I am revising my layout somewhat in relation to both the criticism from the Saturday presentation in Boston, and to help further advance the narrative of metamorphosis. The essential plan massing of the building is similar, however I have carved out an area for the "event stair" - that is the "cocoon" in my narrative. I have taken the critics advice and eliminated the pavilion, as it seemed too distracting and didn't help to advance the concept much. Instead, I envision the Boylston side plaza to be populated with seating clusters - an urban abstraction of the trees in the orchard of the second level. These clusters and the "cocoon" stair will become the primary design elements on this level to advance the metamorphosis theme. The building footprint has been adjusted slightly to break up the extremely linear, blank facade and to help scale it down to more pedestrian proportions. The retail space layout is nothing more than functional in nature, as I believe the actual plan of the retail spaces are secondary to the story of the building. All for tonight...
4 comments:
Hi Eric!
I like the conceptual analogy of the "cocoon stair". Is the entire volume enclosed like a cocoon or does it take on the cocoon form in diagram only? A little stair section would work great to convey the stair's character.
Great Idea!
Kate
Eric,
I like the urban trees that could have some aspects to them that changes their function and appearance: either the canopy can be transformed like an umbrella or it has a photosensitive glass that provides shade when the sun is out and is transparent when it's not and provides illumination at night.
Your building has not moved - is that intentional or did you not around studying it?
The cocoon stair is not successful yet: by layering on toilets and storage you not only separate it from the stores, but give it the least prominent program to say the least. Bad idea.
Rework it so it embraces the stores (gemetrically and visually)and put something remarkable in the middle. The oval form comes from the cocoon, but does this baroque stair make sense in terms of flow and in regards of the building form? I doubt it.
The sketch reveals that the stair and the building have nothing in common - you need to reverse this non-relationship.
By eliminating the small pavillion you also got rid of the best feature of your design: the circulation system that was interweaving the two levels and allowed you to experience the lower plaza level from above. Instead of erasing it morph it into something else (Herbs comment that the main building might swallow it does not mean its gone: the two volumes might overlay) Use this intervetion to anchor your cocoon stair, which does not need to be an oval or symmetrical shape.
In short: the urban trees have potential, the stair in the plan does not.
I suggest to look at some precedents to lead you to a more generous solution.
Hope this helps,
Enno
Mr. Randall,
I like the progression and the direction your project has taken. It will be interesting to see how you plan on implementing the "cocoon" theme into the stair via the facade.
I found this piece of furniture that might inspire you:
http://tinyurl.com/25e598
I cant help but think of the Guggenheim (NYC) when I look at your plan. (seriously!) I'm anxious to see what the street side elevation will be and what materials you plan on using for the facade. Have you seen the flexible honeycomb matrix materials? That might be an interesting way to clad the exterior space.
Heres what I'm taking about:
http://tinyurl.com/2u9q8w
Good luck with your plans!
:)
I just thought of you/your project - so I had to make this post... In the stair hallway of our house we have a shadow box with a collection of things from our wedding (invitation, save the date, etc.). We had a "seaside" theme at our wedding and incorporated shells into the design of the invites. While stumbling down the stairs, a specific element on the invites caught my eye, made me stop dead in my tracks, and think of your project.
What is this item, you ask? Well I'll tell you (thanks for being patient)!
Its a Nautilus Shell, as seen here:
http://tinyurl.com/32b6mv
(the same graphic we used on our invites)
Not to steer you away from the "cocoon" theme, but I thought this might be interesting to investigate. The skeletal structure is fascinating. It immediately reminded me of the layout of your plan.
Hope that sparks your creativity!
Post a Comment