Program 'Site-Fit'

Re-presenting the Site as a Generative Model

Site Analysis

The site I chose for this project is located at the intersection of the freedom trail and the greenway in downtown Boston; designated by the Boston Redevelopment Authority as ‘Greenway Parcel 9.’ This parcel also is located with the center of a matrix of nodes created by popular locations within Boston: The Boston Common, Government Center, Quincy Marketplace, TD North, The Aquarium, Paul Revere House, and Chinatown. These destinations mark circulatory ‘hot spots’ where people of different cultures and traditions will intersect. The greenway acts as a boundary between some of these locations and creates a separation between the old and new fabric of Boston’s urban context. In turn the greenway creates a new secondary path circulating from North to South. The Freedom Trail is also a major destination in downtown Boston. It is where the Freedom Trail and the Greenway meet where parcel 9 is located, making it a perfect location for a culture center.

The site is centrally located within the matrix of traffic circulation within the urban context. The site is also within a 5-10 minute walk from maybe popular public transit stations and businesses. At the moment, the site is trash filled and blocked by traffic barriers, yet should be put to better use being so centrally located within the urban fabric of downtown Boston. Two previous projects have been approved for this site, a museum and a residential building, but eventually fell through due to financial struggles. At the moment the site is in ‘limbo’ with no uses being designated. The site is 43,139 square feet (0.99 Acres) and has a maximum building height of 55 feet. These restrictions I feel work in favor of the design process, allowing for site specificity. The excitement for this site is the possibility of what this project can become. The use for this site in relation to my thesis is sound, and the possibility of competitions for this site in the near future opens many possibilities of how far this project can go. 

Building on this site also creates an opportunity to clean up and organize the stands at Haymarket. It is a very dirty site, and by simply designating a space on the ground floor for ‘Haymarket waste handling and storage’, it would easily turn one of the last eyesores within downtown Boston into a beautiful addition along the greenway and the Boston urban fabric.

Coming soon will be a generative model 're-presenting' this analysis. 

Clarity

Before moving on with this thesis study, I felt it was very important to clarify exactly what my intentions are. Feedback has show me there is still much confusion with this project, and I do admit at times I myself have wondered where I am going with this? My study is 'Culture within the Urban Fabric' and I plan to design a culture center. With this three questions come to mind:

1.    What exactly is a culture center?

A Cultural Center is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. They provide a place of identity and distinguish different functions that promote manifestations of human intellectual achievement, and create a refined understanding and appreciation of particular nations and people of the world.

2.    Why are culture centers important/ why do we need a CC?

Culture centers foster religious and cultural tolerance, knowledge, and community ethics. Especially in America, we harbor prejudices and suppositions planted by ignorance; this gives a sense of ‘American’ patriotism. However what is ideally ‘American’ is religious and cultural tolerance, it is what our country was founded on. We need cultural centers to promote and remind us of this.

3.    How does the urban fabric affect the use and success of a CC?

An urban fabric creates an opportunity to increase the likelihood of connecting with people of different cultures, orientations, and faiths. When we interact with different perspectives within our own culture, our interactions are connected by social and cultural frameworks, in which we live and behave. Yet when we interact with different cultures, our interactions are not just connected by the frameworks of both cultures but also the intersection of their cultural meanings. Where the cultures overlap, our interactions may also overlap. Sharing many common experiences and learning from our differences is the perspective that is connecting our observed reality and our observed actuality. The experience of an urban fabric allows for this.

So after answering these questions, it suggests an understanding of what my thesis is, what am I trying to claim? My research has shown me that the urban landscape provides a destination that appeal to multiple cultures. My claim is:

Cultural interactions more often successfully occur within an urban context.




Finally, I am including diagrams that initially create a foundation of what the cultural center's program may be. I expect these to slightly alter and become concrete over the next week as a site is finalized. The site I feel will dictate much of what the center's program may or may not be.

Initial Thesis Program

Moving on to the programatic space of this thesis project, I decided to focus on the connection the spaces would create and the importance of those spaces rather than the spatial massing and dimensions. The connection made between culture and the process of interaction is outlined as spatial compositions highlighted in blue. The strands of words connecting those spaces include the spatial uses, experiences, and meanings behind the spaces.

The initial diagram outlining the concept of spatial program follows as such:

The second iteration takes those spaces and ideas and organizes them in a way that responds to the spaces importance, size, meaning, and use. Those spaces with a higher level of use are represented in a typology with a larger and bolder font. This diagram explores more to which space has a greater importance to the process of cultural interactions. The open gap in the diagram represents the void of the program that needs to be filled by the occupant. Even though it is negative space is this diagram, it stands out making it equally vital to the importance of this thesis. Without the diversity of the occupant, the spaces' meaning is drastically changed.

The updated thesis and typology of program presented above is further described a new descriptive abstract:

Topic Map and Abstract Update

So after a pinup and feedback from the whole masters program, I was able to refine my topic map and visual abstract to focus my thesis to a more specified idea. It hit me that I really wanted people of different cultures and faiths to interact with one another in a common space. I also realized this accidentally while on my studio trip to NYC. While many of my fellow classmates went out in the evenings to drink and experience the city, I mostly stayed at the YMCA and jogged at the workout center or relaxed. While doing both I was able to meet and get to know people from other countries and cultures (being our YMCA was right down the road from the United Nations Headquarters. It was fascinating meeting these people and it really gave integrity to the importance of my thesis. After my experiences and the feedback I received, these are the visuals I have come up with:

Graphically they have not changed much. The big change/addition is the image of a painted woman lying down. This was another personal experience I had while traveling that relates to my cultural interaction study. This was a group of women from Spain who set up a very small stage (a raised platform painted the same way they themselves were) in the middle of times square. Every 15 minutes the women would move to a new position then stay perfectly still. To my surprise, people from the crowds were going up on stage and also taking a position and keeping it, sometimes making direct contact with the performers. It was a testament to the interaction I was talking about, so I participated myself. It was a very personal experience between the performer and I, yet on a very public stage. It was something I believe everyone should have the good fortune of experiencing; an experience I would like to somehow integrate within my thesis.

Thesis Idea Update

UPDATE:

My research topic focuses on creating a neutral space dedicated to self-reflection and personal identity, where people of different spiritual and cultural orientations may come together under one roof for reflection and constructive dialogue. The concepts of expression and knowledge all revolve around the notion of the inner self, and creating a singular space where different people can experience self-reflection in their own way makes this a unique concept. The challenge is to heighten a person’s sense of wisdom, truth, identity, and a desire to connect through a neutral aesthetic experience.