This research questions how stories of canonical works of architecture are told, by recentring that story to one which places caring, repairing, and maintaining the building at the heart of the narrative.

It considers the lived experience of domestic space through an autoethnographical study of Walmer Yard - a domestic development of four houses which became a house museum after completion. The house museum provides a priveleged vantage point through which to consider the identities of the home, the roles involved in keeping a home where the boundaries of public and private are blurred, and more specifically, how ideas of curation and care might operate across both realms.

The story of Walmer Yard has, up until now, only been told through its architecture and through the notion of the star architect. Descriptions and critiques of the architecture have been pre-occupied with the visual and material qualities of the building. It is this which I am trying to challenge in my alternative interpretations of Walmer Yard.

By providing post-canonical, close readings of the building through situated writings, castings, photographs and films, I aim to move away from traditional architectural criticism, to offer an alternative interpretation of Walmer Yard. The methods and theoretical positioning I use – of writing, curating and archiving - instead of speaking of the architectural perfection of materials and visuality, consider the labour of caring for, and maintaining, the building. 

The thesis moves the story of Walmer Yard from one written at the time of the project’s completion to during its life, incorporating the lived experience of the architecture to curate an ever-evolving archive of the project.