A Return to the Thick Space of the Wall

This paper examines a return to the thick space of the masonry wall. The wall is where a building embraces its context and where humanity can physically experience this nexus. Contemporary technologies applied to masonry construction offer a return to both tactile solidity and the space of interaction between a building and its users. Precedents from Catalan vernacular to Herzog & de Meuron will be contrasted to offer a way of thinking through the spatial potential created through the modularity and specificity of blocks.