Like many before me, I am seeking advice for grad schools. I have combed these forums but have yet to piece together the answers. Any advice is appreciated. All name-dropping and research suggestions encouraged.

My interests:

    imagination, speculation, creative misunderstanding
    storytelling through architecture; cascading layers of metaphor (as in literature)
    para-architectural landscapes, the folly (Nikola-Lenivets/Archstoyanie in Russia)
    the utopian, the surreal (Edward James’ Las Pozas, Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti)
    the hermetic, the esoteric (Anselm Kiefer’s La Ribaute)
    the architecture of death and transcendence (mausoleums, temples, crypts, Turrell’s Roden Crater)
    architecture of the uncanny (Hejduk)
    the intersection of architecture with art, literature, anthropology, mythology, the humanities
    elemental materials: stone, brick, wood, metal
    Terunobu Fujimori’s ‘Red School’ ideals
    neo-archaic forms, primal geometries
    playgrounds
    
I am specifically NOT interested in:

    the digital avant-garde
    parametric modeling
    biomorphic forms (not the Hadid strain at least; love the Goetheanum, and certain organicists like Makovecz)
    laser cut and CNC-cut forms
    heavily photoshopped hollywood-style renderings (happy people, dusky skies, flying birds, shiny cars… for me it comes too close to the commercial, capitalist language of advertising; I am not anti-computer; I view it as a useful tool, but I think it is good to have a wider gap between representation and reality, and a healthy separation from the commercial world.)
     
I am looking for a school:

    that above all, is a place where I will have the freedom to pursue my own ideas… 
    that has a diverse faculty; many conflicting schools of thought; a range of guest critics and lecturers
    that has a thesis component; the longer the better (see freedom farm below)
    that is artsy, theoretical, yet also some emphasis on the build-able
    that has a strong interdisciplinary instinct (art, landscape, literature, humanities, history)
    that values the handmade concept model
    that has good facilities for making (wood, metal, concrete, etc)
    that has opportunities to build at full scale
    that is in a city with some significant architecture
    that is highly challenging

I don’t care much about:
    
    networks, employers, good career prospects, etc

But:

    I want a professional degree. I want to practice. More importantly I want to be independent.
    I may want to teach part-time in academia.
    
    
Other important things:

    I inhabit the fringe wherever I go. Though I will do my time at a prestigious firm to cut my teeth designing at a large scale in an urban context, my real interest lies in the small and remote (cabins, mountain huts, small houses, studios, apiaries, follies, pavilions, abandoned industrial landscapes). I often admire the scrappy, pragmatic work of the vernacular builder over the pristine perfection of the architect. 

    I am ambitious, but not a careerist. To borrow from Herzog, I see architecture school (and my future work) as a “Conquest of the Useless.” This is not meant as an insult, but rather an assertion of idealism.

    I want to build. I am a carpenter. I am improving my metalwork and masonry skills right now, out here at this artist residency where I have been encamped since August, building a large scale project.

The freedom farm:

    My ultimate intention is to create a landscape of architectural follies; a place for collaboration and experimentation; a remote studio. This may take the form of an artist residency with an inclination toward built forms in the landscape, from the para-architectural to sculpture to land art. Again, I think of Archstoyanie (if you know of other examples, please let me know.) I envision clusters of built forms constituting small ‘cities’ that gesture to each other across the landscape, perhaps with salvaged buildings moved to the site, stitched together by new interventions.

    I am also curious about the tradition of design-build studios at architecture schools, but somehow from what I have seen so far, I find this unsatisfying.

    I would like to formulate my thesis around this intent. 

Profile:

    Architecture undergrad at Dalhousie in Canada (2015).
    Previous careers in IT, carpentry, mineral exploration, etc.
    Canadian and EU citizen.

Questions:

    Why are all the living/practicing/contemporary architects I admire from everywhere but North America?

    Who is the American Fujimori? Who is the American Zumthor?

    Is there an architectural counterculture alive today? Does it exist in academia? Which are the radical schools? Is the new avant-garde exclusively digital?

    Are there no experimental architecture festivals (like Archstoyanie or Hello Wood) in North America other than Burning Man?

    Are there any particular faculty you think I should know about? Any readings you recommend? Particular programs? I know Anthony Vidler teaches at Cooper Union. Dana Buntrock at UC Berkeley.

I am wide open to suggestions or conversations. Thanks very much.