Wall Project - Jason

This first thing I did when approaching this project was to think about how I could reflect the function and values of the site's function as a community center in the structure I created. The theme I seized on and that inspired my wall was that of transparency and accessibility. To this end, I endeavored to create a wall structure that felt open and airy, and would facilitate a dialogue between what was going on inside and what was going on outside the building.

The primary I achieved this level of openness and transparency was by heavily using transparent and translucent materials and judiciously using solid masses.















I was also interested in using planes to define dimensional space. A wall, in its most basic form, is a plane, so I wanted to have some fun with that fact and use planes to create something that wasn't just a flat surface. I did this primarily by using horizontal planes as translucent fins, giving the wall thickness while allowing for the filtration of light without impeding the transparency of the wall. These fins also created an interesting skeletal/mass relationship by giving the wall a feeling of thickness while maintaining a strong sense of openness. I also placed the wall at an angle to the side walls to create more interest and to create a shaded alcove in which the entrance could be placed.

























Another theme I explored in my wall was that of penetration of mass. In it's most basic form (shown in the study model below) the wall is a skewed vertical plane pierced by two rectangular prisms. This penetration allows the two most important features of the wall, the entrance and balcony, to be highlighted while still being in dialog with the rest of the wall which are in turn penetrated by a series of horizontal fins.

































In designing these penetrating spaces (the balcony and entrance) I also thought about the hierarchy between vertical and horizontal. With the wall having a dominant horizontal axis defined by translucency and transparency, I decided to highlight the entry and balcony with vertical and opaque planes. I gave the balcony additional prominence by placing it directly in the line of sight from the main entrance to the complex.
























For my zen view, I was inspired by what A Pattern Language said about fleeting views. I incoporated a series of fleeting vistas into the ladder that accessed my balcony in order to draw attention to the idea of ascent. As visitors climb up towards the balcony, narrow horizontal windows will punctuate the wall in front of them, giving them glimpses of how their relationship with the surrounding site is changing. I don't think people would want to linger on a rung of a ladder too much, so they would appreciate these series of views only fleetingly. This is much like the view one gets from a glass elevator in a mall perhaps, except that I've added the component of sometimes denying the climber a view so that each time they reach a new window, their vista will have changed more dramatically.


















For the movable screen of my habitable space, I continued my theme of transparency and fusion of interior and exterior spaces. When closed, the screen turns the balcony into an inward facing space. When open, however, the balcony is transformed into a space that addresses both inside and outside and increases the space's connection with it's surrounding courtyard.