Useless Architecture

Useless Architecture is driven by three principal goals: the first is to re-examine the primacy of utility as a measure of value; the second is to explore the role of useless space within the fabric of the city, and the third is to consider what meaning and application the notion of uselessness has for architecture. The thesis is divided into four sections. It begins with a focus on utility as a concept. The second portion includes a creative consideration of useless space in the city and dysfunctional tools of mapping. This is followed by an exploration of utility through a consideration of artistic projects, monuments and ruins. In the final section, the research is manifested as an architectural proposal for a stair to nowhere, added to the Chaudière Ring Dam on the Ottawa River in the heart of Canada’s national capital region.