Blurred Thresholds

Abstract

A threshold is often understood as a line - a point of entry, a boundary that separates one condition from another. It is the edge between outside and inside, movement and pause, known and unknown. But more than a physical marker, a threshold is a moment of change. It is where perception shifts, where the body becomes aware of crossing, where one state begins to dissolve into another. A threshold is a liminal space symbolizing the transformative, often sacred, moment between two states of being - an ending and a new beginning. It represents the "thin place" where tension, transition, and possibility exist, representing a point of no return and a "calling" to step into the unknown. Traditionally, architecture has treated thresholds as precise and defined - clear lines that separate interior from exterior, public from private. But lived experience is rarely so absolute. Our perceptions do not shift instantly; they adjust gradually, carried by light, material, sound, and movement. In this way, the threshold becomes an experience of transition rather than a point of division. It allows space to respond to the subtleties of human perception - how we enter, how we adjust, how we become aware. In this project, the threshold is not treated as a line to be crossed, but as a condition to be experienced. The distinction between landscape and building is intentionally softened, allowing the two to merge into a continuous spatial field. Pathways extend, surfaces continue, and the act of entering becomes indistinguishable from the act of moving through the site. There is no singular moment of transition - only a gradual shift in spatial and sensory conditions.