Xinyu Zhang
This thesis explores the section in two approaches: as an imaging architectural device and as a form-making tool through carving and subtraction. The architectural section is a fundamental instrument in both the visualization and form making. Drawing from geological sections and footprints, the project employs the sectional cut as an instrument for architectural thinking. On this particular site, section becomes especially critical—not only for uncovering hidden spatial conditions embedded deep within the earth but also as a means of constructing negative space.
The origins of sectional drawing can be traced to the study of architectural ruins—most notably Roman monuments such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon. The erosion and exposure of these structures over time unveiled their internal organization, inadvertently producing sectional conditions that would later inform modes of architectural representation.The study of robin evans’ “drawn stone” foregrounds the delicacy and precision involved in drawing stone and representing stone-cutting processes. Through this lens, drawing becomes a mediating act—transforming geological matter into cultural artifact and intentional design.
