Wayfaring within the assemblage: A methodology for transdisciplinary characterization

Abstract

The manner in which we, as humans, define landscape informs the way in which we manage it. This is the fundamental assumption of this article, where I argue that in order to create a truly transdisciplinary practice, we must first create an alternative framework in which to characterize place. The reasons for doing so are founded in response to formalized systems of characterization, which perpetuate single voice assessments through their need to objectify the subjective. Vernacular is flattened into a series of photographs, cultural references confined to lists and tables. The tactile and inhabited place is lost, and design decisions made in response to such characterizations perpetuate static images of place. There is simply no transdisciplinary practice without a transdisciplinary approach to characterization. Therefore, I hope to suggest a new model of defining a place based on the pillars of multiplicity and diversity, one that confronts the problematic frameworks found today, and whose interpretative approach reads character at the point at which it interacts with culture. The model will focus on two concepts: the assemblage and wayfaring. The assemblage establishes a new pluralistic framework through which place can maintain its multiplicity, and through which we can build an equitable relationship between multiple diverse characterizations. Wayfaring consequently relates to how we interpret the assemblage, or how we approach the ambiguous task of finding character in spaces between multiple realities. My explanations of the methodology remain a starting point for further investigation, and in highlighting the research I have compiled to date, and identifying its basic principles, I wish to leave room for the reader find their own story. As such, I will explore the model through an applied study sited at the Alhambra, Granada.