Anatomy of the Phygital [parafictions] : Image & architecture
Loading...
Supplementary material
Other Title
Authors
Pretty, Annabel
Author ORCID Profiles (clickable)
Degree
Grantor
Date
2025
Supervisors
Type
Conference Contribution - Oral Presentation
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
architexture
architecture and materiality
augmented reality (AR)
architectural representation
architecture and surface
architectural philosophy
AI in architecture
architecture and materiality
augmented reality (AR)
architectural representation
architecture and surface
architectural philosophy
AI in architecture
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Pretty, Annabel C. (2025, March, 17). Anatomy of the Phygital [parafictions] : Image & architecture. [Paper presentation]. Bachelor of Architectural Studies_D5, Te Pare School of Architecture & Planning, Faculty of Engineering and Design, The University of Auckland.
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/7230
Abstract
This document explores the intersection of image, architecture, and digital-physical hybridity through the lens of phygital parafictions—a concept blending physical and digital realities to create plausible yet fictional architectural narratives. It delves into theoretical frameworks like Assemblage Theory (Deleuze & Guattari), hyperreality (Baudrillard), and architext/architextuality (Genette, Caws, Rendell), examining how these ideas decode the construction, mediation, and perception of architectural representations. The text highlights the role of architexture—a term bridging architecture and textuality—as a critical tool for analyzing the material and conceptual layers of built environments, whether in analog forms (e.g., photomontage, collage) or digital iterations (e.g., GenAI-generated imagery). Through case studies like Filip Dujardin’s Shed Series and Victor Enrich’s City Portraits, it interrogates the boundaries between reality and simulation, emphasizing how architectural imagery, whether handcrafted or algorithmically produced, shapes our understanding of space and plausibility.
The document also critiques the evolving role of architexture in contemporary practice, where the hybridity of physical-digital (phygital) spaces and parafictional narratives challenge traditional notions of authorship, materiality, and representation. By referencing works like Mary Ann Caws’ A Metapoetics of the Passage and Jane Rendell’s Critical Architecture, it underscores how architexture—as both a methodological and theoretical construct—reveals the interconnectedness of architectural form, textual analysis, and visual culture. The discussion extends to Generative AI (e.g., Midjourney), where the erasure of seams in digital collage raises questions about authenticity, mediation, and the ethical implications of seamless simulacra in architectural visualization. Ultimately, the text advocates for a critical engagement with architexture as a means to navigate the complex, multi-layered realities of modern architectural discourse.
Publisher
Permanent link
Link to ePress publication
DOI
Copyright holder
Author
Copyright notice
All rights reserved