Society must be dealt with today by the architect’s capacity to synthesize its ontology and bind its various co-inhabitants. The concept of society is no more a unitary whole defined by a singular motive but instead a plethora of different motives. This notion is delineated in various sociological facets involved with the theories of social atomism.

In one case specifically, philosopher Peter Sloterdijk has inquired, “If the phrase ‘Every man is an island’ has become virtually true for most of the population in the modern metropolis, how can we still think of ‘society’ as a concept?”.

These provocations, and similar others, pose questions as to how we as architects are to resolve the evolution of society. This undoubtedly leads to the significance of the role of the architectural envelope; It is architecture’s most communicative element. Be it social, political, technological, aesthetics, environmental, etc., the envelope is the materialization of all or some of these concepts and has the potential to communicate them. “Face Value” will use the envelope as a methodology to exploit today’s atomized society.