For my thesis, I decided to explore the barriers and limitations of wealth through an investigation of architectural structures, focusing on popular industries and institutions that our society commonly depends on. I have noticed that places such as hospitals, schools, grocery stores, and restaurants differ dramatically depending on the neighborhoods in which they are located.

I became interested in this topic after living in Lima, Peru for a month, and was able to observe the developing economy and dramatic division of wealth among the population. I began asking myself how different these places could truly be; not just in preservation or business, but also in success and performance. I started thinking about whether recovery rates among patients were different between private hospitals and free local clinics. I wondered whether education was different between private and public schools. But with all of these questions coming to mind, I also wondered why? Is money the only barrier between these institutions?

It was my goal to portray the drastic differences between economic class and status, and how daily lives of people throughout society can look so different as a result. I have realized that architecture is an important representation of life and wealth. I decided to use architecture as a means to represent this topic, because such structures indicate the barriers between the socioeconomic status of our nation and of other nations as well.