Abstract

This thesis explores the role of vernacular architecture, material culture and the establishment of spatial memories in the context of domestic environments. By critically analyzing the case of two Brazilian families, one living in Brazil and one living in Canada, I argue that Brazilian domestic vernacular architecture, objects used in interior decoration and memories related to household spaces can influence affection for a place. They perform as symbols of identity and belonging, demonstrating that the sense of affection can be associated with people, objects and buildings. The houses examined in this thesis have different backgrounds: the first family lives in northeastern Brazil in a home they started to build in the 1970s. The second family immigrated to Greater Montreal in the 2010s, where they moved to a house they did not construct. Through oral interviews, I investigated the collection of emplaced memories in specific domestic environments, the entwined sense of identity and space, and how people create their domestic settings through spatial practices. In addition to interviews, the participants drew memory maps and shared vernacular photographs and personal objects that illustrate their memories related to the house. This methodology helped me in analyzing examples of spatial practice concerning both self-built domestic vernacular architecture and found domestic spaces occupied and reshaped by the family, besides tracing the affective spatial relationships in each case.