Time Machine

Master’s thesis, 2018. Aalto University

Advisor: Lars-Erik Mattila

The project examined architectural ideas and their consequences over time by using the 1971 Martinlaakso School architecture competition, and the history of the building that followed it as a case study. The school, built on the basis of the competition entry, has proved to be structurally problematic in use, like many buildings from the 1970s. The thesis sought to illustrate the architectural ideas and their impact over time by juxtaposing another counterfactual proposal with its’ respective counterfactual history. In the counterfactual, only the aspects and ideas of the building that have proven unsustainable have been altered. These juxtapositions included choices in material, ventilation, structures and followed the two designs from competition phase to completion and through to the present day. By presenting the two histories side by side, Time Machine attempted to provoke questions about the sustainable future of architectural conservation, while offering a playful framework for understanding ideas and their implementation through time.