A new face for public architecture: how digital prototyping can inform and engage local communities

Abstract

This thesis examines architectural representation as a cultural medium shaping how architecture is imagined and received. By tracing tools from Ancient Egypt to contemporary BIM systems, it reveals embedded biases that influence participation and exclusion. Through historical analysis and a case study of Sudbury’s Borgia district, the research demonstrates how representational choices impact civic engagement and urban transformation. In response, the thesis proposes a hybrid method that repositions representation as a participatory, multisensory act. This culminates in the Mobile Studio, a trailer and suite of interactive kiosks that bring architectural communication into public space. These installations invite non-experts to experience and critic architectural futures. Ultimately, the work argues for a democratic representational practice that acknowledges the biases of its mediums and reclaims them as sites of agency and co-creation.