borders vs. boundaries

borders vs. boundaries: interrelationships of materiality, fabrication, and place brandon block

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the bachelors of architecture degree, auburn university thesis advisor: behzad nakhjavan may 1st, 2012

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Acknowledgements:

I’d like to thank mom and dad for supporting me in all my endeavors and your unconditional love.

The two best older sisters, Alexis & Teckla, for all the laughter and stupidity.

The rest of my family and friends for putting up with the all neglect over the past five years.

The professors who have helped push my ideas forward and a special thanks to those who pushed against them.

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table of contents

table of contents introduction thesis document

7 9-12

thesis research

13-15

history+culture

16-17

site analysis

18-25

program analysis

26-27

design process

28-43

final presentation

44-53

conclusion

55

bibliography

56

table of contents

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introduction

introduction This projects seeks to explore and understand how the interrelationships of materiality, fabrication and place can contribute to the public realm of a city street through a wall that becomes a border rather than an boundary. A boundary is a distinct and simple edge. Similar to a tree line that drastically ends as you move up a mountain because the trees cannot grow any higher. A border however, is similar to a shoreline, which, as an active edge, is constantly changing and allows for interactive exchanges. Borders are much more dynamic places to be. We are much more intrigued by their complexities and intricacies. introduction

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thesis document /// border vs. boundary

border vs. boundary Much of the life and social character of American city centers has diminished due to populations moving to the peripheral edge of the city. The sprawl towns and subdivisions of today’s America are deteriorating the fabric of a public realm where people would go to become socially plugged-in to their peers and neighbors. The public realm can be simply defined as a place where strangers meet.

The public realm has traditionally been, more over, a place. Today, communication technologies have radically altered the sense of place; the public realm can be found in cyber-space as much as physically on the ground.

The most important fact about the public realm is what happens in it. Gathering together strangers enables certain kinds of activities which cannot happen, or do not happen as well, in the intimate private realm. In public, people can access unfamiliar knowledge, expanding the horizons of their information. Markets depend on these expanding horizons of information. In public, people can discuss and debate with people who may not share the same assumptions or the same interests.

Democratic government depends on such exchanges between strangers.

In The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg argues that third places are important for civil society, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place. Oldenburg calls one’s “first place” the home. The “second place” is the workplace where people may actually spend most of their time.

thesis document /// border vs. boundary

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Third places, then, are anchors of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction. Glimmers of its existence still can be located across the seas of asphalt and isolated in the middle of shopping malls. But for the most part we do not part take in this kind of place on a regular or habitual basis. Coupled with the founding of social medias, such as facebook, twitter, tumblir, pintrest, myspace, etc. we have found our third place to be located inside our mobile phones or tablets. Much of our social connections now happen over wifi networks and through the digital world. In an effort to strengthen the community and social life at the center of a city while also working with the resistance of a social media, it is my task to create a border rather than a boundary, to provide opportunities for people to plug in socially to their neighbors and to their digital world simultaneously.

To enter an architectural dialogue about how buildings and spaces are used or inhabited to make a bridge between the visual and the social. The dialogue consists in asking in what ways a particular building allows people to sense them as vehicles for social expression. Spatial distinction helps us engage actively with architecture, more specially the difference between borders and boundaries. In natural ecologies, borders are the zones in a habitat where organisms become more inter-active, due to the meeting of different species or physical conditions. However, we have become rather good at creating boundaries within our cities; cutting off neighborhoods and communities from one another by enormous highways, sound barrier walls, berms or whatever we could use to keep them out and keep us in. A boundary is a distinct and simple edge, it is a no go zone of sort. There is no interaction on either side of a boundary. For example, the tree line that drastically ends as you move up a mountain because they cannot grow any higher. A border however is similar to a shoreline, which is an active edge that is constantly changing and allows for exchanges. Borders are much more interesting places for people to be, which is why when we walk on a beach we are much more inclined to walk on the shoreline rather than just the sand. We are much more intrigued by their complexities and intricacies rather than the clear and stark boundaries we have become accustomed to.

In the southern architectural tradition, the front porch is a border similar to the shoreline mentioned before. It facilitates social exchange; it is ones public living room in the community. Traditionally it is equipped to a single house, however, its application in the city is more dynamic. In an urban context, the front porch cannot be attached to your apartment exactly. You can have a balcony, which over looks the street, however, you do not have the same contact as if it were on the ground. Architecturally speaking then it is my task to create a wall that will act as a border between the activity of the street and the activity in the building. Programmatically the wall will contain a front porch to enable dynamic interaction or exchange to occur on a street in an urban context. As urban buildings contain more than one floor, the wall will continue vertically and continue to be an active edge.

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thesis document /// boundary vs. border

form+design Architecture is a product of simultaneous oppositions; immeasurable and measurable. Architecture as an art, having qualities that we cannot quantify, but rather feel through its presence is immeasurable. Architecture as a building, where we can quantify its physical properties such as dimensions, loading, and material cost, is a measurable science. Kahn declares that in order to be a great building, it must begin with the immeasurable, and end with the immeasurable. As architects, we are challenged to evoke emotions that transcend understanding by creating something immeasurable and making it measurable.

Kahn declares that the form of a building is an immeasurable quality of architecture because it is an idea that exists in our psyche. Sort of like a dream that exists in our subconscious, we can think of it, imagine it, and feel it through the power of our minds. Form can be categorized as a “harmony of spaces good for a certain activity of man.� We can see form or think of form through the experiences we have with those certain activities. It is the essence of the activities that can define a space and its form. Therefore, form is linked to the function of a space through the activity that occurs its form. For example, in a library people come to share and gather public information. A large open space is created to display the idea of disseminating information freely. Also in a library, things are stored and archived, histories are kept, and maps are cataloged. There are thousands of things to consider in a library, therefore, much of its form can be very dense and compact. It’s worth mentioning though that it is the activities here that define the word library, not the word defining the activities.

thesis document /// form+design

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In order to exist, the form must take on a measurable quality and go through the process of design. Architects are brought back to reality, and forced to deal with the limits of nature rather than transcending them. Designing becomes very pragmatic and calculated; we begin assessing square footage, proper dimensions, codes, and life safety issues. By establishing these pieces, the form in our minds begins to take real shape, and come to life. So in the process of designing we are attempting to make the immeasurable, measurable. To end with an immeasurable piece of architecture though, as Kahn implored, becomes less and less probable as more and more lines are drawn.

The “harmony of spaces� may become a maze, where spaces are put together just to fit the program the client desired. The imagination of our minds is not easily transferable to the realities of our world and its demands. Therefore, it is the architect’s responsibility to be constantly going back and forth between architecture as an art and architecture as a building. We are not in the business of checking off the list, rather in the business of rewriting the list over and over again.

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thesis research /// form+design

beauty When we find something beautiful, there is an emotional reaction that occurs in our bodies; we are not exactly sure what it is, or maybe I’m not sure what it is, but we have been told that when this feeling stirs up inside us, we are being “moved” by the thing that has caught our aesthetic attention.

That object, whatever it maybe, in Scruton’s example with Rachel, it was a peach. And for whatever reason or really for no reason at all, Rachel found that one peach beautiful, for all it had to offer and for all it couldn’t offer. She found it beautiful “for its own sake,” meaning that the peach in its pure existence and all its perfections and imperfections, was enough for her to be “moved.” She didn’t need to eat it, plant it, or throw it, but just visually experience it for its qualities. There was no other substitute for Rachel’s peach, if there was, then Rachel was not interested in the peach “for its own sake,” but for other rational reasons.

Scruton describes Rachel’s interest in the peach “for it’s own sake” as a disinterest; where she is not interested in what the thing can do for her, but for what it “just is.” The just is of an object; I like to think of it as figurative aurora or a glow around the object is an immeasurable quality. When we find something beautiful, it is not exactly the properties that we find our attention being drawn to, but the experience that object offers “in its presented form,” as Scruton puts it. Scruton is suggesting as I said before, with all its perfections and imperfections, there is no substitute, that what it is must be taken as whole in the time frame of your given attention.

thesis research /// beauty

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adherent beauty vs. free beauty Beauty ought to be an unbiased judgment that has no outside influence to its claim. Meaning that if you were to have an interest in an object then it could not be claimed to be beautiful. However, Kant realized that there are objects we use instrumentally while at the same time we find them beautiful. Kant calls such objects adherent beauties. Idea’s behind adherent beauty rely on our inherit or learned knowledge of an object’s concept. A concept in his view is our contemplation of what an object is and ought to be in form and in function. Therefore, according to Kant, when an object has a function or a means to something else, it becomes instrumental to us and cannot be a pure or free judgment of beauty. With a concept of an object in mind, we are able to judge it comparatively with the real thing when we come across it rather than having known rules to go by feeling alone.

A horse is coupled under the adherent beauty category along with architecture according to Kant.

Both objects serve a function to us instrumentally, but also somehow they serve us intrinsically.

People use horses for transportation, shipping, and for sport. serve us intrinsically. People use horses for transportation, shipping, and for sport. But we marvel in its ability to perform task that man cannot do. A hummingbird, however, does not serve a function that directly influence human beings. Yes it does have a function in the world, but not an incredibly meaningful function to humans. Therefore we do not have an instrumental use for the hummingbird and we can universally claim that the way the hummingbird effortlessly floats is beautiful and inspiring.

agreeable. good. beautiful.

Finding pleasure in the good inevitably means understanding the concept of what the object is. Because a concept is presupposed to us, as in we are aware of its purpose or form, the way in which it fulfills its concept by performing adequately or inadequately determines our judgment of how good it is. For example, we go to the kitchen to use a spoon. And of course we know what a spoon is because we have been using them since we were infants! But instinctively we use a spoon for specific functions; to hold liquids, to stir, to scoop, or strain. So in order for a spoon to do those things we know it needs to be a bowl shape, as when we cup our hands to splash water on our face. Therefore, conceptually we know what a spoon is without knowing the spoon. We can determine how good it is from the satisfaction we gain from the way it performs.

Finding pleasure in the agreeable is similar to finding pleasure in the good, as both have a link to satisfying our desires. With the good, we desire to perform a task and that object allows us to accomplish it, satisfying our desire. With the agreeable however, it is not a practical satisfaction, rather a satisfaction dependent on the senses or feeling. So in order for a spoon to do those things we know

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thesis research /// beauty

it needs to be a bowl shape, as when we cup our hands to splash water on our face. Therefore, conceptually we know what a spoon is without knowing the spoon. We can determine how good it is from the satisfaction we gain from the way it performs.

thesis research /// beauty

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history & culture Buildings in downtown Montgomery that we would likely call “southern” or “Montgomery-esque” have similar characteristics, if not relationships, alluding to the history and culture of the city. These can and should be included in the design and construction of contemporary buildings while also adding layers to the history and culture that already exist. Materiality or the language of materials is important when discussing characteristics of a southern or Montgomery-esque building. Brick is the obvious observation. My assumption is that brick, back in Montgomery’s prime, was cheap and people knew how to build with it. Also it was much more fire resistant that wood. Sophisticated construction techniques such as steel and concrete may not have been so readily available unlike today. The act of construction can give a certain character to a space. A space constructed out of pour in place concrete has a distinct character that is different from a wooden stick frame method of construction. Materials have meaning to them that transcend

closing up redundancy in beauty It does matter what kind of logical deduction is behind your reason of finding something aesthetically pleasing, but there is still a judgment made by the viewer that transcends logic. Airplanes are aerodynamic and sleek rather than fat and obtrusive; we know that in order for an airplane to fly, it is much better for it to be the former. According to Scruton however, it is not appropriate to base our aesthetic judgment of off the utility of an object. His argument is that there are many ways to make something work, in respect to its utility, but that does not make it beautiful, it makes it an object you can fly in. Over time we have discovered the right formula for airplane design and anything that goes against it we might find funny looking or strange. Maybe because we don’t know how it would work compared to the conventional form of an airplane or that it seems to go against nature. Despite functional or rational reasoning for the form of an airplane, Scruton suggest there is more to our judgment of finding the airplane appearance pleasing. He alludes back to the conclusion that we find things to be beautiful or aesthetically pleasing for their own sake, meaning that despite their function or utility, we find an intrinsic meaning to their existence. That meaning is immeasurable therefore as rational beings we have a difficult time explaining our thinking.

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site analysis /// history+culture

site analysis /// history+culture

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Figure/Ground Map

Street Map

Topo Map

notes: urban core Aerial map of downtown Montgomery, showing the transect classifications. Heaviest density is indicated in orange in the center and decreases as you fade out. The red datum indicates the east boundary where the two grids collide which our group will be focusing on. Montgomery’s grid layout is quite unique. It is made up of two separate grids that grew out of two cities. One grid lies in the lower bowl of the geography of downtown area. This grid corresponds to the curve of the Alabama River. The other grid, instead corresponds to the cardinal directions. When the two grids meet, their is a distinct boundary created by the left over space in relation to the occupied space. What usually results is a triangular space. The view is that this occurrence is a mistake in the cities planning, and perhaps it should be re corrected to correspond to the larger city grid which relates to the cardinal directions rather than the river’s curve. However it is our position that it is these mistakes and these boundaries that become the most interesting or admired places in communities. For example Times Square is a place where one street, Broadway, rebels against the larger city grid as it curves south toward lower Manhattan.

designer landscape Carlson explains the designer landscape approach to be a way in which we try to organize and design almost everything about our human environments. He claims that this approach creates uninteresting places that are meant to be perfect, but what we really need in our environments is flexibility and ambiguity. Contrasting with the way nature grows and ecosystems work, Carlson suggest that our human environments ought to feel as if it all belongs together. The way in which this can be accomplished he admits is complex, but nonetheless it is possible.

The designer landscape approach fails because it makes too much sense on paper and in the designers mind. Logically and rationally, as the designer goes through making the design, he/she wants everything to line up and efficient as one would want their house when guest come to visit. But in reality we don’t live in a perfect world and as humans we are not perfect. The designer landscape approach fails to instill some ambiguity into their ideas and does not allow for or account for the human element. Humans who inhabit the landscape will make their own mark on a place, which is why we find communities that have natural phenomenon to be so engaging. It is the natural phenomenon that we find the most interesting rather than the glazed over reality we try to live in.

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site analysis /// urban core

SmartCode Transect Map T-5 Density T-4 Density T-3 Density T-2 Density

site analysis /// urban core

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site 1

site 2

site 3

site 4

site 5

notes: urban street Aerial map of downtown Montgomery, showing the five sites our group has selected to reinforce the boundary. Each site is accompanied by a open space that we have acknowledges as vital to activating the boundary. Some sites have a direct relationship to their open space while others are less direct meaning they may be across a street or askew from their property. Streets in downtown Montgomery are very wide and contain numerous lanes. Crossing them at times seemed unusually daunting especially compared to the amount of traffic some see. Adjusting the street widths to their traffic patterns will create a more appropriate scale for the pedestrian and encourage walking. We hope to achieve on a macro scale, a more defined edge along this datum yet on a human scale as if you were walking along the sidewalk a more blurred edge allowing people who walk by to be filtered into the building physically, mentally, and sensually.

room. street. & the human agreement.

A room essentially is a quantifiable space made out of materials and a structure. It has dimensions and geometry, but a room becomes a room, or a place when it comes to life. A plan can be described as a society of rooms. In a civilized society, we stride to co-exist amongst people who have many differences, and come together for a common good. In architecture, the common good can be as simple as providing shelter or as complex as providing an education. Each room has a function, a feeling, and a talent that it can give to the greater good. Some rooms don’t like other rooms; therefore they may not need to interact with each other or cannot interact with each other. Some rooms may have a greater importance than others, therefore its neighbors cannot get jealous, instead they ought to encourage the other and share in its glory.

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site analysis /// urban street

site 1 site 2 site 3 site 4 site 5

site analysis /// urban street

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notes: urban neighborhood Aerial map of downtown Montgomery, showing the adjacencies of my site. There are 3 parking garages surrounding this site. One of the two is reserved for public parking, the other two are used for police and nearby buildings. The property as of now is used as parking for the law office next door. There are 20 spaces that will need to be relocated. Some big institutions are located nearby; Troy University, AT&T, the Montgomery Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Federal Courthouse. Hence a range of potential users can be assumed from students to judges. Also the range of ineffectual’s can increase the success rate of the business and popularity of the place. However, there is a lack of residents in the neighborhood, leaving the streets somewhat dead during the evening and at night.

The street south of site 4 (yellow bar) is approximately 60 ft. wide and consist of 3 one way lanes and one side of parallel parking and the other reverse in angle parking. The street west of site 4 is approximately 20 ft. wide and consist of one one way street and one side of parallel parking.

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site analysis /// urban neighborhood

site 4 neighborhood adjacencies

site analysis /// urban neighborhood

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eastern view

southern view

western view

notes: urban building Aerial map of downtown Montgomery lot. Southern facade will receive ample amounts of light. Eastern facade will little direct light and will mostly be in shadow throughout the day. there will be little solar gain however from the eastern facade. A six story tall building will cast a shadow in early mornings. The western facade will receive extreme solar gain and direct light as. However in the winter months the shadow from the parking garage will cast on to site 4. The lot is approximately 50 X 100 feet or 5,000 sq. ft. It is accessible on three sides with the third side being a 18 ft. wide alley that is used by other buildings on the block. The buildings on the north side of the site are relatively low, the highest being 3 stories and directly next door. The SmartCode allows buildings up to six stories in the T-5 zone that we are located.

windows The window is a dynamic instrument in which we use to perform certain functions for us and for space. The window creates a world within a world. It brings life into the spaces that we create. The figurative sun of an architectural space, without it, no pleasurable life would exist. Man cannot change the law that governs the sun and its presence on earth, but it can be manipulated. We can allow certain kind of light to enter directly and indirectly or use the sun to create shadows by creating openings in the wall. It is the choice of construction that releases light into the space. We use architecture as a way of capturing the wonder and power of light. Light brings a timelessness into a space, allowing it to change and be the same at the same time. Light will always be there; as long as you design for it, you can rely on its ability to show up. Its power is unlimited; we can use light to lift heavy things or separate spaces with no physical presence at all.

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site analysis /// urban neighborhood

site 4 building adjacenies

site analysis /// urban building

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Bios..........40............... 280 sq. ft.

Bios. ..........40 280 ........................

16 ...............

115sq. sq. ft. ft.

Regilon Regilon..........16 ............... 115sq. ft.

Kids..........24 ............... 170 sq. ft.

Kids..........24 ............... 170 sq. ft.

Fiction ..........80 ............... sq. ft.

Fiction . .........80 ............... sq. ft.

Books Non Fiction..........64 ............... 450 sq.

Life Improvement ...............

55 sq.sq. ft.

Non Fiction ..........64..........8 ...............

450 Literature.......... .12............... ............... 55 85 sq. sq. ft. ft.

Life Improvement .........8 Literature ......... ...............

85 sq.

Education. .........

40.12 ...............

280 sq. ft. ft.

Education. .........

40 sq.

History. .........

40............... ...............280 280 sq. ft. ft.

Sports..........8 ............... 55 sq. ft.

History..........

40 ...............

280 sq. ft.

Design..........8 ............... 55 sq. ft.

565 565

Taylors&Coffee Taylors Coffee Bakery& Bakery Auburn, AL

Auburn, AL

420 sq. ft.

420 sq. ft.

28 Seats

28 Seats

Barrista....................... 180 sq. ft.

Kitchen....................... 320sq. ft.

Kitchen/Service

Restroom........................ 44 sq. ft.

442 General Office.

56 Gnu’s Room Gnu’s Room

Barrista Bar

Seating

.........................

sq. ft.

Game/Reading Station....................... 48sq. ft.

Seating/Circulation

......................

sq. ft.

Sports. .........8 Travel. .........4............... ...............55 30 sq. sq. ft. ft.

Design. .........8 ...............

55 sq.

Art..........12 ............... 85 sq. ft. ft.

Travel..........4 ............... 30 sq. ft.

Alabama Writers..........4 ............... 30 sq. ft.

Taylors Coffee Bakery Taylors Coffee & Bakery Taylors&ArtCoffee & Bakery ..........12 ............... 85 sq. ft.

Auburn, AL

Auburn, AL

Books 21,600 Books21,600 taylors coffee 1,012 sq. ft.

1,012 sq. ft. auburn, al

The majority of the space is taken up by public seating and circulation, which is intertwined into one another. The other larger half is reserved for service. Deliveries are made in the back through an alley. The kitchen and service area is visible to the public allowing people to take part in their food preparation. Also they mainly serve desserts which are colorful and aesthetically pleasing for people to look at. The main focus of the store is the barrista bar and its spatial quality.

Another focus is its ability to define certain spaces in what is a typical long Montgomery, ALmatch box building with no divider. People come here not for the coffee, but for the place.

Auburn, AL

Auburn, AL

Auburn, AL

Auburn, AL

Auburn, AL

Service/Kitchen

Alabama Writers..........4 ............... 30 sq. ft.

28 Seats 28 Seats 28 Seats Bookstore/Coffee House House 420 sq. ft.

420 sq. ft. Bookstore/Coffee 420Barrista sq. ft. ....................... 140 sq. ft.

Taylors Coffee &Coffee Bakery Taylors Coffee & Bakery Taylors & Bakery Montgomery, AL

Books 54,000 Books54,000 in 2,535 sq. ft. in 2,535 sq. ft.

Auburn, AL in 780 Bios.

10sq. ft. 56 48 Seats in 780 48 Seats sq. ft.

Bios.

10 56

28 Seats

.........

...............

sq. ft.

..................................

4 ............... 23 sq. sq. ft. ft.

Regilon Regilon..........4 ............... 23 sq. ft.

Kids..........6 ............... 34 sq. ft.

Kids..........6 ............... sq. ft.

34

Fiction.......... ..........20 ............... 113 sq. ft.

Fiction 20.........................

113 ft.

Non Fiction 16 ...............

90sq.sq.Books ft.

28 Seats

Taylors Taylors &Coffee Bakery Non Fiction 16 90& Bakery420 sq. ft.

420 sq. ft. Coffee 56 .

Life Improvement ............... 11 sq. sq. ft. ft. ......... ..........2 ...............

Literature.........2 ..........3............... ............... 11 17 sq. sq. ft. ft.

Life Improvement Literature ........ ............... 17 sq.

Education. .........

10.3............... sq. ft. ft.

.

Taylors Taylors Bakery 56 56& Bakery 28 Seats &Coffee 28 Seats Coffee 56 Auburn, AL

Auburn, AL

.

28 Seats 420 sq. ft.

Auburn, AL 420 sq. ft

Auburn, AL 420 sq. ft

.

Education. .........

10 sq.

History. .........

10............... ............... sq. ft. ft.

Sports..........2 ............... 11 sq. ft. .........

10 ............... sq. ft.

Design..........2 ............... 11 sq. ft.

. History.

28 Seats 420 sq. ft.

Sports. .........2 ............... 11 sq. ft.

Travel..........1 ............... 6 sq. ft.

Design.

11 sq.

Art.........2 ..........3............... ...............

17 sq. ft. ft.

Customer Service Travel..........1 ...............

6 sq. ft.

Alabama Writers..........1 ............... 6 sq. ft.

300 Gnu’s Room Gnu’s Room Gnu’s Room

Restroom 34 Seating 300 ........................ .........................

Auburn, AL Auburn, AL

Librarian Office ........................Seating/Reading 100 sq.sq.ft.ft.

Seating .........................

Office....................... 56 sq. ft.

LibrarianGeneral Office ........................ 100 sq. ft.

Coffee Grinding .......................

120 General Office. ......................

56 sq.sq. ft.ft.

CoffeeALGrinding.......................

Auburn,

120 sq. ft.

Gnu’s Room Gnu’s Room 21,600 Books 21,600 Books 21,600 1,012 .

1,012 . Books 21,600 Books21,600 Books 21,600 = 1,012 1,012 sq. . Room 1,012 . ft1,012 21,600 =. 1,012 Gnu’s Auburn, AL sq. ft sq. ft

Auburn, AL

sq. sq. ft. ft.

Auburn, AL sq. ft

Books

gnus room sq. ft

Books auburn, al

sq. ft.

sq. ft.

Gnu’s Room is a coffee shop and a bookstore located in downtown Auburn, AL. The genres range from childrens book to physics. Particularly interesting about the place were the nooks and intimate rooms you coul dwell in when browsing and reading. My calcualtions placed about 240 books per book case, and there were about 90 book cases. A uni-sex restrrom was provided for customers Montgomery, as well as a AL small kitchen to store supplies. There was no offical room used for an office, but sq. there ft. was a space sq. ft. deligated byAL a desk and hundreds of unshelved books.

Montgomery,

Customer Service Barrista

Restroom Seating

110 320

........................ .........................

Librarian Office. 320 120 Seating General Office.

80 ....................... ......................

.........................

Seating/Reading

Art..........3 ............... 17 sq. ft. sq. ft.

Alabama Writers..........1 ............... 6

Barrista....................... 150 Service sq. ft.

Kitchen .......................

120 sq.sq.ft.ft.

Barrista .......................

150 Restroom........................ 34 sq. ft.

Kitchen ....................... 120 sq. ft.

Kitchen....................... .......................140 160 sq.sq.ft.ft.

Barrista Restroom ........................

110 sq. ft.

28Kitchen Seats ....................... 160 sq. ft.

420 sq. ft.

Librarian Office........................ 120

sq. sq. ft. ft.

sq.ft. ft. sq. sq. ft.

Coffee Grinding 100 Gnu’s Room Gnu’s GeneralRoom Office.......................

80 Coffee Grinding ....................... 100 sq. ft.

21,600 Books21,600 Books 1,012 1,012 Gnu’s. Room Gnu’s. Room .......................

Auburn, AL

sq. ft

21,600 Auburn, AL

Auburn, AL

sq. ft. sq. ft. sq. ft.

sq. ft

= 1,012 sq. ft.

Auburn, AL

21,600 Books21,600 Books 21,600 Books Bookstore/Coffee Bookstore/Coffee House House House Bookstore/Coffee 1,012 sq. ft.Books 1,012 ft.Bookstore/Coffee 1,012 sq. ft.

54,000 Books inHouse 2,535 54,000sq.

Books in 2,535

21,600 Books = 1,012 sq. ft.

House House Bookstore/CoffeeBookstore/Coffee House Bookstore/Coffee Montgomery, AL Montgomery, AL

thrid places

48 in 780 sq. ft.

48 Seats in 780 sq. ft.

54,000 Books 54,000 Books inSeats 2,535 sq. ft. in 2,535 sq. ft.

48 Seats in 780 sq. ft.

48 Seats in 780 sq. ft.

“Though a radically different kind of setting for a home, the third place is remarkably similar to a good home in the psychological comfort and support that it extends…They are the heart of a community’s vitality, the Montgomery, AL social Montgomery, AL Montgomery, AL grassroots of democracy, but sadly, they constitute a diminishing aspect of the American social landscape.” - Ray Oldenburg sq. ft. sq. ft. sq. ft. sq. ft. sq. ft. spatial necessity in architecture sq. ft.

in 2,535 54,000 Books in 2,535 54,000 Books54,000 Books in 2,535 48 Seats in 780 48 Seats in 780 48 Seats in 780House Bookstore/Coffee Bookstore/Coffee House Bookstore/Coffee

House

A public monument, unlike architecture, has a function that is more orAL less expressed onAL the surface. Meaning that the mere function Montgomery, Montgomery, AL Montgomery, of a monument is to have a specific meaning in a built form and therefore it is expressed on doft. however exist in a sq.its ft. sleeve. Both sq. sq. ft. physical built form and take up space, as does a work of architecture.

They both fit into a site somewhere or else they would not be. sq. ft. sq. ft. sq. ft.

The main difference Carlson is trying to allude to in their comparison is ones ability to create space that humans can dwell inside of and the others inability. I think Carlson’s argument is wrong, you can dwell and experience a public monument much more than on the surface, but for the sake of the question asked, I’ll continue with Carlson’s point of view.

Carlson’s objective in coming to the conclusion that architecture has an inside space and outside space and without one or the other we just could not fully appreciate the work. He give the example of viewing a gothic cathedral from the outside and coming to realize that the front doors are locked and you cannot get in to finish the experience. The inside is vital to the outside and vice versa, reinforcing the idea that form follows function is indeed important and key to an architectural work. We appreciate architecture because it creates space. It is so simple yet so complicated we sometimes forget. We find architecture engaging because we can dwell in its spaces, either physically or mentally.

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program analysis /// research

54,000 Books54,000 in 2,535 Books in 2,535 48 Seats in 780 48 Seats in 780

program analysis /// schematics

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design process /// plans

design process /// plans

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design process /// plans

design process /// urban porch

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design process /// sections

design process /// sections

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design process /// wall panel unit

design process /// wall panel unit

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wall unit design 1.0

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design process /// wall panel models

wall unit design 2.0

wall unit design 3.0

wall unit design 4.0

design process /// wall panel models

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design process /// wall panel unit

design process /// wall section

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design process /// elevations

design process /// elevations

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design process /// perspectives

design process /// perspectives

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Border vs. Boundary How the interrelationships of materiality, fabrication and place contribute to an experience in the public realm of a city street through a wall that becomes a border rather than an boundary. A boundary is a distinct and simple edge.

Similar to a tree line that drastically ends as you move up a mountain because the trees cannot grow any higher. A border however, is similar to a shoreline, which, as an active edge, is constantly changing and allows for interactive exchanges. Borders are much more dynamic places to be. We are much more intrigued by their complexities and intricacies rather than stark boundaries.

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final presentation

final presentation

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retail boutique

courtyard

elevator lobby

urban porch

deli

coffee house

ground floor

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final presentation

second floor

third floor

fourth floor

fifth floor

^ N site plan

sixth floor

final presentation

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final presentation /// south elevation

final presentation /// west elevation

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final presentaiton /// wall panel system

2� air space+vapor barrier wall unit system modular bricks glazing

interior insulated wall structural attachments concrete frame apetures

wall panel assembly

final presentation /// wall panel system

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final presentaiton /// rendering

final presentation /// rendering

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conclusion

conclusion

The project I believe succeeded in creating a beautiful wall that blurs the physical edge of the city. From a distance the wall or physical edge can be seen and acknowledged, however, it alludes to a more dynamic system. It was critique to seem pixilated or fuzzy, which is what I aimed to accomplish. The recognition of where the edge occurs is somewhat unknown and engages the pedestrian. When one comes closer to the wall they become more familiar with its construction and form. A familiarity and sense of places is reaffirmed when they realize that the building is clad with bricks. conclusion

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bibliography Carlson, Allen. “Aesthetic Appreciation and the Human Environment.” Nature and Landscape: An Introduction

to Environmental Aesthetics. 1st ed. New York: Columbia UP, 2008. 52-73. Print.

Carlson, Allen. “Existence, Location, and the Function: The Appreciation of Architecture.” Aesthetics and the

Environment: The Appreciation of Nature, Art and Architecture. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.

Goodman, Nelson, and Catherine Z. Elgin. “How Buildings Mean.” Reconceptions in Philosophy and Other

Arts and Sciences. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1988. 31-48. Print.

Kahn, Louis I. “Law and Rule in Architecture.” Princeton University. 1961. Speech.

Kahn, Louis I. Original text from “Voice of America. Recorded November 19, 1960” folder, Box LIK 53, Louis I

Kahn Collection, University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Kahn, Louis I. “The Room, the Street, and the Human Agreement.” AIA National Gold Medal. 1971. Reading.

Kant, Immanuel. Translated by Nicholas Walker, and James Creed. Meredith. Critique of Judgement. Oxford:

Oxford UP, 2007. Print.

Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other

Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 1999. Print.

Pallasmaa, Juhani, and Peter MacKeith. “On History and Culture.” Architectural Record June 2007. Print.

Pallasmaa, Juhani. “Materiality and Time.” The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. London: Acad-

emy Editions, 1996. Print.

Scruton, Roger. “Chapter 1.” Beauty: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford [England: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Scruton, Roger. “Chapter 4.” Beauty: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford [England: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Scruton, Roger. “Chapter 5.” Beauty: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford [England: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Scruton, Roger. “Chapter 6.” Beauty: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford [England: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Sennett, Richard. “Resistance and Ambiguity.” The Craftsman. New Haven: Yale UP, 2008. Print.

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bibliography

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