disguising

Disguising, in architecture, refers to the practice of altering a building's appearance to conceal its true nature or function. This can involve changing its external dress or looks to hide its identity, similar to how spies might disguise themselves. It also encompasses keeping a building's purpose secret or shutting it off from view, perhaps by masking its true motives.1

Architectural disguising can be seen in various forms. For instance, the ESO Hotel in Chile's Atacama Desert was designed to minimize its visual impact on the remote landscape by being nestled in a hollow and using concrete mixed with iron oxide to match the surrounding earth. Similarly, the concept of "half houses" in social housing projects, where only a portion is built, allows residents to later extend and shape the building, leading to a collection of individual structures that initially appear uniform. These examples highlight how architecture can be used to blend in, conceal, or present a modified identity.2