Cohabiting the Air: The Aerie as Architecture for Human-Drone Interaction

Abstract

Throughout history, new systems of mobility have reshaped architecture and patterns of inhabitation. Rail infrastructure reorganized the industrial city, while the elevator enabled the rise of the modern skyscraper. As drones introduce a new aerial presence into everyday life, architecture may once again need to reconsider spatial organization, circulation, privacy, vertical hierarchy, and social interaction. Despite rapid technological development, most drone applications today remain concentrated in warehouses, distribution facilities, and specialized logistical systems. While a small number of experimental projects have explored architectural applications, the role of drones within residential and mixed-use buildings remains largely unresolved. Located in Tysons, Virginia, this thesis explores how buildings might respond to the gradual presence of drones within daily life. Through the design of a high-density mixed-use tower combining residential, retail, and telehealth programs, the project investigates how aerial mobility may reshape amenities, public and private boundaries, and new forms of interaction between people, technology, and space. Rather than treating drones simply as infrastructure, the thesis uses them as a catalyst for rethinking architectural form, social experience, and the organization of everyday life within dense mixed-use buildings.