THE AMBIGUOUS EDGE
The Space of the Perimeter (an Embassy in Cuba) MArch Thesis Advisor: Jeffry Burchard
Architecture has become skin and bones, but where does that leave space? Depth is a forgotten concept; the threshold devoid of spatial consequence. As architecture becomes thinner, the space of the perimeter has been reduced to a single line: the façade. This single line has resulted from economic and technological factors that have encouraged a model of efficiency. This hard edge manifests itself most completely in the architecture of embassies. U.S. embassies, in particular, have resigned to barricading themselves against their foreign surroundings. With the renewed diplomatic efforts between Cuba and the United States, the old U.S. embassy in Cuba presents a problem at the perimeter: the existing building does not reflect the softened relationship between the two countries. It is an embassy primed for change. The building itself represents a time when architecture was at its flattest – removing the interstitial space that engages its surroundings.
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Exis ting B uild ing
Reduction of the perimeter over time
Col onnad e
E n g a g e d Co l u m n
Punched Window
C u r t a i n Wa l l
P e rformative Wall
1 . 1 0 D e g re e R a d ia l I n t e r s e c t w it h E x t e r i o r C u r ve
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4. Cre ate ve rtic al fin c e nt er lines ba s ed on e xistin g fac ade an d int ers ect point s
Allison Burrell | Work Samples
First Floor P l an
Fo u r t h Fl o o r P l a n Allison Burrell | Work Samples
M ul ti p l e ed ge el evati o ns
R e n d e r in g by A l i K ari m i
Allison Burrell | Work Samples
BERKLEE TOWER Instructor: Danielle Etzler
The focus of this multi-use building is to create a place where musicians live. By focusing on the performer and proximity of performance, the project aims to visually merge both the learning and living spaces of the building. The lower part of the building is centered around the auditorium to engage the public in performance. The dorm grid is split open, creating a spatial shift as the classrooms protrude into the open atrium space.
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U p p e r Fl o o r P l a n
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Fi r s t Fl o o r P l a n
Allison Burrell | Work Samples
INDEBTED ARCHITECTURE Instructor: Preston Scott Cohen
The intent of this studio was to create a building which appeared to be implicitly transformed on its exterior. The transformation of a given type yielded intermediate typological definitions within the final building, that were indebted to the parent typology. The intent of this project was to turn a U-shaped building into a courtyard building by allowing it to twist closed on itself. As the floor plans worked to resolve these many constraints, the most banal elements of architecture became the most extraordinary in their reaction to transformation.
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S i x t h Fl o o r P l a n
SIXTH FLOOR PLAN 5/64” = 1’0” WASHINGTON, DC
SEVENTH FLOOR PLAN 5/64” = 1’0” WASHINGTON, DC
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T h i rd Fl o o r P l a n
THIRD FLOOR PLAN 5/64” = 1’0” WASHINGTON, DC
F i r s t Fl o o r P l a n
B lue F oa m M odel
Allison Burrell | Work Samples