The design research investigates a familiar architectural typology to bring a critical exploration of newness into architecture. As we keep creating new architecture, previous structures are left behind and referred to as historical architecture. Historical architecture is admired for representing a past culture and historical style. On the other hand, these infrastructures are not being investigated for the potential to create the“new” and become obsolete. Thus, this project questions the Culture of Obsolescence to embrace a historical cathedral, Saint John the Divine, in NYC that is considered degraded even though it is in good working order.

In this project, the design method is to rethink the idea of conservation while taking advantage of the architectural formal language to highlight a architectural inconsistency that the cathedral represents. This project deconstructs the cathedral into its primary volumetric components while keeping the essence of the Cathedral’s architectural typology. The intervention is simplified geometrical volumes that bring different identities to coexist into a single infrastructure that gives the possibility to rethink its materiality. The new infrastructure presents a conflicting architecture that provides a new spatial experience while retaining some of the familiarity of its architectural identity. Hence, the goal is to synthesize an inconsistent architecture into a cohesive architecture.