Where The Grass Grows
Dec 1, 2020
With Ria Naab
Clemson University Project
For this project, my partner and I were tasked with designing a mixed-use collaborative office building and community center accompanied by a public plaza on the edge of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York.
We found through our analysis of the local context, the image of indifference is very present. Most notably in the structure of the train bridge which passes directly over the site. The trusses and beams of the structure become less and less dense towards the bottom opening the space underneath for other uses. This same pattern of indifference and density was also found in the figure-ground of Brooklyn.
To combine our massing which derived from the pattern of fragmentation and the structure which derived from the lines and solid void pattern within the train bridge, we applied our concept of indifference by having our massing be indifferently nested into its structure, thus turning our concept into a finished product, a building indifferent to its own primary structural system.
This design speaks to the indifference of the city as programs and people collide and overlap as they begin to share space, creating a workplace more connected to the community as well as a hub for the community to learn and come together.
SOUNDSCAPE FLYTHOUGH
This flythrough animation of our design is paired with a short original piece of music meant to bring in familiar sounds from the area and pair them with musical motifs that re-contextualize our design strategy and engage a new sense. The layering of instruments as the piece progresses is drawn from the pattern of fragmentation and density found in the Gowanus figure-ground map. Also present is a 5/4 polyrhythm that represents indifference as it moves through the background, unobstructed by the rhythms of the rest of the piece.
