Dets Dain: Beneath The Rock

Andrew Hawkinson

In the beginning there was always the question as to the ends, that is, the question of exploration and how to manage the different levels of theory and practice. Each level should make more clear another: the theories of phenomenology, the biographies of the town and their continuation of ritual, and a student of architecture building in rural Mexico. The experiences are a path to discovery, the explorations trace these paths and make them apparent. The journey is one of reconstruction, to take apart and put back together using a new definition. This thesis investigates these explorations through living in, learning with, and building in the small Zapotec community of Teotitlán del Valle, Mexico.

Through engagement with the community, a project was enriched, a sense of belonging reconstructed. Memories were made in making a site where many more will be passed down.

In architecture, we discuss ideas, concepts, theories, projects, and images. We theorize and we build. In the end, cities, structures, and buildings always involve people.