Artur Dabrowski PRESENTS
A KINESTHETIC INTERVENTION of THE
BROOKLYN TOBACCO WAREHOUSE
“A performative architecture of the seasons plugged in and sustained by the pulse of the machines. Our postindustrial lifestyle seeks to recreate the nature with the very machines that destroyed it. The sweat and blood stained on the wretched gears and levers marks the hell of industrial culture. This intervention seeks to cultivate and enrich machines for the paradise of industrial culture; the joy of discovery and the entertainment of motion. Here a theatre, a program full of life, will be nestled in the shell of a decaying postindustrial ruin. The interplay and layering of materials allows the theatre to become an engine of life, highlighting the performative qualities of our being as well as our dependence on machines, these extensions of our body and mind.�
DUMBO, 1969
BROOKLYN TOBACCO WAREHOUSE, 2012
Past & Present The history of the site speaks a tell about the natural and the industrial; a battle of the two to find dominance. At this contemporary state, with sustainability and green initiatives, we are noticing the industrial and the natural seeking mutual existence. What’s the future of the Brooklyn Tobacco Warehouse?
Creation Nature at its finest.
Industrialization
Reclamation
Pacification
Recreation
Waterfront became industrial area with brick warehouses and ferry piers.
Once the Brooklyn Bridge reduced the shipping industry, these abandoned waterfronts were reclaimed by nature. The warehouse was reduced to two stories.
The wild growth of nature was cleaned and pacified. The roof of the warehouse collapsed.
The shell of the warehouse was stitched with temporary bracing. The ruin was saved by the public and a new “tamed” nature was added.
Fun fact: Area was saved twice by the community from ultimate demolition.
Future A story of nature and industry terminates with a conclusion, the artefact is destroyed.. nature’s way, or the artefact is preserved through machines.. coldly eliminating the urban space. But must a conclusion be terminal? Can the future be unlimited and always under constant renewal? The acceptable solution is to achieve both parallel dimensions simultaneously. As far-fetched as this conception is, it is the appropriate decision in order to fulfill the best legacy of the site.
URBAN SPACE PRESERVED - artefact lost
ot do n
urb
dist
Building / Theatre
inter
vene
- urban space lost
ARTEFACT PRESERVED
Park / Urban Space
How ? (Site/Park and Program Desires) Compromising the desires and needs of the site and program. At the moment there exists to be a conflict with program and site. The added program reduces the quality of event space in the site and the program has no immediate benefit by occupying a ruin.
AUTUMN
Daily Usage
JANE’S CAROUSEL
SEPTEMBER
87 %
OCTOBER
NEED
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK
0%
NOVEMBER
0%
0% DECEMBER
Daily Usage
15 %
OCTOBER
0% JANUARY
0% FEBRUARY
0% MARCH
NOVEMBER
85 %
47 % DECEMBER
JUNE
56 %
43 % FEBRUARY
MARCH
87 %
87 %
JULY
AUGUST
WHAT DOES THE SITE NEED TO BE: OPEN The site is a empty shell with no roof enclosing the space. This openness is the vitality of the space and the intrigue and beauty of its experience. Taking the sky away, or enclosing the existing facade takes the ruin experience and reduces the quality of its occupancy.
SUMMER
SPRING
74 % JANUARY
87 %
83 % MAY
WANT
WINTER
35 %
76 % APRIL
WHAT DOES THE SITE NEED TO BE : REINFORCED The legacy of the site is failing to decay. In order to save the ruin, new infrastructure must be added to amend and sustain the future occupancy of the ruin. Without occupancy, the ruin is just a visual backdrop, a photograph of what was and can no longer be experienced.
AUTUMN
SEPTEMBER
SUMMER
SPRING
WINTER
76 % APRIL
19 % MAY
12 % JUNE
2%
0%
JULY
AUGUST
UNKNOWN EVENTS, REHEARSALS, SET UP, OR INACTIVITY.
NEED
WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM NEED TO BE : BLACK BOX The eviction of St. Ann's theatre has created a void in the cultural revivalism of the ferry landing area. The theatre event group runs a non-profit operation of the highest quality of new avant-garde plays. By using this program,Dumbo is establishing its credentials as a cultural nexus of Brooklyn.
WANT
WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM NEED TO BE: FLEXIBLE A theatre wants to be flexible to accommodate a range of performance types and event options. Restrictions limit this diversity of play. Becoming flexible allows the theatre to become more than just a theatre, a cultural venue of Brooklyn no matter the size and audience.
Compromise
Client I
Client II
NOT-FOR-PROFIT THEATRE
NOT-FOR-PROFIT PARK
... AUTUMN, WINTER ...
... SPRING, SUMMER ... THE
ST. ANN’s
BROOKLYN BRIDGE
“Evicted from the warehouse across the street to make room for a new high rise condominium by DUMBO developer Two Trees. After residing 11 years rent free, the theatre group has maintained a notoriety for their avant garde displays of local and international performance groups and have become important to the cultural community of DUMBO. The developer has proposed St. Ann’s move into the Tobacco Warehouse; to replace one cultural venue with a permanent one. ”
“The Brooklyn Bridge Park is a self-funded project aimed to restore the industrial remnants of the Fulton ferry terminal piers of the Brooklyn waterfront into open admission Park space. Unfortunately, being self-funded required the Park to sell its property to developers to raise landscape costs and maintenance fees. The introduction of Jane’s Carousel by the Two trees developers marked an new icon alongside the Brooklyn Bridge. The tobacco warehouse is beloved park space but economical viable for a turnover for private development.”
WAREHOUSE
PARK
What is a Typical Theatre?
Front of HOUSE
HOUSE
Back of HOUSE
Front of HOUSE
HOUSE
STAGE
Back of STAGE
Theaters have a long history dating far back to the earliest form of cultural interaction and stimulating entertainment of catharsis and humanity. Over time, the program of the theatre became an enclosed entity, outfitted with a layout that became adopted as convention. Here are two ways to visual the conceptual idea of the theatre program.
= DEFINED
= UNDEFINED PUBLIC
PUBLIC INTERACTION PRIVATE
17
th CEN
INT
ER
AC
THEATRE LOGIC : 4-PART The program is composed into four defined entities of two zones; front of house and house, stage and back stage. This reflects a social hierarchy that establishes a boundary between the performer and the audience, the public and the private with a frame (interface) that defines threshold of interaction.
TIO
PRIVATE
N
20
th CEN
THEATRE LOGIC : 3-PART The program is composed into three zones, the private area known as backstage, the front of the house for the patrons, and the House composed of both the stage and the seating. HOUSE = Stage + Audience
Front of House
House
Stage / House
Below is the program of St. Ann’s former space at Water Street, diagonally opposite of the Tobacco Warehouse.
Back Stage
Left-over space from appropriation
In contemporary culture, our hyper-diversity has rendered many once fixed typologies and proliferated them into highly flexible institutions. The contemporary theatre finds itself in the ideal black box. Originally it was any space that featured a very open-minded definition of stage. All that was needed was lights and possibly some seating for the audience. The evolution of the black box has inevitably restored some the original functions of the theatre, and therefore is a hybrid of fixed and flexible spaces. The advantage of the black box theatre is its ability to change its form to any container, just like water. However, the setup usually remains the same with varying definitions of House, front of house, house (house and stage) and back of house (back stage).
Stage
The Typical “Black Box” Theatre
SIDE DOOR
Translates into.. FRONT DOOR
BACK DOOR STAGE DOOR
COMPONENT LOGIC : Acquire then fill. Acquire a space and fill the space with all the necessary components.
LIMITED FLEXIBILITY Flexibility exists between the stage and the size of seating. This setup DOES NOT allow the front of house or back of stage to easily merge and share program flexibility. The space ultimately remains as three distinct areas; house, front, and back.
Redesigning the Black Box Theatre What makes a viable performance space? In every type of performance there is the performer and the audience. The size of the performance and the size of its audience vary tremendously. In the consideration of the theatre, there must be ample space to be occupied by the performer and the audience. Everything else needed to demarcate this event is the envelope. An envelope in the design profession is composed of a floor, ceiling, and some walls. One way to abstract the theatre is as the core and its envelope; the performance and its mechanics. To maximize the area of flexible performance space, the architecture must free the core and program the envelope of the building to provide more services than simply structure and insulation. This leaves the design to focus on optimizing the envelope of the active space.
Component-Loaded Ceiling
Open space = ACTIVE SPACE
Component-Loaded Walls
Component-Loaded Floor
21
st CEN
COMPONENT LOGIC : Integrate into construction. If building a theatre requires a floor, a ceiling, and a few walls, then these fixed infrastructures should house any fixed component.
FLEXIBLE PARTITIONING The task of flexible partitioning eliminates left over space from re-appropriation. This increases the flexibility between the audience and the stage, as well as the House between back stag and front of house. Essentially, any given performance varies between necessary space and may not even require a stage. That space can be appropriated to any part of the theatre without convoluted formal arrangements.
Infusing mechanical/digital systems into Architectural Infrastructure Architectural infrastructure conceptually starts as the wall, ceiling, and floor. Ultimately, the realism of the infrastructure is complicated by the immense mechanical systems necessary for a building to become habitable, safe during emergencies, and culturally relevant with new technology. The architecture, becomes mechanical, a living piece of material bordering the term cyborg architecture. Our inevitable dependence on machines means one thing. Architecture must not only account for the growth and flexibility of the program but the evolution of hardware and technology invested into the system. Where do all these pieces of equipment fall in our proposed black box theatre? Architecture is a machine, a organic composition hooked up to the wires and devices that help keep its heart at a steady pace. These machines, stored and hidden, are the future of architecture scorned and hidden. We do want to see the vast extravagances that supply our advanced human needs. This project makes a point of revealing the negative and positive attributes of the machine. In doing so, these machines are exposed and infused into present architectural components to conserve space and maximize efficiency of the open performance space.
Component-Loaded
Ceiling
ACTUATOR LIGHT :: natural AIR :: release vents ACOUSTIC :: panels LIGHT :: artificial shining SENSORS ACTUATORS
Component-Loaded
Walls
Component-Loaded
Floor
*See contemporary re-evaluation of program.
INPUT ELECTRICITY :: Wires (all electrical power) AIR :: Fans / vents (fans distribution paths, and heat) (Low pressure system vents)
WATER MAIN POWER GRID
OUTPUT
WATER :: Pipes (bathroom sources) Plug machine into site infrastructure
DATA :: Wifi (Dumbo universal, new public realm) LIGHT :: LED’s (illumination) MECHANICS :: hydraulics, gears, motors (operations, mechanical power)
Air, Heat
Reconsidering the Program as Components (Contemporary reevaluation of the theatre typology.) Upon realization that several a multi-dimensional program relies on the same kit of parts, a conventional approach to listing program becomes useless. Therefore we must understand the program as the physicality of each piece, knowing that certain components can perform double functions or exist in two different states. The theatre is only one outcome provided by these components.
FRONT OF HOUSE Front Door Lounge Concessions Stand Ticket Booth / Box Office Production Office Marquee / Billboards Restrooms HOUSE Fold-able Seating Raised Seating Floor Control Booth Stage BACK OF HOUSE Green Room Dressing Room Locker Room Kitchen Stage Set Shop Storage Loading Dock Trash Room Janitorial Closet Mechanical / HVAC Back Door
“Of the wall.”
“In the wall.”
“From the wall.”
“Off the wall.”
Envelope
Static
Kinetic
Transient
FACADE COMPONENTS
OCCUPIED COMPONENTS
PEOPLE AS COMPONENTS
Front Door Back Door Loading Dock Marquee / Billboards
Control Booth Production Office Restrooms
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL COMPONENTS
Too defined. Let’s streamline ! Conceptual to physical.
PHYSICAL COMPONENTS Fire Closet Janitorial Closet Lockers Electrical/ Data Closet
Fold-able Chairs Fold-able Tables Black Curtains Raised Seating (Riser) (Stage) Platforms DEFINED COMPONENTS Lights Lounge furniture Equipment Grand Piano TEMPORARY COMPONENTS Work-boxes, Dollies, Racks
AND Dining Hall Gallery MP Community Space Courtyard
Ticket Concierge SHIPPED IMPORTED COMPONENTS Concessions Stage (Set Shop) Artwork Anything imaginable LOCAL IMPORTED COMPONENTS Benches Security Fences
Inserting Components into Architectural Infrastructure (Contemporary reevaluation of the theatre typology.)
+
CEILING COMPONENTS Control Booth Marquee / Billboards Lights
WALL COMPONENTS
+
Front Door Back Door Loading Dock Production office Restrooms
FLOOR COMPONENTS
+
(Stage) Platforms Raised Searing (riser)
Fire Closet Janitorial Closet Lockers Electrical / Data Closet Storage (Multiple)
Pier 1 Fulton Ferry Terminal
Brooklyn Bridge
TOBACCO WAREHOUSE
Empire Stroes Jane’s Carousel
Clocktower
Manhattan Bridge
Massing Strategy
+8’0”
Diagram of simplified moves indicating site strategies according to contextual forces and clues.
PULL
PUSH
-8’0” -8’0”
-8’0”
-8’0” FLOOD
1
STRATEGY : OCCUPY Fill the volume of the property.
2
STRATEGY : OFFSET Offset the volume from the walls.
3
STRATEGY : LIFT Lift the volume above flood line.
4
STRATEGY : SLOPE Slope the volume from buildings to park.
5
STRATEGY : TAILOR* Volume follows function. *Condensed for clarity.
ISSUE : IMMINENT COLLAPSE The Tobacco Warehouse is a sensitive ruin that has more or less settled into a decayed state after structural collapse of the interior columns and beams. Without interior structure, there is no bracing to hold back the brick facades; the walls are structurally unsafe. To prevent the ruin from collapsing due to a new intervention, the footings of the new structure is advised to stay eight feet away from the ruins, so as to not disturb the soil holding together the brick walls.
ISSUE : FLOOD WARNING This year, 2012, the site experienced a major flooding where water levels rose three feet above the floor level of the ruin. To preserve the mechanical infrastructure and program components of the intervention, it is advised to lift the massing to avoid any potential damage.
ISSUE : SENSITIVE CONTEXT The historic context of the Fulton Ferry Terminal is dear to the community and historians of Brooklyn. The intervention is advised to conform to context and maintain a modest scale.
ISSUE : ECLIPSED SKY The experiential quality of the ruin was the brick walls framing the open sky. It is advised to maintain the beauty of these moments as much as possible.
Structural Strategy Diagram of simplified moves indicating structural strategies necessary to compromise program and site.
A
STRATEGY : BRIDGE In order to maximize the optic relation between street and park, the building is spanned in the ruin from two parts, essentially just like a bridge.
NOTE : SMALL FOOTPRINT A small footprint on the lower floor preserves the original urban space of the ruin. This is fit for outdoor cultural events when the indoor theatre is occupied by a private event or sensitive setup.
B
NOTE : EX. COLUMN GRID The existing column grid of the original warehouse is clearly visible to this day, leaving traces on the floor and holes in the wall where column and beams line. The grid was meant to hold the brick wall in.. but now that the structure had been demolished, the brick ruins are standing unbraced, ready to fall.
STRATEGY : BRACE Using the existing column grid, the brick wall is braced onto the new structure.
NOTE : STAR ANCHOR PLATES The tie rods and star anchor plates were the original clipping system for the facade of the ruin. Just like how the machine plugged into the infrastructure of the site, so does the new structure b y bracing these same points. The ruin is now held up by the intervention. However, this relationship isn't so apparent as a user who may visualize the heavy brick walls supporting a light mass
Material Strategy Diagram of simplified moves indicating material strategies to correlate the aesthetic of the ruin.
1875
STATE : ORIGINAL The original Tobacco Warehouse was a five story (actually square) volume.
STATE : NEW CAST IRON The original warehouse was made with standard bricks of its time, fairly clean and in good shape. The columns were timber and the tie rods were cast iron, so were the gates.
1990
STATE : RUIN Deterioration led the ruin to two stories with its interior demolished.
STATE : WORN CAST IRON Over time, the cast iron has rusted and given a brownish rough texture. The brick is clearly worn, and patched by additional layering of new bricks and new mortars.
2015
STATE : RUIN + INTERVENTION My proposition intervenes into the ruin, compromising two geometries together.
STATE : NEW STEEL This intervention proposes adding two types of steel, interior black painted matte with a coating to slow down deterioration and an unfinished steel cladding wrapping the structure.
2050
STATE : RUIN - RUIN In the future, the brick wall may collapse and the site will be left with a new ruin... my intervention.
ISSUE : WORN STEEL The steel cladding is expected to rust immediately and start a process of creating a material attune with the patchwork of the brick and rough cast iron. Although the intervention is not designed to deteriorate as a ruin, the material gives the illusion and welcomes the thought that, as life, the new will eventually become old. And a new intervention can occur as well, whatever it may be. It is the cycle of life my design is accounting for and celebrating.
ACT I :: THE INCEPTION::
“In the start, lies the seed for all things that will follow� - Louis Kahn. The story of the the project is the revolution of the seasons in harmony with the functions of life. Just like a a stroll in the street, the discovery of things unnoticed occurs at least four times a year. The architecture, although static, is a dynamic form, program, and material, letting the users experience and discover something new each time.
ACT II :: THE AFFAIR::
The poetry of the project can be expressed as the romance of site and program. Here in the open is a preserved urban space offering a sequence of events morphing with season and function. But it is a strange relationship. The program mingles with a site intervened by a machine perched at its natural body, sustaining life by artificial means.
ACT III :: THE PROPOSAL ::
The drama of sudden architectural change plays itself in the form of new surprises using familiar comforts. The original ruin framed the sky in a pure logic. Here in the support space, we find a public event space void of any reference to the ruin, but pays homage to the open sky of its past life. The Brooklyn Bridge acts as a spatial landmark in an otherwise mysterious room.
ACT IV :: THE ENGAGEMENT ::
The project maintains a optic and haptic engagement between the ruin and the new programming. This joint venture allows a layering that varies in dominance at times and needs. Although the movement of the machines tell the main concept of the architecture, in truth, the performance of the building is actually a celebration of life and ritual.