stood out. This meant looking beyond typical fabric suppliers, exploring industrial offcuts, experimental composites, or natural materials with unusual qualities. The aim was to find a surface with tactile complexity, where fibers caught the light in unexpected ways and colors shifted with movement.
DECONSTRUCTING CONTEXT
Depiction of Office in Pop Culture
FROM SATIRE TO SUBTLETY
Office wear in pop culture often reflects not just workplace norms but the emotional tone and social dynamics of its setting. In The Incredibles (2004), Bob Parr’s ill-fitting, muted suits at his insurance job amplify his sense of confinement and disconnection, using exaggerated proportions and drab colors to underline the monotony of corporate life. In contrast, The Office (US, 2005) grounds its characters in a more realistic palette of businesscasual attire—wrinkled shirts, modest blouses, and unremarkable ties—that mirrors the awkward, mundane humor of the show. Together, these portrayals show how office wear operates as a visual shorthand: in animation, it can be stylized to heighten satire, while in liveaction, it can serve as a subtle extension of character, workplace hierarchy, and the everyday rhythms of office culture.
Still from animation, The Incredibles by Brad Bird (2004).
Still from TV series, The Office by NBC (2005).
CLO3D is used to visualize and test designs in a realistic 3D space before committing to physical materials. The software simulates how a garment drapes, fits, and moves on the body, allowing the silhouette and details to be refined early in the process. From the 3D model, accurate sewing patterns can be generated, streamlining the transition from concept to production. This approach makes it possible to experiment freely, adjust proportions, and explore different ideas without the cost or waste of multiple physical prototypes.
TOOLS OF TRANSLATION
Pattern-making often combines digital and physical methods to achieve the desired fit and design. Digital mock-ups allow for quick adjustments to scale, proportion, and shape before fabric is cut, making the process efficient and precise. Once the pattern is translated into physical form, manual alterations such as pinning, marking, and trimming help refine the fit directly on the fabric or dress form. Together, these approaches provide both accuracy and flexibility in developing a garment.
MATERIAL CHALLENGES
Learning to piece fabric together began with creating mockups in muslin, a material known for its affordability and ease of handling. Working with muslin made it possible to test shapes, seams, and construction methods without wasting expensive fabric. However, translating these mock-ups into the final material proved challenging, as differences in weight,
drape, stretch, and texture often altered the garment’s fit and behavior. Adjustments had to be made at each stage, requiring a careful balance between preserving the intended design and adapting to the unique properties of the chosen fabric.
FABRIC IN MOTION
We ran a full test of the costume, not just to check if it fit, but to see how it lived on the body and in the space. The movement tests were as much about the actor’s comfort as they were about how the garment reshaped posture, gesture, and presence. Watching it interact with the set and lighting revealed subtle shifts, such as how a fold caught the light, how a hemline changed the silhouette, and how the material altered the body’s relationship to the surrounding architecture. This trial became a way to study the costume as a mediator between body and space, ensuring that in performance it would both inhabit and transform its environment.
JUST STIFF ENOUGH
From folds opening to the drape shifting with the body’s pace. The fabric traced lines in the air, sometimes softening the figure and sometimes sharpening it. Seeing it in motion helped refining the cut and flow so the shape and movement can introduce the stiffness desired while holding the presence we wanted in the space.
IN [A]TYPICAL OFFICE
GOOD MORNING
the office incident, a contained experiment on the relationship between bodily perception with contextural space.
the office incident sets up an experiment on how bodily perception can alter one’s experience of space. The experiment establishes its constant, with that being a familiar architectrual setting; and its variables: the clothed body, along with shifts in lighting, composition, and pacing, factors that bound our perception of the three dimentional space. These sensory elements work together to shape how we understand space.
A repetitive morning is suddenly interrupted by an unwelcome intrusion, one that interrupts not only the physical order of the office, but also the mental state of those within it.
A silent, faceless white-collar employee. She operates like a machine : fast, efficient, emotionless. until the dead bird forces a break in her rhythm. She’s a symbol of internalized burnout and emotional numbness.
Her work is executed without visible feeling, her body functioning as if programmed, her eyes fixed on the next objective before the current one is even complete. There is no wasted movement, no deviation from the rhythm she has built, a rhythm that shields her from thought and feeling alike.
When the dead bird appears before her, the cycle wavers. Her hands pause mid-motion, the familiar cadence disrupted. For a fleeting moment, the efficiency cracks, and something unmeasured seeps through. She does not speak, yet her stillness says enough. The moment becomes a quiet emblem of burnout buried too deep to name, of a numbness so complete that only an unexpected intrusion can remind her of what has been lost.
a moment of vulnerability and quiet wonder.
The only character who moves slowly, each step deliberate, each gesture drawn out as if time bends to his will. His lips almost always move in silent counting, repeating the simple mantra, one, two, one, two, holding onto it like a lifeline. The repetition steadies him, offering a fragile sense of control in a world that feels unpredictable and shifting. His gaze rarely wavers from the pattern he has built around himself, the measured beats of thought and movement that keep the chaos at bay.
When he comes upon the egg, the rhythm falters. His hand hovers, the counting slips away, and for a brief moment his control loosens. He stares, caught between caution and curiosity, the pale shell reflecting a softness he did not expect. The quiet wonder of the discovery leaves him still, not out of discipline but out of awe, and the mantra remains unspoken.
Caught in an unending mental monologue, she moves as if adrift within her own mind. Outwardly, she appears composed, her gestures slow and her breathing steady, but beneath the surface his thoughts churn in restless spirals, each one snagging on another and refusing to let go. The noise is constant and invasive, filling every space where silence might have offered relief.
It is only in the quiet ritual of burying the bird, feeling the earth give way under her hands, the cool soil pressing against her fingers, that something begins to shift. The weight of the moment draws her out of herself. The sharp scent of dirt, the solidity of the ground, the finality of the gesture, all conspire to still the turbulence in her head. For the first time in what feels like forever, she is present, anchored not in his mind but in the world before her.
bodily perception
Bodily perception is the primary lens through which space is experienced, a constant negotiation between movement, sensory input, and spatial memory. It is not limited to sight alone but extends through touch, balance, sound, and the subtle awareness of scale and proportion in relation to one’s own body. As the body moves, it both measures and redefines the boundaries of space, creating a lived understanding that is fluid and deeply subjective. This perception is shaped by posture, gesture, and rhythm, all of which are influenced by the surrounding environment, yet also capable of altering it in return. In this way, the body is never a passive occupant but an active participant in the making and remaking of space.
A LIMINAL SELF AND SPACE
Sub-contextual influences are the small cultural, spatial, and sensorial cues that quietly shape how we see and present ourselves. They may suggest certain ways of behaving or appearing, but they do not have to be limitations. Instead, they
can prompt us to pause and reflect on the patterns we have absorbed, giving us a chance to learn more about the space we inhabit.
In this framework, context is less a static backdrop and more a shifting interplay of bodily perception, coded meaning, and material condition. The liminal, with its in-between quality, opens fissures in the coherence of context, revealing thresholds where familiarity fractures. The uncanny emerges here not only as an aesthetic choice but as a condition that unsettles the unspoken agreements between space and identity. The office, with its banality and repetition, becomes an ideal testing ground. Its spatial logic and social scripts are so ingrained that even small changes in light, scale, or presence can reframe the environment, inviting new, non-linear readings of space that move between recognition and estrangement.
There is a recurring thought on “context” in architectural terms, the stratified perceptual, semiotic, and material layers through which space is apprehended in relation to embodied identity. The recent cultural fascination with “liminal spaces” reveals a latent curiosity about the uncanny, here theorised as a metaphysical residue that beyond comprehension. Positioned within this discourse, the typical office was chosen as the reciprocal counterparts, subject to the radical variables in presence.
contextual space
“THE
FABRIC
OF
OUR COMPLEX SOCIETY IS
INCREASINGLY HELD
TOGETHER BY REPETITIVE, JOYLESS LABOR. FOR MOST, LIFE MOVES FORWARD WITH
THE MECHANICAL CERTAINTY OF A BARGAIN-STORE CLOCK.”
OpenAI. (2025, August 12). Response to a request for “can you please write me a quote about the repetitive life of a salaryman?”. In ChatGPT (Aug 12 version) [Large language model].
abstracted frame
By isolating a fragment of the scene, the frame removes familiar spatial anchors, allowing architecture, objects, and bodies to exist out of their usual context. What remains is an image that can be reinterpreted, stretched, or rearranged in the viewer’s mind, opening the door to non-linear associations and imagined narratives. This selective framing turns the space into something less fixed and more fluid, where absence becomes as charged as presence, and where the viewer’s perception completes the architecture of the moment.
FRAGMENTS AS SITES OF SPECULATION
it creates a heightened field where details gain disproportionate weight. Within this narrowed view, objects, gestures, and spatial edges lose their usual hierarchy, allowing the incidental to become monumental. By removing the broader context, the frame invites the viewer to project their own associations, filling the unseen with imagined continuations or entirely new narratives.
