STUDY OF PATHS | Austin Beck
Austin Beck Undergraduate Thesis Documentation Bachelor of Architecture 2017 Advisor | Aki Ishida Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
STUDY OF PATHS
CONTENTS
Abstract 2 Site | Dupont Circle
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Project | Urban Recreation Center
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Supplemental Drawings
Three Paths Path 1 Path 2 Path 3
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Studies Wall Heights Wall Characteristics Framing Urban Conditions
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ABSTRACT
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Bodies move through space. A person’s definite movement and decided motion en route creates a path. However, paths are not only defined by human movement, but also architectural moments. The composition and sequencing of these moments influence the decision in where one goes next in their journey toward a certain location. The architecture is a static, built form that confines and effects human movement. The human is a fluid being who creates new paths. How can architecture acknowledge and celebrate the constantly changing movement of humans, through built form, while still allowing for the freedom of other possibilities? These moments are spaces of play, intersection, pause, decision making, reflection, guidance, and change. The moments encountered along the path build up anticipation to the arrival at the destination. The thesis explores such ideas through the creation of a series of moments along three different paths, suggesting the possibility of many routes. The placement and structure of each moment is greatly influenced by its surroundings. These new interventions into the city provide opportunities for new paths to be created while complimenting the existing paths and intersections of the city fabric. Each path has its own beginning point and leads to activities within the program of an urban recreation center near Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.
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SITE
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DUPONT CIRCLE Dupont Circle is in the heart of the Old City of Washington. The neighborhood is centered around the traffic circle. The site, nestled between complex vehicular traffic patterns, bike and pedestrian paths, and metro lines, is just northwest of the circle above Connecticut Avenue. The complexity of the existing site paths provides opportunities to intersect and create new nodes and paths.
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PROJECT
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URBAN RECREATION CENTER A pottery studio, museum, or gallery all have a process in the order and way in which actions are performed. With this idea of a process driven program, the program of a recreation center was chosen. This place of play and exploration, uses the organized activities to generate movement through the site and building. The many activities within the program allow there to be flexibility of the process and in turn create more opportunities to explore the site.
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Collage of activities and relationship to one another
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Collage representation of various types of paths
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East-West Section
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North-South Section
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THREE PATHS A series of moments along three different paths have been have been designed to lead one through the recreation center. The placement and structure of each moment is greatly influenced by its surroundings. These new interventions into the city provide opportunities for new paths to be created while complimenting the existing paths and intersections of the city fabric. Each path has its own beginning point and leads to activities within the recreation center.
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PATH 1
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Ground Level
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Rooftop
Ground Level
Second Floor
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PASSAGE TO FUN It’s a beautiful early spring afternoon. The sky is bright blue. Not a cloud in sight as the sun beats down its rays. The sounds of zoom, vroom, and beep-beep can be heard. The white noise of conversations increases. The city is transforming. The hustle and bustle is beginning to pick up as the workday is nearing an end. A little boy named Joey, about 10 years old, gets off the bus at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Dupont Circle. Three times a week Joey takes the bus from his elementary school to the recreation center at Dupont Circle.
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The first encounter one has with the recreation center. The two parallel walls create the entrance and invite one to enter.
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PARK As he enters, he comes to a set of stairs that lead down into a park. He enters the park, but all that is in front of him is a wall blocking his view and railing around a hole in the ground. He walks over to the hole. It’s a light-well allowing light to penetrate down to the cars below. He is guided around and along the wall to a series of arches.
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The grate allows light to enter the tunnel below. The arches provide guidance in where to walk. The wall provides a place to rest and enjoy the park.
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FIELD OF COLUMNS The rest of the park is revealed to him. A place, in the midst of the city, to kick a ball and run around. He continues walking on the grate. For a moment, he stops to sit on the wall and look down at the cars passing by below. As he makes his way to the end, he turns the corner as a series of arches running perpendicular begin, but shortly end.
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The maze like field offers the opportunity for one to meander through and create his own path.
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PORTAL TO SPACE Before him is a set of stairs that lead to a maze of colored columns. Some columns are straight and some are angled. Curious, he runs around.
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The entrance is denoted by an overhang. The elevator is a massive column supporting the cantilever.
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SPACE... LET’S JAM! He comes to an elevator with a red overhang. He enters unknowing where it will take him.
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Activity 1 | Basketball The colors help create the lines of the basketball court. The rooftop court allows various sports to be played and offers views of the city.
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STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN After shooting some hoops with some other kids and he makes his way back to the elevator to go back down.
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The stairs guide one up into the second floor as light from above shines on the stairs
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CAFÉ He descends down the elevator. The doors open, and he makes his way back to the maze, but this time is drawn in by a stark contrast in light on the stairs. He looks up and there is a door at the top of the stairs. He makes his way up and enters into a large lounge area with a cafÊ that opens up to the park and Dupont Circle
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Activity 2 | Snacking and socializing The floor to ceiling windows offer views back to Dupont Circle. The placement of the columns and mullions provide a frame to view the city.
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PATH 2
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Ground Level
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Second Floor
Third Floor
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EAST SIDE APPROACH It’s that time again for Joey. He takes the bus after school over to Dupont Circle, but there’s construction going on nearby so he has to get off at a stop a few blocks east. He walks down Q Street as he approaches the recreation center ready to learn.
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Even though one has been here before, it is perceived differently when approaching it from a new side and along new paths. This then gives it new meaning and the viewer a deeper understanding.
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ROOM FOR LEARNING Joey is eager to get started. He’s enjoying the new route he is taking to get there. He’s discovering new aspects of the rec center he didn’t know were there. He enters up the same stairs illuminated with light, but makes his way around the café to a classroom.
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Activity 1 | Nutrition The classroom is illuminated with skylights and a round window at the front, allowing the learners to have access to the outside without distracting them from the traffic surrounding them.
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BRIDGE TO THE OTHER SIDE After learning all about nutrition, he makes his way out of the building and onto the bridge.
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Intersections allow for pause, thought, and decision making, even if they aren’t on the same plane. The bridge crossing over 20th Street takes one over and around to the other side of the recreation center, letting the city and its layers to reveal itself slowly.
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OVERPASS OVERLOOK He stops shortly after he steps on the bridge to watch all the traffic around him. Across the way he notices a room with what appears to be swings on the interior. That catches his attention, and he continues on his way. He takes his time, watching all that is around him. He passes through an observation tower as he journeys to the other side.
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Similarly to the last moment, this is one that allows one to take in the city. Using the elevator and bridge to frame, they force one to look back where he or she has come. Very rarely does one look back to see where he or she has come, but when one does it can help one with his or her orientation and understanding of the city fabric while also giving a new perception and appreciation.
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A PLACE TO PEEK Joey makes his way to the other side of the recreation center. He enters sliding doors and comes to a small room with seating. The room is perched aboved the road allowing people to sit and watch the traffic. He takes a seat for a moment and is amazed at the busyness. He soon realizes he’s looking back in the distance at where he got off the bus.
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The clerestories connect one closer and reveal more of what one had a previous glimpse.
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THE CANTILEVER Joey continues, rounds the corner and stops by the lockers to change. He turns into the stairwell to make his way up to the roof garden. Exiting the stairwell and onto the roof, he’s drawn to windows to his right. He’s able to peak in and see swings he saw earlier.
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The massive roof structure appears to be floating weightlessly.
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STUDIO 6 He turns his head to continue and there in front of him is the roof floating above weightlessly. He climbs a few steps and the elevator creeps into sight. He makes his way inside and into the first room, which is a multi-purpose studio.
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Activity 2 | Yoga and stretching The studio frames D.C. in the South and East directions.
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PATH 3
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Ground Level
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Second Floor
Third Floor
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NORTH SIDE APPROACH Joey really enjoyed his new adventures the other day, so today he decides to take a different bus. He’s dropped off on the northern side of Dupont Circle and takes a stroll down Connecticut Avenue, which will lead right to the recreation center.
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Because most of the recreation center is raised above Connecticut Avenue, one’s view of Dupont Circle from the north side of the recreation center is minimally obstructed. The basketball court can only be seen form the north side, but appears to float like the rooftop court.
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MAIN ENTRANCE He’s amazed at the massiveness of the structure and how prominently it stands as it touches the ground. He gets excited as he sees people playing basketball and kids swinging.
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The canopy opens up as it extends outward marking the entrance. The half wall separates the entrance with the green space between the street and the building.
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HALL OF WALLS He crosses the street and moves toward the entrance as it draws him in. He enters into the building and says hi to some of the staff as he walks by their offices.
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One is guided through the hallway by the walls that push you toward the glass and round the corner into the game area.
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THE CORNER He turns the corner, passes through the game area, and heads towards the stairs. He walks up a flight, walks out, and pauses to look towards the northern part of Dupont Circle. He turns and passes through an entry way.
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The close proximity of the stairs to glass allow one to either make a quick decision or to stop and decide what to do or to look back where he or she came.
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THE VISTA He walks up a ramp, is forced to turn, and walks up another ramp that is above Connecticut Avenue and faces South. He stops once again to look at the city from another vantage point.
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A place to view the layers of the city, whether vertically or horizontally in the landscape.
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A ROOM FOR SWINGS Joey makes his way into the room for swings. He puts his bag down and swings next to a friend.
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Activity 1 | Swinging The room allows kids and adults to swing indoors in either direction while relaxing and watching the city.
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SPORTS ARENA After swinging, he and his friend make their way through the swings to the hallway that leads up to the back stair of the recreation center. They enter the stair, go up a flight, and walk into the gym to play some soccer.
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Activity 2 | Soccer The gym provides a perfect backdrop for any sport one would wish to play.
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“Stations and paths together form a system. Points and lines, beings and relations. What is interesting might be the construction of the system, the number and disposition of stations and paths. Or it might be the flow of messages passing through the lines. In other words, a complex system can be formally described... One might have sought the formation and distribution of the lines, paths, and stations, their borders, edges, and forms. But one must write as well of the interceptions, of the accidents in the flow along the way between stations... what passes may be a message, but static prevents it from being heard, and sometimes, from being sent.� ~Michel Serres The Parasite
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STUDIES
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STUDY OF WALL HEIGHTS This series explored how wall heights affect people’s movement. The walls in the left column are all 10’ and the right column vary. I asked 6 different people to move through all of them and why they moved where. Questions and thoughts provoked: -Site conditions and relationships -Visibility: shorter vs taller walls do different things -What is human scale? -Parts to whole relationship -How do they meet the ground? How do they meet the sky? -How do different sites create different types of movement?
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STUDY OF WALL CHARACTERISTICS This study explores the possibilities of wall characteristics such as size, apertures, protrusions, and textures and how those relate to movement and paths. Questions and thoughts provoked: -Can walls do more than frame and reveal things? -Apertures provide places to see what’s beyond -Textures invite touch -Protrusions can force people to walk certain ways -How does materiality affect this? -Can people pass through these walls?
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STUDY OF FRAMING WITH WALLS This study explored how walls could be used to frame views. The installation was located on the Duck Pond and offered a new experience to anyone whether or not they had been to the Duck Pond. As one moves through, more and more of the Duck Pond is revealed. Questions and thoughts provoked: -What keeps people moving in a certain direction? -What keeps people from just turning around? -Glimpses or reveals draw people in and generate movement -What happens at the corner?
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STUDY WITH URBAN CONDITIONS This study further explored the ideas and questions put forth at a larger scale in a specific context: Georgetown, D.C. Questions and thoughts provoked: -Can walls have other functions? -Can the arch be viewed as a punch out of a wall? -How can paths all paths be studied? Not just pedestrian paths? -How do you have pedestrian, bike, and vehicular traffic interact? -Intersection is a place of pause and decision making -Intersections create nodes -Pre-existing paths provide opportunities for new paths and nodes to be created
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REFERENCES Lynch, K. (1979). The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT Pr. Samuel, F. (2010). Le Corbusier and the Architectural Promenade. Basel: Birkhäuser. Serres, M. (2014). Le Parasite. Paris: Pluriel.
A special thanks to my family, roommates, studio-mates, and professors, especially Aki Ishida, for their continual support and guidance.
STUDY OF PATHS