Prosthetic Aesthetics of an Archive
A speculative architecture thesis reimagining the archive as a living, prosthetic system that reshapes memory, media, and architectural space in the digital age.
Prosthetic Aesthetics of an Archive is a speculative architecture thesis that critically redefines the idea of the archive in an era dominated by digital media, technological acceleration, and post-landscape conditions. The project proposes a radical architectural model—the prosthetic archive—that moves beyond traditional archival typologies and spatial constraints. Rather than treating the archive as a static container of the past, the project envisions it as an adaptive, evolving architectural organism capable of absorbing, processing, and re-presenting cultural memory.
Developed by Đorđe Bulajić, the project was recognized as a Best Institution for Graduation Projects entry at UnIATA ’20, highlighting its conceptual depth and architectural rigor within the field of speculative architecture.
The Crisis of the Contemporary Film Archive
At the core of this speculative architecture proposal lies a critical observation: the architectural identity of the film studio and archive has become increasingly unstable. Technological advancements in filmmaking, digital storage, and mass media production have dissolved the spatial and functional logic that once defined these institutions. The contemporary film studio is no longer primarily concerned with production alone; instead, it is entangled with the challenges of archiving, storing, and curating vast quantities of digital content.
This shift produces an architectural paradox. While media production tools become lighter, faster, and less spatially dependent, the accumulation of digital memory demands new architectural frameworks. Prosthetic Aesthetics of an Archive addresses this contradiction by proposing an architecture that no longer mimics obsolete archival forms but instead embraces a speculative, post-landscape logic.
The Prosthetic Archive as an Architectural Concept
The prosthetic archive operates as both a theoretical construct and an architectural strategy. In speculative architecture terms, it functions as an extension of the existing archive—an architectural prosthesis that compensates for the inadequacies of traditional archival systems. Rather than erasing historical archives, the prosthetic archive attaches itself to them, reprogramming their role in contemporary society.
As a design principle, the prosthetic archive proposes a new methodology for conceptualizing archival architecture:
- Archives as dynamic systems rather than static repositories
- Architecture as an interface between digital memory and physical space
- Spatial organization driven by data flows, storage logic, and media transmission
This approach positions the archive as an active participant in cultural production, transforming it into a hybrid of infrastructure, exhibition space, and urban landmark.
Dual Contexts: Vatican and Belgrade
The project is strategically situated in two distinct yet symbolically charged locations: Vatican City and Belgrade. These sites represent contrasting historical, cultural, and ideological contexts, making them fertile ground for speculative architectural exploration.
Rather than responding solely to physical surroundings, the project treats context as a layered construct—social, philosophical, political, and spatial. In Vatican City, the archive engages with centuries of institutionalized memory and sacred preservation. In Belgrade, it intersects with a complex modern history shaped by transformation, fragmentation, and reinvention.
By operating across these two locations, the speculative architecture proposal emphasizes the universality of the archival crisis while allowing the prosthetic archive to adapt to radically different urban and cultural frameworks.
Architecture Beyond Physical Landscape
A defining aspect of this project is its rejection of the traditional notion of landscape. Instead, it introduces the concept of post-landscape architecture, where spatial logic is derived from invisible systems—data networks, media flows, and technological processes.
The architectural language reflects this shift through:
- Linear and vertical spatial sequences resembling data corridors
- Layered structural systems that echo archival stratification
- Interior environments designed as cinematic and performative spaces
In this speculative architecture thesis, architecture becomes an apparatus for navigating memory rather than a static object embedded in a physical site.
Programmatic Logic and Spatial Strategy
The design program emerges directly from the challenges of digital archiving. Spaces are organized to support storage, retrieval, projection, and reinterpretation of film and media content. Circulation paths function as narrative devices, guiding visitors through layered histories and fragmented memories.
Rather than isolating users from archival processes, the project exposes them. Visitors become participants within the archive, experiencing memory as a spatial, temporal, and sensory phenomenon. This aligns the project with contemporary speculative architecture discourse, where buildings are conceived as experiential systems rather than mere containers of function.
Long-Term Impact: Redefining Archival Architecture
In the short term, Prosthetic Aesthetics of an Archive challenges conventional architectural thinking about archives and cultural institutions. In the long term, it proposes a transferable model for future archival infrastructures—flexible, modular, and technologically integrated.
As a speculative architecture framework, the prosthetic archive offers:
- A new design methodology for contemporary archives
- A scalable model adaptable to multiple cultural contexts
- A critical response to the accelerating production of digital memory
By reframing the archive as an architectural prosthesis rather than a closed system, the project opens new possibilities for how architecture can mediate between past, present, and future.
Prosthetic Aesthetics of an Archive stands as a compelling example of speculative architecture that confronts one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how to spatially engage with an ever-expanding digital memory. Through its post-landscape approach, dual-site strategy, and conceptual clarity, the project repositions the archive as an active, evolving architectural entity—one that does not merely store history, but continuously reshapes it.
Project by Đorđe Bulajić
Best Institution for Graduation Projects entry – UnIATA ’20
