Pellicular surfaces: pliant, transparent, and clinging

Abstract

This essay introduces the operative term of pellicular to describe zones that confound foundational canons of classical purity with oblique metaphors concerning bodies, cosmetics, permeability, and semantic emulsions. Stemming from the Latin pellis, meaning skin, the word pellicular has evolved to encompass such concepts as leather, fur, parchment, hide, film, scum, layer, and membrane. Exploring architectural enclosure through these linguistic tangents leads to fleshing out its potential to perform as ornamental layers, performative skins, adhesive wraps, or film screens. The dematerialized distinction between inside and out, which pellicular surfaces exploit from the perspective of differential interior and exterior pressures, help to push, pull, and stretch the architectural enclosure into spaces where these two realms nearly slip into one another.