RECALL : creating experiential space : master of architecture thesis 2011

MICHAEL WOLFSON : DIRECTOR OF THESIS

DENISE IVY DEA : THESIS ADVISOR

STACEY E POPPEL : DEGREE CANDIDATE

RECALL: Creating an architectural journey of visual cues tracing a series of spatial events that take one through progressions of space, tying them together to re-experience the journey.

The purpose of this thesis was to test ideas of an architectural journey of visual cues with a new school for the Visual and Performing Arts for the elementry level set within a building aimed to

maximize visability through the transparancy of space.

R E C A L L THE BOSTON ARCHITECTURAL COLLEGE

MASTER OF ARCHITECTUREJANUARY 2009 THRU JANUARY 2011

C R E A T I N G E X P E R I E N T I A L S P A C E S

r e c a l l creating experiential space 2

D E D I C A T I O N

t h e s i s master of architecture 20113

To all of my fellow January 2009 cohort col-leagues : Thank you for making this journey an exciting one - may we all fondly remem-ber our times in Boston and the fabulous memories shared with our dear friend Sam Adams. A special thanks to Jason Jordan and Mike Vala - two amazing people who have taught me to trust myself and have confidence in what I put out to the world.

To my advisor, Denise Dea : You have be-come an inspiration in my life. I look forward to continuely growing with you as my mentor and I thank you for all the times you helped me reach beyond what I thought I was capable of.

To the director, Michael Wolfson : You make me think; to challenge myself. Just when I

think I have the solution, you spark ideas of new possibility. Thank

you for always going above and beyond to help

me in times of need.

To my Mom : You have always been a strong support system for me and the per-son I call first to share the happy times and the sad times. You are an amazing person and I thank you for always believing in me.

To my Dad : Nothing makes me happier than hearing you are proud of me. Thank you for always telling me this.

And finally, to Erica : You have been through this program with me and have supported me more than anyone. Thank you for always tell-ing me to believe in my-self, it is because of you that I do believe. I love you, sweetheart.

With love, Stacey


INTRODUCTION

STATEMENTdefinitionsterms of criticismmethodologythesis abstractbackground

THOUGHTSsketch bookprecedentsketch problemsreadings

PRECURSORsiteprogram

DESIGNprocessfinal scheme

CONCLUSIONS

CITATIONS

IMAGE CATALOGUE

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

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24

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10

184

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i s o

l a

t e

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m o

m e

n t

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fram

ing

a m

emor

y


i n t r o d u c t i o n

experiencing the trace of a memory


I’ve been a spectator my whole life; fascinated with the notion of watching others, observing, wondering, daydreaming — One of my earliest memories in childhood is in fact sitting on the front stoop with my mother, watching, as the other children of the neighborhood played to-gether. I would sit with her and see how they interacted, how they played; living in my own mind through most of my earlier years.

This excitement, and curiosity about people watching has greatly influenced the types of spaces I enjoy most, and those I wish to imag-ine and create.

Being able to make connections with oth-ers, people and spaces, using architecture, is something I feel passionate about because it is through these connections which we become tied together in our experiences of space.

When I started my architectural career as an undergraduate, I focused on creating both ex-pressive and clear forms, always thinking about the experience in it’s entirety — approach, en-try, movement through, exiting — because it is the journey to and from which makes the expe-rience more memorable.

I N T R O D U C T I O Nauthor’s note


It is never just about the new building to an empty lot. Surroundings affect what we put there, which in turn impacts the existing spatial qualities of the site. Everything new alters our existing reality; everything removed therefore does the same. It is this constant shift of what’s present that enforces in me the need for con-nection.

To RECALL what is around us, is to feel con-nected to it. A past moment, a trace of a mem-ory, that reminds us of what once there, allows us to experience the present while seeing frag-ments of what once was. These ties to the past and present allow us to experience space dif-ferently.

A photograph of me and my mother, taken in 1987 at our front steps (opposite top).A fragment of an undergraduate project: Slav-ery Memory, located adjacent to the John Brown home in Providence, Rhode Island (opposite bottom).A photograph taken in downtown Houston. The new affixed to the old - layering the present with the past (left).


Within one’s mind is a container of memories waiting to be RECALLED. To

access those memories, we must create a mental trace of the

components that we remember;

-- filling in the gaps --

as we attempt to re-create the whole

experience the movement between

“Place, I repeat, is space that can be remembered — that you can hold in the mind

and consider —

It is this capacity for being held in the mind that allows places to accrue significances that are both intimate and public. They dwell in the

minds of individuals —

— they help in the development of shared con-ceptions that bind our thoughts

together”19

— MARK TREIB


s t a t e m e n t


V I S I O NArchitecture is not merely the spatiality of the journey; it is the vessel for which the RECALL

is made. Because of this, the journey and internal transformations of a person can be

translated into the architecture of the space. It can respond to the emotions and needs of an

individual based upon the memories contained within. The capabilities of space to make

connections with people is what creates our collective subconscious, tying us all together in

the spaces we all experience.

1 The act of remembering internally traces a series of spatial events that takes one through progressions of space - the RECALL of these memories is dependant on one’s ability to

mentally re-materialize and connect the spatial experiences -tying them together to re-experi-ence the journey.

RE-CALL

D E F I N I T I O N

The purpose of this thesis was to test ideas of an architectural journey of visual cues with a new school for the Visual and Performing Arts for the elementry level set within a building aimed to

maximize visability through the transparancy of space.

S T A T E M E N T


A sectional parti diagram illustrating the cyclical nature of moving through a layered program-matic space.


Images of layers.


The ground plane holds the memory of the urban landscape – it is the urban palimpsest. It has ownership and sole possession of that contained memory. However, by exploring ground plane and spatially experiencing the layers of the past, we can start to become a part of the history of the site and therefore become a part of the collective unconscious of the land. One must start their experience traveling through the ground – it is the way in which one understands the relationship between the above and below. Experiencing ground plane is the way of connecting the broken link of the below world and the above.

In Houston, Texas exists a vast underworld. Pedestrian tunnels that exist two stories below the street level contain a breed of pro-fessionals who work in the city’s downtown. By the end of the work week, these tunnels are vacated and forgotten until the hectic life of the professional starts again on Monday morning. There is a need for reconnection between these two places [above and be-low], which will allow the memory of the ground to be seen, and therefore, remembered.

Within Houston exists a trace of a building that rests on the outside of the city’s downtown. Located on a predominately flat and unde-veloped area, this building stands tall, looking longingly at Hous-ton’s skyline, as if it is begging for inclusion. Seen as a forgotten element of the city’s border once the highway was established which consequently cut the ties between it and downtown, this

abandoned building contains within a vast history of use that is just waiting to be exposed.

Lifting the ground plane to create the layers of built and occupiable space, vertical movement becomes the point at which experienc-ing all these layers is possible. Establishing this visual connection at the point of common travel is one way that could tie the spaces’ inhabitants together.

The top most layer of the urban palimpsest traces human travel through a site. Trace evidence left by every passer by becomes part of the site’s history and connects the city with all of its’ inhabit-ants. The ghosts of travelers past are always with us as we experi-ence any site, sharing the path they once traveled. The importance of being in the moment, as well as remembering the footsteps we follow can be further enhanced if we are allowed glimpses of what is to come. Providing the full scope of time in a way that is visually accessible allows for complete awareness of the spatial self in relation to the site as a whole.

T H E S I S A B S T R A C T “when the focus is not just put on the appear-ance of the physical construct of cities but on the intangible underlying spatial systems, deep similarities between cities and human mind

[can be uncovered]” 2 — AZIMZADEH BJUR


A collage creating a visual of a passer-by walking above ground — unknowingly, the surface below [seeking attention] emits signs of life at the only point in which it can escape — a city grate —


B A C K G R O U N D

There are aspects of the world which are not remembered — contained within our ground that occasionally sneak out : a street grate releases steam from the sub-way systems below providing that physi-cal reminder of what lies below our feet. The world below is one that is rarely ex-perienced in the same sense as the world above. The two are separated by layers of the past that have been covered over by the detritus of the urban fabric.

What currently exists are filters in the ground that decide what aspects of below are revealed : the same street grate is a filter which people usually avoid walking on, further isolating the recognition of the memories below ground. By playing with the materiality of the filter and making them more inviting, feelings of curiosity would cause individuals to seek out the thresh-olds between the above and below, trans-forming the space between from a forgotten void without ground to an inhabitable place, to re-establish that route of connection.


The memory of the ground must be seen and experienced, as the experience is what our mind takes in to RECALL at a later time. Therefore to fully experience this we must travel through the layers of the land. This would allow people to be reconnected with the past; therefore re-establishing their connection with the present. As occupants of this world, we cannot fully grasp the re-ality and complexity without a direct con-nection — to bridge this connection is the challenge.

Moving through the ground plane and movement in general is a strong notion when it is tied to a journey, as this insinu-ates that there is something to be discov-ered.

A path is a multi-faceted idea relating to movement — a path should work with the topography of the existing land as well as relate to the history of the space. Alvara Siza’s Galician Centre for Contemporary Art is a good example that combines the ideas of path, landscape, and history to create movement and journey. Situated “on a wedge of land between the rising landscape of the gardens...and the dense urban layout of the Medieval City...we ex-perience the passage through...as a shift-in-between-zone.”2

The building becomes a filter for movement that is a revival of the historical pilgrimages that once took place on those grounds. The journey here is about the continuous move-ment without a predetermined destination despite the building’s internal path culmi-nating on a roof garden that looks out onto the city. Even constant movement needs a moment of pause so one could take in the journey, look out at the old city, and both see and feel the connection to the past and present.


Momentary pauses of space along a path provides resting places for people to inter-nally digest. Because of this, memory of that experience is able to be processed, and later, RECALLED.

While on these paths, trace evidence is visible from every experience had, left be-hind from our journeys. Humans imprint themselves on the places they visit and ultimately leave behind, and it is this fact that ties the individual to the collective, the people with the landscape, and ultimately, the present with the past.

From a coffee cup left behind on a park bench, one can gather that a person was recently there, as physical evidence of their existence was left for another to find. We can trace back that person’s steps from a nearby coffee shop where that individual more than likely purchased the coffee.

Buildings also leave behind marks of their previous selves. “It is not uncommon for the mosques of Turkey to stand on founda-tions that are not their own.”3 If one were to excavate any piece of land, memories of the past would surely be uncovered.

The significance of this in relation to this thesis is that it shows how our current

ground plane that we build on, has a his-tory - that no site is pure. Fresh coatings of Earth of piled, erased, and evolving, mak-ing the upper layer of our land most open to change. There are other types of ground plane that are even more susceptible to change : water.

Water’s reflectivity and continuous move-ment makes the water’s surface the most ever changing ground plane. The edge of ground plane where water and land inter-sect, is a condition that has great possibility for change as well, and it is at these types of edges that is of particular interest.

Plans of Siza’s Galician Centre for Contempo-ry art. The movement through the plan is not linear, but actually cyclical. (opposite above). Exterior photograph of Siza’s Galician for Contemporary Art (opposite below).

MiAS Arquitectes’ GRN/Banyoles Public Space. Water collection elements are cut into the pavers, which allows for traces of water to be seen after most of the rain has dried.


This thesis was built on the idea of finding the best medium to illustrate the idea. Often times, ideas are conceived from the simplest of methods, the SKETCH. By sketching, you capture the basic components of the idea, which are often times so rooted in the foundation they become the element that is carried throughout. DRAW. By doing this, you explore the sketch in two dimensions with an architectural framework. After this, MODEL what you feel is correct in two dimensions, which allows you to see the problems, and opportunities you didn’t for see in the drawing. The natural progression after this is to adapt the ideas and experimentations explored with the hand model, and generate a COMPUTER MODEL, which allows scale and site to be explored. However, in order to fully allow your idea to be seen above the rendered image, OVERLAY of the image is needed. It allows you to return to the SKETCH that started this pro-cess of design development.


M E T H O D O L O G Y

YOU LEARN THE MOST

BETWEEN THE STEPS OF

DRAWING AND MODELING

WORKING IN THREE

DIMENSIONS ALLOWS FOR THE

MOST EXPERIMENTATION OF

YOUR IDEAS


1 are the foundations of the idea visible throughout the thesis [ site : program : space : details ]

2 is there a sense of layered experiences which help to trigger memories [ spatially revisit past experiences while in the present space ]

3 has materiality been explored for the layers of space to create different memories of the same experience [ using materials to reveal : hide : expose ]

T E R M S O F C R I T I C I S M

EARLY QUESTIONS ASKED OF THIS THESIS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS


Being aware of how you fit within a larger context is the root of this thesis. From there, the idea stems from being able to make visual and mental connections between the spatial experiences. Imagining an area of semi-enclosed space, where you are centrally situated, in the middle of all possible visual connections, is a sense of many layers of transparent space. The legibility within layered space starts with the understanding of what is about to be experienced. For example, while reading a dense body of text, the easiest way to understand the work is to read the beginning [understand the basic ideas that the author is planning to detail further] and to read the end [to determine how the author sum-marizes the work] and it is your job as the reader to then piece together all the points that connect the already understood ‘beginning’ and ‘end’. If one were to translate this idea to how we may move through architectural space, it would be an easy endeavor to start individuals at the entry [the beginning of the work]; however, how does one usher the individual to the end? Perhaps it’s just a matter of emphasizing the exit so that it has as much impact as the entry historically does. Or perhaps upon entering, you can visually make connections to those exiting and completing their journey of the space, as it acts as a foreshadowing element in the design. This notion of providing visual cues in the form of fragments of the journey that are to come, is what provides the trigger of memory in order to create the recall of the space. This thesis focuses on creating expe-riential spaces that link together and play off of each other, culminating in progressions of space that lead you through from beginning to end. It is about exposing a journey by isolating the layers of the spaces ex-perienced and highlighting them along a path so that one can foresee fragments of what is to come, and what was already experienced. By doing so, the spaces provide visual cues of the journey, allowing one to progressively establish recall. In addition to the importance of en-try and exit, the overall site on which the building sits and in turn the

smaller details or connection points which structurally piece how the building comes together, also contributes to the idea of recall. The unification of two elements can also be seen as three layers of mo-ments: two materials coming together and the structure in between al-lows one to recall each of the elements separately but also holistically.

The trigger is a physical manifestation of a memory reminding you of the past. This was spatially translated into layers of space emulating from the abandoned building to the highway that originally broke the connection to the city, and also from beneath the ground plane and up. The idea of spatially layering both program [stemming from the abandoned building] and movement is to obtain a sense of transpar-ency, while still maintaining identity of each layer; one can experience the space as it exists but also be influenced by what comes before and after. The fluidity between the two is what creates the transparency.

How these triggers of space are manifested is through materiality. Materials can change the perception of form, space and void. Re-lated to the varying levels of transparency needed to establish recall, there is a need for glass to take on several roles: reflectivity, translu-cency and transparency. Other materials such as wood and con-crete are used emulate the dichotomy of warmth and cold in terms of emotional responses to space, and even water being used as a building material to understand the temporary nature of a trigger.


An important part in letting an idea or thought grow is to constantly

draw it. You can see what evolves, what is disregarded, and what is constantly being recalled in your

own work. By doing so, a natural adaptation of the idea is manifested in the

simplest of forms; a sketch. If any questions arise between the idea and the design, the drawing

will reveal the correct path.

: sketch : overlay : collage :“The process I go through in the art and the architecture, I want it to be almost childlike.

Sometimes I think it’s magical.”— MAYA LIN


t h o u g h t s


Early studies or thoughts — some of which were done prior to this thesis, but have evi-dence of similar thinking — the foundation con-tained within this thesis [memory and RECALL] live in the roots of most of the work through-out my undergraduate and graduate studies.

S K E T C H B O O K


S K E T C H B O O K


A concept collage. Pulling together various im-ages, composing them on a page, then overlay-ing in order to find the inevitable connections between the once dissimilar, individual pieces.


S K E T C H B O O Kconcept collage


One’s immediate and instinctual responses to anything, whether it be games of word as-sociation or reactionary sketching about a spatial idea, performing a series of explor-atory studies allows you to identify all initial, biased ideas - get all your preconceived no-tions on the table so that you, as a designer, can evaluate all that you think you know. This step is done often but perhaps goes unnamed; however, by naming this step, you acknowl-edge that the initial work does not signify truth, but rather, an important collection of ideas to fall back on. In a sense, this is a creative ex-ercise in free association - the critical aspect would be to not censor your mind but to put forth all ideas, good and bad, strong or weak.

This diagram holds significant value in this the-sis. It was one of the first diagrams created in an attempt to draw “memory”. Seen as isolated moments along many different paths, advanc-ing towards the sought out for Memory is like traveling through many moments along the way - milestones are reached and identified as such, and one has the ability to look back and remind oneself of what moment they just experienced. There were several times along this the-sis where this diagram was RECALLED

because sometimes it is what you do at the very beginning that you cannot escape from. If these early ideas always seem to fil-ter their way into your current work, than it is these ideas that are at the root of it all.

An early diagram depicting various memories in space. Paths connect each memory, making each individual component a part of the puzzle which makes up the collec-tive whole.


S K E T C H B O O Kpreconceived notions


S K E T C H B O O Kformation of a memory

If you close your eyes and attempt to think of anything, zoning into that something cre-ates an almost tunnel effect within your mind. You can feel your conscious pull towards that something and the image becomes more clear the closer you get to the something.

TRANSLATE THAT FEELING INTO ARCHITECTURAL SPACE AND MATERIALITY


Concept Collage. A collage representing the tunnel-like effect one experiences when at-tempting to reclaim a forgotten piece of infor-mation.


S K E T C H B O O Ka play with lines

Every line represented on a drawing has meaning. What is particularly interesting are the moments when the pen first touch-es the paper, and the point at which the pen is lifted from the paper. It is at these starting and stopping points that allow the viewer to trace the lines as they were drawn; almost bearing witness to the work being made.

By visualizing this, you are seeing beyond what the work is; you are inserting yourself into the work. Architecture, as well as art, can have this interaction. In a space whose form and materials create a dialogue, visitors can appreciate the dynamic play of the material space and start to understand the amalgama-tion of parts the designer used to create it.

This play of space was taken down to the sim-plest of forms, the line, and how manipulating the flat paper can allow the same line to create an imprint, impression or a edge condition that pro-motes this kind of interaction and involvement.

The flattened artwork. A 24”x36” size paper was cut and folded at random moments. While fold-ed, continuous lines were drawn in a variety of mediums. Unfolded and flattened, levels of line clarity were seen, included areas which only had impressions of lines created by the fold.


R E C A L L T H E T R A C E

Moments of the larger art displayed on the wall in three dimensions.


A look at some of the artistic and architectural influences that had an impact on this thesis.

P R E C E D E N T


P R E C E D E N T


P R E C E D E N Tmary miss


Mary Miss is a visionary artist, sculptor, and ar-chitect. Many of her installations are located in public spaces that allow the user to use their own minds to connect the dots — there is a sto-ry in her work, often times evoking the buried truth of the site where her work is present.

The sense of Place is vital, for her installations would have a different meaning if they were elsewhere. This importance of place is some-thing that gives great meaning to the work.

Within architecture, Site is something that doesn’t necessarily mean Place. Place entails uniqueness.

Site locates the Place, but does not define it. To create Place is to explore the site’s buried history and to share the history with the public, creating a communal experience that connects us all.

RECALL THE IMPLIED

USE THIS IDEA OF PLACE TO EXPLORE THESIS SITE AND HISTORY


P R E C E D E N Tmaya lin

Maya Lin’s competition Drawing.

A simple but bold gesture. Maya Lin’s Vietnam Memorial shows how we can make clear and precise design decisions that also hold deep meaning. This memorial has Place. It relates to the locations of both the Lincoln and the Washington Memorial; tying the design into it’s contextual site while also threading together history.


Understanding the simple, yet powerful design of the Vietnam Memorial in Wash-ington, D.C. Creating a clear and clean design move allows the user to compre-hend the meaning, therefore allowing them to have a more personal connection to it.

1 2 3

4 5


Steven Holl’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is about movement. Movement happens all around, in between, and on top of other paths, the majority of which are not knowingly connected. However, if you overlay the paths of movement, travel patterns are similar as seen in the diagram.

This is what RECALL is identified as here - where one remembers the steps of pre-vious steps traveled and then relates it to another experience had in the space.

The idea of creating a moment above ground that relates to an experience below is pow-erful. It allows a connection among the nor-mally disconnected. The ability to RECALL a previous experience is within your active memory. From this, your mind traces back the steps leading to your present existence.

P R E C E D E N Tthe nelson-atkins museum of art

Photos of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.


Watercolor Concept Sketch. A sketch complet-ed by Steven Holl Architects. In the schematic design of this museum, Holl was thinking about the relationships of the movement below and above aground.

Diagram of the circulation through the Museum. Between levels, movement is only the same at the vertical circulation.


The idea of creating a moment above ground that relates to an experience below ground is powerful. It allows a connection between the two worlds, and moreso creates a connection among the normally disconnected.

The ability to recall a previous experience is active MemorThe ability to recall a previous experience is active Memory. From this, your mind traces back the steps that leads to your present existance. To push this idea more, I imagine multiple connections and recall interventions so that one does not just experience the beginning and middle, but points in between that begin to tie the puzzle together.

MAKING A CONNECTION AS A FORM OF RECALL

identify disconnection establish intervention create recall

4 Saieh, Nico. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art / Steven Holl Architects. Arch Daily. 30 July 2008. <http://www.archdaily.com/4369/the-nelson-atkins-museum-of-art-steven-holl-architects/>

the Nelson-Atkins museum of artsteven holl

“The “moons” of the art work are circular skylight discs in the bottom of the pool that project water-refracted light into the garage below.”4

FIG. 1.1

identify disconnection establish intervention create RECALL

MAKING A CONNECTION AS A FORM OF RECALL

Diagrams illustrating the intervention Holl created in his design of the “moons.”


A collage created between individual photo-graphs to show the connection between the above and below ground.

“The ‘moons’ of the art work are circular skylight discs in the bottom of the pool that project water-refracted light into the garage below”19


P R E C E D E N Tinstitute of contemporary art

Diller Scofidio’s ICA has become an iconic form on Boston’s harbor walk. The building itself folds onto itself, creating both enclosed spaces above and below. One could trace this fold on the facade and thus become more understand-ing of the spaces of which the fold contains.

What is also unique about this building is the computer room which folds down from the cantilever. The slab of the computer room is wrapped in the same material as the cantile-ver, so one could visually predict that this room was created by a simple cut within the cantile-ver. Being able to conceptually make your own understanding of a building allows the building itself to be more memorable because you put your own interpretation on it and thereby own-ing a piece of it in your memory.

“As explained by Elizabeth Diller: ‘The design of the ICA negotiates between two competing ob-jectives: to perform as a dynamic civic building filled with public and social activities, and as a contemplative space providing individual visitors with intimate experiences with contemporary art. The “public” building is built from the ground up; the “intimate” building, from the sky down”6

Photographs of the ICA. Overlays were done over photos of this building indicating what a viewer can easily enage about this building’s design.


P R E C E D E N Tgenzyme center

PEOPLE TEND TO ONLY “LIVE” IN THE AREA WHERE THEIR DESK OR OF-

FICE IS - THEY DON’T GET TO EXPERIENCE OTHER SPACES. VERTICAL

MOVEMENT TO GET TO YOUR WORKSPACE OR COMMON AREAS SUCH

IS INEVITABLE - BY PROVIDING VISIBLE VERTICAL MOVEMENT IN AN

OPEN ATRIUM THAT GIVES VIEWS TO OTHER SPACES, YOU HAVE THE

OPPORTUNITY OF BEING REMINDED OF THE WHOLE.

Photographs of the Genzyme Center (this page). Overlays were done over photos of this building indicating what a viewer can easily enage about this building’s design.


Before the thesis idea was “named,” several sketch problems were developed to explore the ideas that were floating around. Once com-pleted, an evaluation of each problem was done to identify the core of the thesis idea.

S K E T C H P R O B L E M


S K E T C H P R O B L E M


S K E T C H P R O B L E Ma ramp, a stair, an elevator

How one moves from one level to another can alter the experience : a ramp moves you slowly up or down, providing ease of travel and op-portunity to focus on the surroundings : a stair allows for a faster transition between levels but can take focus away from the space because of its’ nature to move people quickly from one destination to another : an elevator provides op-portunities to pause and view one’s immediate surroundings.

After viewing such precedents as Mary Miss and Maya Lin, a sketch problem was devel-oped to explore how these three different forms of movement can be translated into the land-scape. Each would require varying cuts into the ground plane, which in turn would create differ-ent lighting effects below ground.

A ramp created smoother and more dynamic lighting patterns. What a ramp allows for is a more gradual transition between levels. Indi-viduals traveling on the ramp can focus on their surroundings instead of focusing on their foot movement.

A stair was a much faster transition into the ground and did not require as much land re-moval than the ramp; however, entering the ground plane through a stair seems less grace-full and movement between levels would be more focussed on the steps than on the experi-ence of travel.

Traveling through the ground plane by eleva-tor was a much less passive mode of move-ment; however, the cuts in the ground plane would create very focussed areas of light at a certain time of day - because of this, one could RECALL the time of day based on the light conditions of the below.

BUT HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO GROUND PLANE?

A manipulation of paper study [pre-sketch prob-lem]. Lines were drawn on the paper and cuts were then made to create a fantasized illusion of ramp-like elements. Putting these above a light source emulated an underground source of energy.


A simple cut in a cardboard box to symbolize a ramp. A peep hole on the back side of the box allowed a photograph to be taken from the inside to see the various lighting effects that took place as the box was rotated in a room [understanding how sunlight moving across the sky can provide different lighting effects below ground].


Using the same box technique as the ramp, a cut in the ground plane was then created using a stair as a model. For this model, an additional cut was made on the side of the box, showing that people will travel towards the light and this could be used as a natural way finding tech-nique.


Again using the same technique, a small cut was made for a glass elevator to penetrate the ground plane. Unlike a stair or a ramp which can be more wide to accommodate heavy pe-destrian traffic, if only elevators are provided to bring people below ground, then several will need to be provided. However, interesting light wells are then created as seen in the photo-graph [light directly overhead].


S K E T C H P R O B L E Mreconnecting the disconnected

Upon completing a sketch problem on ways of entering the ground plane, there was another question that quickly arose.

In Houston, Texas, twenty feet below ground and almost seven miles in length, exists an elaborate tunnel system that connects nearly ninety-five city blocks.

Although completely pedestrian in use, the majority of the users are the business popu-lation working downtown Monday thru Friday. The tunnels are closed on the weekends even though there are a plethora of retail and dining options that do not exist on the street level.

There is a world left behind not is not able to be experienced; going by unnoticed. This sketch problem aims at creating an experience where the above and below are reconnected.

WHAT CURRENTLY IS BENEATH THE GROUND PLANE?

CREATES DISCONNECT BETWEEN ABOVE AND BELOW

SITE

City of Houston Map . An overlay of an aerial view of Houston and the underground tunnel systems.


metro line

metro line

metro lin

ePartial rendering of Houston. A partial area of the city was modeled in Archicad and then ren-dered. At the metro line which runs primarily N-S downtown, the ground plan was removed to show the elaborate tunnel system that is con-tained below.


RECALL is made through visual connection; however, in order to have that visual connec-tion, you also need opportunities for discon-nect. It is the dichotomy of these elements that allows one to realize when RECALL happens.By creating a destination zone, the new metro line, where you are traveling between the zones aiming to be reconnected, you are constantly aware of where you are in relationship to the above and below. From the time you exit and see the metro line again, you are reminded of

your experience.

Having spatial reminders of what you wish to have RECALLED allows one to temporarily forget the experience, creating the necessary

experiential dichotomy

VIEWS INTO SPACES WHICH ARE CONTAINED —

EXPOSE : REVEAL : THE UNSEEN


Rendering a 3D view at the intersection of the metro line with a hand overlay, depicts what it would feel like to travel through the line as it slices through the ground plane, where you could experience the above and below in the same scenario.

m e t r o l i n e


S K E T C H P R O B L E Mthe memory container

Memory is not as simple as seeing something as experimented with in the previous sketch problem; it is about the approach and progres-sion towards the idea, space or object that is aiming to be RECALLED.

Different kinds of memory exist, and if we were to physically manifest this into the built environ-ment, they would need to be represented dif-ferently.

Materiality is extremely important when at-tempting to represent a memory. A memory, for example, can be known, forgotten, discovered or traced, and each would have different spatial and material characteristics.

A known memory would be a space that is simply open and exposed. It would be the gen-eral understanding of the space one is in. A forgotten memory may be a space that is hidden from view; perhaps you can hear sounds coming from the space so you are aware of its existence; however, you are generally unaware

of its location. A discovered memory is more about the journey to a space where the path one takes is as memorable as the space itself; one recalls the space but also the progression towards it. Translucency of space would be a suggestive way of eluding to spaces that are to be discovered. It would be a way of spa-tially hinting that there as spaces beyond; fur-ther memories to find. And finally, a traced memory, which could be a space whose ma-terials stretch beyond their normally contained area. A flooring pattern that leads you to the space and pulls you in, or a window into the space where you can trace the way you get there.

This sketch problem plays with materials while walking through a sea of shipping containers that have been transformed into physical mani-festations contained memories.


An aerial view of Head Island. This site was selected because of its proximity to the water. The thought was that water could be explored as a building material. As a surface, water would have a level of reflectivity which would be constantly evolving — it would always portray the current, with traces of the past being which are still physically present on the top most layer, the history of each reflection layered deeply beyond the surface. Shipping containers that currently inhabit the island were thought of as memory containers — the transformation of these containers to accessible memory banks was the aim in this sketch problem.


EXPOSED PATHS INTO EACH CONTAINER —

TRACED MEMORY

EFFECTS OF MATERIAL SURFACE

AT NIGHT WATER AS A MATERIAL —

PLAYS OF REFLECTIVITY TO OB-

SCURE SPACE

PERSONAL CONNECTION


IMPRESSIONS OF A WALL — TOUCH AS A MARKER FOR

IDENTIFICATION —

TEXTUREINSCRIPTIONS

ZONES OF SPACE

Opposite page. The shipping containers were modeled and rendered in Archicad, then brought into photoshop for overlay and collage. It was imagined what it would be like to experience the container [memory] on all sides — if one were to travel above or below, how would the percep-tion of the container change. A memory was thought of, for it’s physical manifestation, as a space which completely reflected it’s surroundings. You cannot see directly into it, but the reflectivity of the memory’s surface would provide the illusion of immense depth and continuous knowledge that was contained within.

Experiencing the outside of a container on the ground level, a person touches the container and all of their thoughts of what is inside become invisibly arrayed on the memory’s surface. The plan of the existing shipping containers, as well as the traveling between resemble’s that of Eisenman’s Berlin Holocaust Memorial, but instead of the solid masses, one would be able to inhabit the con-tainer memories.


Several articles influenced the early ideas of this thesis, and helped to iden-tify potential program and spatial quali-ties this thesis would need to explore.

R E A D I N G S


R E A D I N G S


Paul Rudolf’s Lindemann Mental Health Cen-ter is an example of an expression of form and material that does not consider the end user’s comfort — he “made the building ‘insane’ in order to express the insanity within.”15 The hammered concrete walls that extend into the building’s interior spaces become harmful to a patient who attempts to tap the walls in order to ground themselves in space.15

Architecture and the built environment have a profound impact on our lives. Spending the ma-jority of our lives indoors, it is inevitable that our indoor environment can alter, or have the per-ception of altering, our moods, attitudes, health, and general well-being. However, the reverse of this is also possible.

In an article, “The Architecture of Madness,” Philip Nobel argues that our interior spaces, and all the components that make up these spaces, have great impacts on the building’s occupants.

R E A D I N G Sinterior environments that impact our lives

HOW MUST YOU BALANCE THE NEED TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM BUT STILL ALLOW FOR THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE SPACE?

“the ‘wasted space’ of any building is ‘more im-portant than that which is used’ because it pro-

vides ‘space for the subconscious.”17

Photos of Lindemann Health Center. An interior and exterior view. The building’s harsh exterior texture travels inward.


R E A D I N G Sties to a communal public space

The success of a public space is dependant of the community’s ties to it. There needs to be a collective conscious that a space is worth saving, worth the communal upkeep.

One way to establish this is by creating a public intervention that requires public involvement.

In the article, “Art in Public Spaces: Creating Memory and Community by Design,” there is a discussion of permanence — art con-verts to monument when there is a sense of this — and the longevity of permanence, while attempting to create a collective mem-ory or truth, alienates the public from per-sonal experience or influence of the art. Veronica Verkley “Dream Figures” were com-pleted as part of a display on the Toronto’s Don

River Valley. She created the artwork in re-sponse to the City’s request to “gain public sup-port...participation and public awareness of the revitalization” that was taking place in this area.

“The Don, once an important historical and industrial corridor, was a unique natural sys-tem, now badly polluted and forgotten. Link-ing open or wild public spaces with an urban art event encourages active participation and might change the public’s opinion of the value of this space... Evoking memories of a time when urban was rural, the figures watch the City’s commuters as they pass by.”8

Photos of “Dream Figures.” Composed of ele-ments found in nature, these sculptures were displayed to highlight the reuse of the existing to create something new, something which was taking place with the adaptive reuse of Toron-to’s buildings.


R E A D I N G Screating a spatial memory

The architecture of Peter Zumthor as described by Philip Urspring in his essay, “Earthworks,” paints a romanticized memory of the approach, entry and experience within the Saint Benedict Chapel. Urspring states how his own under-standing of Zumthor’s work was only what he gathered through the infamous photographs of this building by Hans Danuser.

However, upon visiting the site, his perception of the chapel changes dramatically. Describing moments such as “the effort of walking uphill, the crunching gravel under [his] shoes,” re-inforces the notion that one’s experience of a building starts before you enter.24

Upon entering, he realized that “the moment of entry was not marked by a specific thresh-old but by the sudden change of perception,” and as Urspring moved through the space in a spiraling fashion, which was delightfully discon-tinuous to the linear movement in the approach, he found a place to sit, to reflect, “where the memories of [his] trip to the chapel, the transi-tion from the outside to the inside, the various sensations, and the reflection of the site blurred together.”25


“More than the legendary episode at the begin-ning of Marcel Proust’s novel Remembrance of Things Past—when the narrator dips a made-leine into a cup of tea and experiences a flash-back to his childhood—was always intrigued by another, less-known episode at the end of the novel. Namely, the moment when the nar-rator gives way to an approaching carriage in a courtyard in Paris, steps back, and stumbles against some unevenly placed paving stones. He remains there, repeating the movement, one foot upon the higher flagstone and the oth-er on the lower. He tries to figure out what this movement reminds him of, while the passers-by watch him with amusement. Eventually, he recalls the same sensation he had many years ago and is overwhelmed with happiness: “It was Venice.” The occurrence in the courtyard evoked the feeling he had experienced as he “stood on two uneven stones in the baptistery of St. Mark’s.” What Proust describes—the tac-tile sensation of the uneven ground under his slow moving feet—is intrinsically connected to what Maurice Halbwachs described as “spatial memory.” And this spatial memory, I would ar-gue, is a crucial component of the architectural

experience.”25

APPROACH

ENTRY

PAUSE TOREFLECT


The site for this thesis was carefully chosen because of the ironically

strong presence of an abandoned building. Adjacent to the freeway, one got the sense that this Building once

stood strong; it was left behind - a forgotten memory and constant re-

minder of the past. Going by unnoticed, it is as if this site, which

faces the city’s downtown skyline, is begging to be seen, to be

RECALLED.

R E C A L L T H EF O R G O T T E N

“Place, I repeat, is space that can be remembered - that you can hold in the mind

and consider. It is this capacity for being held in the mind that allows places to accrue

significances that are both intimate and public. They dwell in the minds of the individuals...they help in the development of shared con-

ceptions that bind our thoughts together.”

— DONLYN LYDON


p r e c u r s o r


The site was carefully researched on all dif-ferent scales [macro & micro]. There was a definite need to understand the site’s ex-isting conditions, the surrounding area, and the details held within the actual site - finding RECALL at these different scales.S I T E I N T R O D U C T I O N


S I T E I N T R O D U C T I O N


D O M I N A T I N GP R E S E N C E


A collage of the site. The dominating force of the site is the abandoned building, which sits facing the highway and is surrounded by a field of flat parking lots.


D I S C O N N E C T I O N

The city of Houston is unrestrained; however, the zone defined as downtown has very clear borders, especially along the East edge, where Highway 59 wraps around the edge of the sky-line. This is where the site for this thesis is lo-cated — on the edge of the freeway, on the op-posite side of downtown Houston. The city ends quite abruptly at this moment — all pedestrian activity is limited to the West side of the free-way, and scarcely is the underside of the free-way crossed. The disconnection is increased further because the site is currently littered with the belongings of the homeless. There is a food pantry to the North of the site, and a shelter to the West, just beyond Minute Maid Park.


h i g h w a y

D O W N T O W N

SITEfood pantry

shelter


S I T E S P E C I F I C

The site’s existing occupants [homeless] reside at this location because of the very nature of the site’s meaning — forgotten pieces of soci-ety who have flocked to this site, this building, because it also represents a forgotten memory. Thousands of commuters drive by this site on the highway everyday — it is completely visible, yet somehow is regrettably dismissed.


R E C O N N E C T I O N

Such a disconnection creates a great opportu-nity - reconnect the site with downtown, using the highway as the connection or entry point. The goal would be to transform the barrier into a filter, one which brings people in and out. One of the site constraints is that the site bor-ders the on ramp to the highway; therefore, in order to create continuous travel, there needs to be access below the ground plane that al-lows the filter to run independently of the traffic above ground.


S I T E : H O U S T O N T E X A Sat a glance


abandoned building

minute maid

minute maid parking

highway 59

convention center

toyota center

downtown houston

buffalo bayou

Photos of the surrounding landmarks of the site.


F I R S T I M P R E S S I O N

Houston is undeniably a freeway city. Layers of vehicular traffic hover over the grounds, leaving areas of the city impassable. Like many cities, the highway wraps around the city skyline on the East side. Not only are the highways occu-pying the air grounds [space above the ground plane], but the highways are also on street level the majority of the time, making pedestrian traf-fic discontinuous at best.


U N D E R G R O U N D T U N N E L

Tunnels disconnect downtown’s street level ex-perience; however, they do connect 50 down-town buildings and parking structures 20’-0” below ground. The only way to entry the down-town tunnels are through the lobby or parking garages of the downtown buildings; therefore, for many, these downtown tunnels are a mys-tery. Only opened Monday through Friday dur-ing normal business hours, there is a limited population that ever get to experience these spaces, which as one can see from the photo-graphs [left], there is no connection to the street level once you are inside the tunnels.


C O N T E X T D I A G R A M S


L I N E O F I N H I B I T I O N

This diagram looks at the aerial view of down-town and the thesis site. The highway contin-ues to travel North upon leaving the site, where there is a very clear division of developed and non-developed land.

The highway establishes height zones between both dividing sides. It acts as a breaking point for both height and scale of buildings which pro-vides the necessary relief between large scale dominance, but also creates a spatial barrier.



This diagram indicates the three major public buildings that exist along the line of the freeway.

Major functions that reside along the freeway branch out from the highway and bleed back to-wards downtown. Because the highway creates a barrier, scattered pieces of leftover land and buildings are seen throughout Eastern down-town.



This diagram clearly shows the uniformity of the city block on the East side of the freeway, ex-cept in the area directly adjacent to the thesis site. This is because of the more residential and small business development in East Houston.

The scale of program changes dramatically across the highway. Feeding one site of the highway are major public functions; however, adjacent to the thesis site is primarily standard-ized city blocks consisting of parking, empty lots and residential.


SITE H I S T O R Y


R E C A L L T H E S I T Eexamine the past for possible re-use

The abandoned building that sits on the site was either an industrial or warehouse building that supported the train tracks and Union Sta-tion which are adjacent to the site. Once a ma-jor hub of the city, this location was at one time contained by the dominance of the train tracks, ironically a similar condition to today’s restric-tions due to the highway.

FED OFF THE HIGHWAY ARE CUL-TURAL HUBS - THIS IS THE NEW IN-DUSTRY - CELEBRATE THE HIGH-WAY BY TAKING PEDESTRIANS ACROSS IT; DON’T BE LIMITED BY IT.


These photos at the bottom of page show Hous-ton in the 1930s, when the train station was the means at which goods were sent into and out of the area. With the construction of the highway, the train tracks got built over and many of them are no longer in use.


R E C A L L T H E S I T Eredevelopment of a larger site

The site is located in the historical political district called 2nd Ward. With the construc-tion of the freeway which aided in people’s work commutes into downtown, there was an added level of interest to live downtown. Existing buildings started converting to loft spaces, which attracted younger generations to the 2nd Ward. While the freeway brought people into the city, it paralyzed the pedestrian activity in the area adjacent to it. Back when this area was in full production, there was a plethora of schools to accommodate the growing popula-tion in this area. Little by little these schools closed down or were converted into different programs because there was no longer that need. However, since this area is beginning to be more populated, and the city is investing of the redevelopment, there seems to be a need once again.

TO ENSURE THE LONGEVITY OF A SCHOOL, A SECOND COMPONENT WOULD NEED TO BE INTRODUCED WITH IT - A PUBLIC COMPONENT WHICH WOULD AID IN THE CON-TINUOUS DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW.


These photos show various evolutions of the surrounding site as a result of the construction of the highway.


R E C A L L T H E S I T Epublic art plan

The City of Houston developed a master plan for their vision of Houston’s future. The plan aims to reclaim the waterfront of the Bayou, part of which is below the intersection of two major highways.

What is most interesting about the plan the city put together is that the redevelopment does not continue past the highway.

Although the art walk runs parallel to the high-way, by not including the highway redevelop-ment, it hinders the 2nd Ward of Houston abil-ity to connect back to the city. At some point a plan development does need to have a stop-ping point; however, by doing so at the strong division line of the highway, an even stronger barrier, or containment exists.

“Create high amenity urban waterfront, pedestrian friendly streets & promote adaptive reuse”

WHY?

PROPOSE A PROGRAM TO CONNECT WITH THIS PLAN COULD CREATE THE NECESSARY LINK BETWEEN 2ND WARD & DOWNTOWN


This map is a part of the City’s Public Art Plan. Its focus is to beautify the Bayou and create a welcoming waterfront, but also to connect Dis-covery Green, situated across from the Con-vention Center.


SITE D I A G R A M S


R E C A L L T H E S I T Eexterior movementOn the existing facade of the abandoned build-ing, there is evidence of human activity. The exterior fire stairs add a layer to the facade, as does the existing graffiti painted on the bricks. If one can identify these components as layers, they could isolate each layer, pull them apart, and the re-trace [re-imagine] the steps one took to do the graffiti. This ability to trace move-ment is a form of RECALL. If you can visualize something that is not there in the present, than you are in essence, remembering. Now if more than one person does this same thing, it is an act of collective memory, which as it relates to this thesis, means that all those who are a part of this collection, are linked together, subcon-sciously.

Another aspect seen here is the exterior move-ment — the existing stairs represent a possible re-animation of this facade by exposing the cir-culation.

EXPOSE THE CIRCULATION TO REPLICATE THE TRACE


This exploded diagram isolates layers on the existing facade in order to identify the impor-tance of exposed circulation. Whether people are actively using the stairs or not, by expos-ing circulation, we as potential occupants of the space can visualize ourselves moving in the space, then when we actually experience the space, we can RECALL the previous visualiza-tions had and compare the pervious experience with the actual experience.


R E C A L L T H E S I T Eexisting layers within the flat siteShifting to the ground plane, the site on which the abandoned buildings sits is perceived as flat at first glance. However, when one takes the time to examine the ground is actually made up of several partially coated layers. These fresh coatings of pavement spark the curiosity that something is being covered up.

EVIDENCE OF THE BELOW


This exploded diagram isolates layers on the existing ground plane. By pulling these layers apart, one can imagine a spatial layer below the surface, perhaps once occupiable, that has recently been covered up by a poor patching of the earth’s top most surface.


R E C A L L T H E S I T Elocating the lifeThe site also has traces of plant life that are visible - coming through the cracks of the ma-terials on the groundplane, and even above the groundplane. These traces were typically documented where there was a separation of materials, or when two dissimilar materials came together. Again, this resurfacing of life is evidence of the life below that is seeking to be RECALLED at the surface.

DETAILING IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT IN THE THESIS - PERHAPS AT THE MEETING OF DISSIMILAR MATERIALS THERE SHOULD BE A LAYER ON ITS OWN THAT CONNECTS THE TWO, BUT PROVIDES THE NECESSARY RELIEF.


These are photographs taken from the site, with enlarged pieces to indicate that even though the “‘life” is a small part of the whole, it does not go unnoticed.


The ground plane is not a singular entity. It is composed of many distinct layers which is seen on the site. These layers are constantly shifting and moving, and when they do, layers below are revealed. These shifts promote the activ-ity of cracking, which reveals that the top most layer of the ground plane is the weakest. By be-ing witness of these planes within the ground, you are RECALLING the different layers of the ground. Part of RECALL is the ability to iden-tify a multitude of components ; however, this knowledge is only valuable when put together to form the RECALL of the whole

R E C A L L T H E S I T Elocating the life


An exploded axon of the layers of the ground-plane.


While walking around the site, several voids in the groundplane were identified. Lo-cated by either entry points or stairs, they were found where there was evidence of in-creased foot traffic. These holes, drew interest.

These voids, at their most basic root, are em-bodiments of Maya Lin’s work. The way she carved out land in the ground plane, yet the voids did not read as empty holes, but as a part of the continuous ground plane [recog-nizing that the ground plane is not a plane, but a mass of space that can be inhabited].

RECALL THE IMPLIED GROUNDPLANE

R E C A L L T H E S I T Evoids in the ground plane


Site photographs identifying the locations of the voids.


Continuing the walk around the abandoned building, one quickly notices a flattened lot cov-ered with sand adjacent to the same side of the building that has no exterior windows. One’s eye could quickly draw a mass in that voided space. Sparking questions of the current con-dition to understand the past, we assume cer-tain conditions in order to provide answers. As with exterior movement, the ability to assume makes you a part of the communal memory [perceived] of the site. By the context clues around us, we can RECALL the building’s past.

R E C A L L T H E S I T Eevidence of the building’s past


Site photograph of the existing void. Shown above is the same photographed with the drawn in mass one can visualize on the site.


During the entire thesis process, the program changed several times. In trying to identify the correct balance of new program and PUBLIC, the plan for the new building turned to an art school, with a plan to directly connect with Houston’s Public Art Plan, establishing the link needed to ensure the abandoned building and its site is no longer a forgotten memory

PRO G R A M


PRO G R A M


While trying to physically manifest ideas of RE-CALL into architectural space, what needed to be articulated was distinctive destinations. By isolating space and distinguishing these as

areas of designation [Place], one has the po-tential to identify these as memorable. The act of someone recognizing Place sets up the po-tential that they can then trace their experience and in turn, re-live the experience.

Moving between program pieces to these iden-tified spaces of Place becomes an important program element in and of itself. The intersti-tial spaces between Places become a part of the program because it is during the movement between where moments of rest and reflection can take place. It is in these spaces where it would be necessary to have a sense of lay-ered translucency throughout the building in an attempt to remind the user of the Place they came from, and provide a glimpse towards the spaces they are headed to.

An inspiration of what not to design comes from our daily encounters with maze-like office buildings. In trying to maximize space and head count, what is often overlooked is providing workplaces that engage us, rather than isolate us. In looking at the trends of recent college

residency design, there is a focus on the com-munal and the individuality of space in order to distinguish and make special.

Going back further in terms of the age of occu-pants is the K-12 school system; at this age is when we are most open to change and it is here which, if given the opportunity, we can create a strong foundation for the ways in which space can foster our visual selves.

The establishing of spatial RECALL needs to take place at the onset of learning; at a time when children’s minds are visually oriented, and their learning could be fostered by design-ing with RECALL of space, as well as knowl-edge, in mind.

D E V E L O P I N G AP R O G R A M C O N C E P T

I D E N T I F Y

DEVELOP A SCHOOL MODEL BASED ON VISUAL LEARNING

V I S U A L


RECALL of information can most easily be ac-cessed when one has or can make a visual connection to it.

Like with any piece of information that one comes in contact with, if we can place a men-tal image to associate the information with, the chance of long term RECALL is increased.

Using a cell phone interface as a model for the different ways one can organize visual informa-tion, the Blackberry, like most cell phones, or-ganizes information in a stacked format which one has to scroll down to navigate. What this allows is the ability for the user to read one piece of information at a time.

However, if one were to look at the KIN cell phone, there is a drastic difference in the in-terface. Visual information is not shown in a stacked form, but is spread out in a partially layered fashion. This interface was developed with the younger generations in mind, as kids have shown that they best understand informa-tion when it is displayed in this manner.

V SSTACKED INFORMATION ONLY ALLOWS FOR CONCENTRATION ON ONE ITEM AT A TIME

Image of a Blackberry Storm phone.


V SINFORMATION DISPLAYED IN A SPREAD ALLOWS ONE TO MULTI-TASK AND VIEW SEVERAL ITEMS AT A TIME

HOW CAN THIS TRANSLATE INTO ARCHITECTURE?

...A VISUAL ART SCHOOL?

Image of a KIN mobile phone.


V Splace

place

place verti

cal m

ovem

ent

verti

cal m

ovem

ent

disconnect

disconnect

disconnect

disconnect

Diagram of a standard rectangular building with self contained levels, enclosed circulation, which creates a disconnect between the levels of space.Opposite page. Concept diagram of a building which is more open and visible. That which is self contained still has a level of interaction with the whole, so that one never feels the disconnect, and can always understand where they are in relation to the whole.


V S

formulating

identifying

tracing the path

place

place


R E C A L LEXTERIOR SPACE + PUBLIC + SITE HISTORY + ART

P R O G R A M : art school


After completing an analysis of site, studying the history of the land both in terms of usage and potential, and understanding the current needs of the area, a program idea started to develop. However, in order to ensure longevity, as clearly this site has seen failed attempts at successfully es-tablishing a stable program, an element of solidity needs to be added to the mixture.

The demographics of this site consists mostly of young profession-als either renting or first homeowners, who located close to Houston’sdowntown due to the attractiveness of the nightlife and culture. Young families also occupy the area. The City of Houston, as seen in the Public Art Plan, is making attempts at animating this area of the City which has a lot of residents but somehow has little pedestrian activity. It sought to clean up the Bayou and add interest to the water by the now luscious bike paths that follow the Bayou and travel under the freeway system. This is an attempt to reclaim the land that was once lost and to celebrate the beauty that could be.

However, the Public Art Plan has yet to find a continuos path through the city, with no real ties to any large program hub.

Therefore, in direct response to the needs of young families in the area as well as the creating of a public core that can tie both the wishes of the City and the interests of the residents, a public art school, located at 2017 Preston, is proposed.

Including the public as well as local artists, opening up the studios and galleries, and bridging the once disconnected land caused by the devel-opment of the highway, will create an open program that will thread the past into the present and create both a destination as well as a link for the City to RECALL the past and reclaim the forgotten memory of a building that currently stands as a reminder of what once was.

P U B L I C


establishes a Place to look back at the experience - ability to observe all program elements

area of work and display - workrooms to be more contained so that exhibit space can be highlighted

public & school interaction - artists to rent out studio pods beneath highway - becomes the node at which interest is drawn from either side of the Line of Inhibition

live in artist residency - dorm housing for summer programs - transition of work to play important


process is all about experimentation. you need to investigate a multitude of options before finalizing any decision. so when it comes to

design, we should never be satisfied with our first iteration. the best designs come from a

process that exemplifies adaptation.

draw redraw find recall in the design

“My goal is to create works that attract people to possiblity where and as they live. The

development and realization of art in public is a dialogue with a place and its time land and

sunstance, its past, its people, the future they create made new immediate,

and somehow timeless.”— NOBUHO NAGASAWA


d e s i g n


An early study model was done to understand the potential relationship between the existing abandoned building and the new building. The concept became to extract the hidden energy held within the existing and pull them into the new building, by means of pedestrian bridges.

Earlier diagrams of the existing building indi-cated evidence of vertical movement along the existing facade; therefore the idea for the new building became to manage that existing move-ment but contain it in an enclosed fashion - this interstitial space would be the link that connects the existing facade and the new building.

Given that the ideas of RECALL being explored and the inevitable ties to the past that exist, the new building, regardless of program, needs to tie back to the abandoned building. In this mod-el, a structural arm extends over the old and reaches over to hold the new, as if the new is supported from the old, from the past, of which is needed in order for the new to even exist.

[ P R O C E S S ]massing the old and new

b u

i l

d i

n g

m

a

t e

r i

a l

s existing building

building “arm”

new building

NEED TO DEVELOP A STRONG CONCEPTUAL AND LITERAL CON-NECTION BETWEEN OLD AND NEW


With this same study model, what also needed to be addressed at the onset of design is the interstitial space between the existing building and the new.

The quality of how to move people from one building to another would be crucial. Perhaps a necessary break and division between the two spaces would help the subconscious re-flect - aesthetically the spaces would have dif-ferent qualities and the only way to understand the significant differences would be to have the space between a space of cleansing, the space at which one RECALLS the previous space.The bridges would activate the existing facade, and at the separation of buildings one would see people traveling between, as if there is a window within one building that allows you to see this activity which would normally be con-tained. The actual slab of the bridge would ex-tend into both buildings, where the facade of the new would wrap under to give the appear-ance that the bridges were being pulled from one end to the other.

[ P R O C E S S ]massing the between

BRIDGES BECOME THE PLACE WHERE RECALL IS MADE - THE TRANS-PARENCY OF THE SPACE BETWEEN WOULD ALLOW ONE TO LOOK BACK, AND FORWARD, AS IF TO REMIND YOU OF THE PAST, BUT FORESHADOW YOUR FUTURE.

exis

ting

build

ing

B R I D G Enew

BRIDGE

Sectional Diagram depecting the need for a bridge to connect and embed in both the exist-ing and the new.


Model View. Early model of the bridges — the floor slabs appear to stretch from one to the other, linking both the old and new buildings with this interstitial space.


[ P R O C E S S ]massing the whole

A second study model was developed to fur-ther investigate the massing of the design. The advancement of the structural arms to several bays expressed an insinuation of a continuous wrapping of an element - some of which can be seen above ground, but the other would be con-tained underground. Hits of this activity below ground would be evident on the ground plane - disrupted elements in the earth mimicking the movement below, [RECALLING], would be made aware once a person reaches the view corridor. This program element was developed as an ending piece, a place to reach where one could look back, reflect, view, RECALL, the ex-periences they just had, and re-experiencing them internally -

Another element being explored is that of float-ing masses, as they create shadow imprints of their hovering footprint on the ground plane. This imprinting allows the mass from above to be RECALLED below during the day.

[IN PROCESS]

[PRESENT]

[ACTIVE]

VISUAL CONNECTION OF THE VIEW CORRIDOR TO THE WHOLE ALLOWS A PLACE TO BECOME WITNESS OF THE DE-SIGN - SPATIAL REMINDERS ARE THEN TIED TOGETHER HERE - THE EXPERIENCE IS THEN UNDERSTOOD HOLISTICALLY -

HOW CAN THIS ALSO BE CREATED AT NIGHT?


Model Views. Early model showing the ad-vancement of the structural arms wrapping both the old and the new. From the view corridor, one can travel parallel to the layers of old and new.


[ P R O C E S S ]RECALL the implied

Collage. From the previous model, the idea of floating planes became an important aspect in the design because the hovering created an imprint of the form above with a shadow on the ground-plane. This collage shows how lighting on the groundplane and one the underside of the elevated plane could mimic this imprint at night.


Superimposing on the ground plane from a mass above signifies a connection to the ground without having to touch it. In the collage, a rough texture on the ground plane is what is left over when the mass above is lifted. At night, exterior up lighting and down lighting around the perimeter would reinforce this connection, and would define exterior spaces.


On the facade of the abandoned building exists exterior staircases [fire stairs].

Within the interstitial space, circulation would exist both horizontally between buildings but also vertically. Centralizing this would coerce people to this location - essentially what this now does is impose both buildings, subcon-sciously, to always remind us that the other ex-ists. Contained in one building too long would inadvertently lose the connection between the new and the old. By the constant reminder that both exist within the whole, each building can be RECALLED every time movement within the building takes place.

[ P R O C E S S ]exposed circulation

WITHIN THE STRUCTURAL ARMS, COULD VERTICAL CIRCULATION EXIST?

Elevation of vertical movement. As seen in the Genzyme design, exposing and central-izing vertical circulation paths allows one to be a part of the different levels of the space simultaneously.


Bridge Diagram. Experimenting with the facade of the old wrapping on one side of the bridge while the facade of the new wraps the other side - the two merge together to create the new.

Rendering of vertical movement (opposite page). As the design progressed it became important for the vertical circulation to be in the interstitial space facing the existing facade of the abandoned building. This became the way to constantly RECALL this once forgotton memory.


As the design advanced, the structural arm that extends from the existing building and above the new building formed a new meaning once it was determined that this arm was to be oc-cupiable. Although still conceptually structural, the arm evolved into a ribbon - an element that would thread together the new and old, the above ground and below, and the 2nd ward with downtown. As the ribbon ties each com-ponent together, a new level of RECALL will be reached.

THE PUBLIC ART PLAN EXISTS ONLY AT STREET LEV-EL. IF THE RIBBON IS TO TIE INTO THE GREATER PLAN FOR THE CITY, IT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN BELOW GROUND.

[ P R O C E S S ]transformation of the ribbon


Sketches. Exploring the composition of the rib-bon. The design of the ribbon’s structure is in layers to mimic the internal layering within the building.


[ P R O C E S S ]creating the ribbon

Model. Viewing the ribbon on multiple sides and its relationship to the underground.


Overlay. A sketch overlay showing the travel below the freeway.


[ P R O C E S S ]layering of art and program

CAN THIS BLEED BE TRANSLATED INTO ARCHITECTURAL MOVEMENT? CAN THE PEOPLE BECOME THE BLEED?

The bleed of a watercolor or the trace of a piece of canvas pulled away from a studio floor leaves an imprint of what once existed — one could trace the origin of this imprint by the trace that is left behind, the art ruins.

There are two factors within this program and site that need to suceed for the longevity of the building. The first is that the public needs to be heavily engaged, and two, that the two sides of the freeway need to be connected.

By using the security of the freeway above to create artist studio spaces below, interest would be drawn from either side of the free-way, establishing the necessary link for both sides. Additionally, these spaces would be iso-lated from the main building in order to engage the public. Walkways on all sides of the studio space would act as the art bleed along the edge of a canvas.


[ P R O C E S S ]layering interior spacesleep

work

The development of the interior floor plan was designed in layers, and meant to provide tran-sitions between where one sleeps and works. Between the existing and the new building would be a layer of exterior space one must travel through. This interstitial space provides a relief between the stresses of work and the relaxation needed before rest.

Within the interior of the building, circulation space would be both centralized and highly ex-pressive, as it is in these spaces of travel that you would RECALL the vertical layers of the spaces that also exist within the horizontal.


Both the program and the massing design has certain dichotomy’s that exist which allow for progressions of spatial movement to have interesting dialogues. The program has both working and living components which sets up a need for the relationship between the two to have distinct separations; however, it is more than just isolating different program elements. The need is more for a progression from private to public, playing with layers of transparency between the progression that never really allow for any main program piece to feel isolated. As you travel from living to work space, you have the ability to always look forward and back.


F I N A L S C H E M E


S I T E P L A Nscale 1:200

h i g h w a y buffalo bayou

SITE CREATES THE LINK BETWEEN THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE BUFFALO BAYOU (PUBLIC ART PLAN) AND DISCOVERY GREEN


minute maid parkdiscovery green park

minute maid parking lot



Site plan. A plan was developed to facilitate movement through the highway barrier. The site is boarded on the Southwest by the on ramp to the highway. High traffic on this road prevents pedestrians from crossing freely. By creating a tunnel which has the possibility of connecting to the larger tunnel system within Houston’s downtown, travel between the two sides of the freeway is done so easily.


S E C T I O N : east — west scale 1:30

Site Section. Indicates the threading of the ribbon element from east to west across the site.


F I R S T F L O O R P L A Nscale 1:50

entry

view corridor

connection bridge

tunnel exit

gallery space

performance space above


the entry modifies the back of the abandoned building on the first two levels - one walks between the existing building and the new ribbon elements which touch the ground in a way which allows one to see how deeply rooted the ribbon element is threaded through the site

upon exiting the tunnel, one is able to either enter the gallery space on their left or travel through the site on the right. the way one moves up and down the ramps within the tunnel correlates to the movement of the ribbon itself, which one is witness to as they reach this point and understand that the form on which they were walking on extends up and becomes the enclosure of the tunnel itself

highway on-ramp


F I R S T F L O O R P L A Nscale 1:50

art studios

ribbon enclosure

art studios below

tunnel entry

landscape mimics street edgeof adjacent lots

landscape continues column line

ribbon elements unfold

ribbon bench

the art studios are built into the ground — the layout echoes the ribbing structure of the highway above which can be seen from below by skylights [in the same shape as a “rib”]. the studios are built along a corridor, meant to resemble an art bleed on paper

the ribbon which extends over the building unfolds in the landscape on this side of the freeway — the concrete formed structure creates benches, signage opportunities and overhead structures which help to define zones of space within this urban park, which becomes a link between buffalo bayou and discovery green


T Y P I C A L P L A Nscale 1:30

view corridorthe view corridor is an elevated art-way. it’s structure mimics that of the highway, and the ramp that runs along side it acts as the on-ramp. once on the ramp, you travel parallel to all the layers which make up the building.

atrium

studio space

room pods

within the atrium, enclosed pods are created as visual identifiers within the void. seen almost as a memory contained within a mass, these elements create opportunities for visual connections between the 3 levels of studio space

performance space

classrooms

performance space


F I F T H F L O O Rscale 1:30

artist in residence housing

classroom studios

LIVE

WORK

a layer of the exterior brought in to buffer the live-work dichotomy


S E C T I O N : north - southscale 1:30

A section cut through the bridge element connecting the existing and new building. The majority of the existing building’s facade would remain except at the points where the bridge element embeeds itself between the new and old.


S E C T I O N : north - southscale 1:30

A section cut through the atrium space within the existing building. A section of the existing slab is removed and new elements supported at the edge of the slab are added for additional

classroom space.


R E N D E R I N Gapproaching the site

This site is experienced most when traveling on the freeway. Creating a new identity for this land, this building boldly expresses the key design aspects on this front elevation. One can see the ribbon element folding over and down into the landscape - an expression that also appears on the other side of the freeway with the ribbon unraveling to create the urban park. And also this view shows the main performance spaces, pulled from the main mass of the form and exposed to reveal the program space inside. Meant to symbolize an extracted memory, highlighting a destina-tion allows one to imagine traveling to it. When one does experience the destination and is again on the outside, they can easily RECALL the path they took because of the visual reminder of the space.


highway tunnelentry

performance spaceperformance space


R E N D E R I N Gentering the ribbon [tunnel]

Using Houston’s model of the underground tunnel, the tunnel created by the folding ribbon allows easy travel between the two sides of the highway. One can then imagine this threading continu-ously taking place underground, moments of the thread are revealed above [forming benches, walls, etc] and then taper into the ground. The interaction with the ground plane and the ribbon is a special condition between two dissimilar elements : the ground separates slightly as the ribbon punctures the plane, allowing the ribbon to feel as though it is embedded in the ground, and not an element that is simply above it, connected only at the surface.


ribbon foldinginto bench highway ribbon

urban plaza


R E N D E R I N Gentering the ribbon [tunnel]

entry beyondstudiostunnel entryhighway entry beyond


ribbon foldingto create entry


the ribbon folds down to become the tunnel, but at this view, one can look up and see this element wrapping the building, and as one moves through the internal layers of the building, they will see the same ribbon element above tracing their path through each layer.


R E N D E R I N Gstreet level

Materiality is an important part of the design. The new addition to the abandoned building uses a combination of concrete, wood and glass, assembled together to form, expose and reveal the in-ternal program. On the groundplane, concrete pavers, grass and water were used to define zones of space. As seen in the rendering, the ribbon elements enter the ground plane through water — one could see the form continue below the water’s surface. The pools of water act also as water collection, and the slightly sloped pavers towards the pools allow for the trace of water to remain on the surface, much like MiAS Arquitectes’ GRN/Banyoles Public Space project.


ribbon folds down into water

performance spaceperformance spaceview corridor studio spaces


R E N D E R I N Gperformance space

The larger performance space/lecture hall has the highway and city skyline as it’s backdrop. From the upper seats one could see the studio spaces contained under the highway, thus visually linking the two sides of the freeway. The ribbon element folding up along the highway to create the sig-nage for the school, indicates that the school’s borders is not just on the side of the highway which contains the main building, but also on the side closest to downtown - expressing that the borders of the school bleed away from the walls of the built environment, promotes the public interaction within this site that is needed for the longevity of the program.


S T U C T U R A L C O N C E P Tperformance space

Diagram. This performance space is a series of pushing and pulling pieces in order to expose a program which is normally contained.

This performance space is conceptually reach-ing out to the city’s downtown. Meant to sym-bolize an extracted memory, this space is con-tained within a solid mass. The front face and partial sides of the performance space which are exposed are glass, and the cross bracing that exists between the curtain wall is meant to express the movement that is expressed within the form.


R E N D E R I N Gperformance space

The larger performance space/lecture hall has the highway and city skyline as it’s backdrop. From the upper seats one could see the studio spaces contained under the highway, thus visually linking the two sides of the freeway. The ribbon element folding up along the highway to create the sig-nage for the school, indicates that the school’s borders is not just on the side of the highway which contains the main building, but also on the side closest to downtown - expressing that the borders of the school bleed away from the walls of the built environment, promotes the public interaction within this site that is needed for the longevity of the program.


de

si

gn


S T U C T U R A L C O N C E P Tperformance space

Diagram. This performance space is conceptu-ally envisioned as en element that slides and locks into place. Imagined as though a form links into an exact slot.

This performance space symbolizes an implica-tion. Set within a mass, this space appears as though it is slid into place. It also emulates the type of construction contained within the exist-ing building with the classroom pods clamped to the atrium slab space.


ribbon ties back to existing building

folds down to become the enclosure and the walking surface for the tunnel

folds up to form signage


S T U C T U R A L C O N C E P Tthe ribbon

Photograph of The Red Ribbon. This project’s goal was to create a minimal design that contracts the surrounding vegetation. The element acts as the seating and lighting for the walkway and orients walkers on the path.

Ribbon diagram (opposite page). The ribbon elements are meant to thread the once abandoned back to the city. It also traces the movement one takes through the building.


sect

iona

l stu

dies

scup

ltural

mas

sing


c o n c l u s i o n

interlocking space


C O N C L U S I O Nauthor’s note

scheme

[see boards]

section

plan


As I reflect on all the work done during this thesis process, I am proud of all that was accomplished but still get excited for the design still within my mind. Nothing is a final product, and everything we do is a compilation of our life’s’ work. I know that I will continue to build on my thesis as my archi-tectural career continues, because it is my design aesthetic and interest to continually investigate this visual journey I have started.

Should I be given another opportunity to design for this thesis, I would focus on creating layers of space with more interaction of both form and pro-gram. Rather than focus on building layers horizontally and vertically, I would investigate the layers which can be created by the interlocking of space and void. By doing so, I would be thinking of the journey as not just one that is linear, but as one which intertwines, backtracks, stops, advances and jumps.

Much time was given in this process to form building. Attempting to understand the massing and how it works with the existing building on the site, ample time should have also been given to developing a comprehensive program, and then redevelop the massing to accommodate the program. By working in these layers of information, the project would have been given an added layer of realism.


A N N O T A T E D B I B L I O G R A P H Y


Art21. “Vietnam Veterans Memorial.” < http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/lin/card1.html>.

This article talks about Maya Lin’s use of materials as being “tactile experiences of sight, sound and touch.” Lin creates an intimate connection to each visitor with the materials she chooses.

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2 Azimzadeh, Bjur. The Urban Palimpsest: The Interplay Between the Historically Generated Layers in Urban Spatial System and Urban Life. Proceedings, 6th International Space Syntax Symposium. Istanbul, 2007.

This paper outlines a study of the City of Gothenburg. The author used the word palimpsest to ground his beliefs about the city’s many layers of underground systems. The focus of this paper is the idea of urban layers, and how a city can be explained by its historical layers that are hidden below ground. The author also recreated the city’s time line in several line maps and charts showing the evolution and expansion of the city over time.

3 Bloomer, Kent C., and Charles Willard Moore. Body, Memory, and Architecture. New Haven: Yale UP, 1977.

This book focuses on the human as an individual and their relationship to space. The most intriguing section of the book is chapter 8, Place, Path, Pattern and Edge. This chapter discusses the path and how people tend to move through space. What is interesting is the idea that the mind see’s something that the feet experience differently - it is this combination of how people experience a space that is of interest with this thesis.


Boyer, Christine. The City of Collective Memory. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1994.

This book provides a historical foundation of knowledge of the history of urban planning. Of particular interest is the idea of public and private space. Boyer writes “places for public assemblage and public debate, as well as private memory walks and personal retreats” should be thought about within the public realm and how with current planning, there are often “leftover pieces” that are not claimable.

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Bruno, Giuliana. Public Intimacy: Architecture and the Visual Arts. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 2007.

This collection of essays was particularly meaningful for its descriptions of film-making and memory. Film has the ability to tell a visual story and allow the viewer to piece together aspects of the truth just as they would do with their own lives, memory, and the way they experience space. The collection also offers ideas of films and museums being historical markers for where we are in history. Film has a way of capturing frames of memory while museums hold a collection of memories from the past meant to symbolize snapshots of history.

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Chami, Camille. “Diller Scofidio + Renfro - Institure of Contemporary Art in Boston, MA.” Archin-novations: Online Architecture Magazine, 28 January 2009. < http://www.archinnovations.com/featured-projects/museums/diller-scofidio-renfro-institute-of-contemporary-art-boston/>

This article outlines several design elements of the ICA and includes statements from Elizabeth Diller on the objectives of the building.

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Dickinson, Elizabeth Evitts. “Urban Palimpsest.” <http://urbanpalimpsest.blogspot.com/>.

This blog creates a layered thread of information on cities, culture and design. The author’s post of different items , ideas, or project within the architectural industry creates a memoir of an digital palimpsest; however, it has the ability to trace its history and roots for recall. The blog mimics a diary for memories found that day, and is a way of keeping a record of that individual memory and posting it so that memory can become collective.

Farkas, Suzanna. “Art in Public Spaces: Creating Memory and Community by Design.” W&E International Magazine, Volume 46/47, Fall 1998. < http://www.year01.com/forum/issue4/public.html>

This article describes the influence of art in public spaces, and how the role of the community is crucial to the success of these spaces.

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Hagen, Ryan. “Living Deeply in New York.” The New York Moon. February 2008 <http://www.nymoon.com/pubs/undertone/deeply/>.

This article coupled with the photographs by Steve Duncan, depict the travels of a man into the ruins of New York City. The traveler talks about the idea of rediscovery - as he rediscovered the city of New York simply by exploring the abandoned places that hold a history in their space. By rediscovering these places, he was able to walk on the surface of the New York streets with a new connection to his surrounds, as if he knew a secret of New York that no one else did, a secret life of history below his feet that somehow made his connection to the city that much stronger.

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Marot, Sebastien, and Pamela Johnston. Sub-urbanism and the Art of Memory. London: Architec-tural Association Publications, 2003.

This book gives presence to the ideas of site in relation to program. The site as the starting point of your project holds the potential for space and needs to be recognized as a leader of a project and not a second hand to the program.

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Marshall, Allen. Gehry’s Design Elevates Awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease, Research. Las Vegas Sun, 17 February 2009. <http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb/17/gehrys-design-elevates-awareness-alzheimers-diseas/>

This article gives an overview of some of the design features used in sensitivity to the patients.

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Kiser, Kirsten. Bernard Tschumi Architects New Acropolis Museum. Arcspace.com, 13 July 2009. < http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Tschumi/>

This article gives an overview of the project and includes early design sketches as well as models.

Gallistel, Charles. “Honey Bees Navigate According to a Map-like Spatial Memory.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the Unity States of America. 25 November 2004. < http://www.pnas.org/content/102/8/3040.full>

This article has interesting navigation charts from the study showing the route memories the bees had from the feeder site and release site. The bees were able to remember landmarks that they recognized which shaped their flying route.

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Mary Miss. © 2009. <http://marymiss.com/index_.html>

Mary Miss’ website offers an inventory of all her work. In the design of the site, sections of her work are scattered within a constellation, and when you select a chapter, a ghost of the previous page is seen. This sense of layered information and translucency is what resonates within this thesis.

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Mollon, Phil. Freud’s Theories of Repression and Memory: A critique of Freud and False Memory Syndrome. The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice. Volume 2 Number 2, Winter 2003. <http://www.srmhp.org/0202/review-01.html>

This article outlines Freud’s early theories of memory: Repression and Recovered. Mollon’s pieces together much of Freud’s theories into a cohesive paper that snapshots early thoughts on memory and mind.

Ruhm, Constanze. A Memory of the Players in a Mirror at Midnight, 2005. <http://www.constan-zeruhm.net/portfolio/a-memory-of-the-players-in-a-mirror-at-midnight.phtml>

“A Memory…suggests a continuing narrative of fictitious as well as actual spaces. It attempts to frame a system for rendering and mapping gazes, architectures and texts. The work focuses on the transformation of ‘gaze’ through different media formats in relation to the spectator and the seemingly ‘objective’ perspective of the camera.”

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Nobel, Philip. “The Architecture of Madness: Buildings can drive you crazy, but can they help re-store mental health?” Metropolis Magazine. < http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_1099/oc99aom.htm>

This article discusses how the interior environment of buildings can influence emotions of an inhabitant. Materials, planning, and movement all can have an impact on how the space is perceived and responded to.

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Truong, Quang. 2009. < http://www.quangtruong.com/urbanism/rome-eur-master-plan/>

This website gives an overview of Eisenman’s Rome EUR Master Plan project.

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Ursprung, Philip. Earthworks: The Architecture of Peter Zumthor. The Pritzger Architecture Prize, 2009.

This essay takes the reader on a narrative journey through several of Zumthor’s work. It poses questions of ground plane and experiencing layers of the past not as a simulation, but as an actual experience of the real thing. The details of Zumthor’s ideas of connection is more about evoking feelings and memories with the individual and creating an experience that is memorable. Notable projects include Art Museum Kolumba and Thermal Baths Vals.

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Treib, Marc. Spatial Recall: Memory in Architecture and Landscape. New York: Routledge, 2009.

This book has been an extremely useful tool in thinking about the built environment in terms of landscape and architecture. This book is a collection of essays where authors connect ideas of personal and collective memory. Also worth noting is the idea of recall, and what creates a “stimulation of memories” in space.

Saieh, Nico. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art / Steven Holl Architects. Arch Daily. 30 July 2008. <http://www.archdaily.com/4369/the-nelson-atkins-museum-of-art-steven-holl-architects/>

This article highlights the project’s major design features from the beginning concepts of the “lenses” to the structural and engineering designs.


Quigley, Sarah. Holocaust Memorial: Architect Peter Eisenman, Berlin 2005. The Polynational War Memorial, 2005. < http://www.war-memorial.net/Holocaust-Memorial--Architect-Peter-Eisenman,-Berlin-2005-2.66>

This article talks about the site of the infamous memorial as having “a dark past.” The memorial sits adjacent to the Berlin wall between the “Communist East and the democratic West,” and is meant to be a connection within the city.

VVVV, A Multipurpose Toolkit. April 2010. < http://vvvv.org/blog >

This website holds inspirational graphic images depicting people and multi-media; how one uses the other and how people can become a part of the installation.

Zaq, Landsberg. “Istanbul: City as Palimpsest.” The New York Moon. February 2008 < http://www.nymoon.com/pubs/undertone/istanbul/>.

This short article describes how ancient mosques that were abandoned for hundreds of years have recently been inhabited by the flux of tourism. It describes how the once animal inhabitants of a recently found water source have left and only the mark of tourists camera flashes now live in the spaces, insinuating that humans have the power to take over space in a way that forces previous inhabitants to leave, symbolizing that human interaction with space may be harsh and intrusive.

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I M A G E C A T A L O G U ERECALL the characters


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I M A G E C A T A L O G U ERECALL the characters


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Architecture Design. (2009 April, 5). Mathcbox Building by Allard Architecture in Amster-dam, Holland. Retrieved from http://www.arnewde.com/architecture-design/mathcbox-building-by-allard-architecture-in-amsterdam-holland/

Architecture + Morality. (2008 November, 16). The Changing Landscape of Architec-tural Drawing. Retrieved from http://architectureandmorality.blogspot.com/2008/11/krob-08-changing-landscape-of.html

ArcSpace. (2007 May, 21). Steve Holl Architects Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Retrieved from http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Steven_Holl/nelson1/nelson1.html

Blumenthal, Ralph. (2007 August, 21). It’s Lonesome in This Old Town, Until You Go Un-derground. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/us/21tunnel.html

Bubbly Funk. (2011). Chipboard Sheets. Retrieved from http://www.bubblyfunk.co.uk/chipboard-sheets-8x8-p-4091.html

Buffalo Bayou Partnership. (2011). Public Art Plan. Retrieved from http://www.buffalo-bayou.org/publicartplan.html

Build LLC. (2008 January, 31). Behnisch Architects Lecture. Retrieved from http://blog.buildllc.com/2008/01/benisch-architects-lecture/

Cooter, Margaret. (2009 November, 7). Women and Land Art. Retrieved from http://mar-garet-cooter.blogspot.com/2009/11/women-and-land-art.html

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Craven, Jackie. (2011). Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. Retrieved from http://architecture.about.com/od/greatbuildings/ig/Museum-Architecture/Broad-Art-Museum.htm

Curlee, Kendell. (2007 March, 1). Sculpting Experience. Retrieved from http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/10291.htm

Deviant Art. (2009 February, 12). Navigating the Data Stream . Retrieved from http://mynameish-alo.deviantart.com/art/Navigating-The-Data-Stream-112703496

Evans, Stig. (2007 January, 22). Pavilion Diary. Retrieved from http://www.stigevans.com/pavilion/

Evolo. (2010 March, 8) Verical Street/City. Retrieved from http://www.evolo.us/competition/verti-cal-street-city-2/

Eynde, Maarten. (2009 August, 2). Systematic Landscapes. Retrieved from http://www.genetolo-gisch-onderzoek.nl/index.php/category/geologie/stratigraphy/

Farkas, Suzanna. (1998). Art in Public Spaces: Creating Memory and Community by Design. Re-trieved from http://www.year01.com/forum/issue4/public.html

Garden Visit. (2008). Conservatory - Solarium. Retrieved from http://www.gardenvisit.com/gar-den_products/structures_shed_building/conservatory_sunroom

Gonzales, J.R. (2009 August, 30). Then & Now #20: Looking at the Tower. Retrieved from http://blogs.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2009/08/

Hill, John. (2009 July, 9). Zumthor Book of the Moment. Retrieved from http://archidose.blogspot.com/2009/07/zumthor-book-of-moment.html

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Jana, Reena. (2009 November, 12) Building Design that Builds Businesses. Retrieved from http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/11/1112_best_buildings_2009/2.htm

Lee, Evelyn. (2007 February, 6). Green Building: Genzyme Center LEEDS the Way. Retrieved from http://inhabitat.com/genzyme-center/genzyme_7/

LIFE. (2008 February, 4). ‘Good Luck Beijing’ World Swimming China Open. Retrieved from http://www.life.com/image/79513210

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STACEY E POPPEL : DEGREE CANDIDATE

R E C A L L THE BOSTON ARCHITECTURAL COLLEGE

MASTER OF ARCHITECTUREJANUARY 2009 THRU JANUARY 2011

C R E A T I N G E X P E R I E N T I A L S P A C E S

RECALL : creating experiential space : master of architecture thesis 2011

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