HISTORICAL SOCIETY Fall Studio - 2020
For this completely digital studio project, my partner Trey Marshall and I, designed a building for the Columbus Historical Society that would house the statue of Christopher Columbus that used to be prominently displayed outside city hall. The site was divided into two halves; the front half being the main building geode, and the back half consisting of our garden courtyard and elevated walkways. These two halves represent yin & yang, future & past, with the threshold acting as present time, through which you see glimpses of both past and future.
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The chamfer of the corner on Broad St. invites the existing procession into the building while holding the corners that reference both the historic Engine House to the East, and the Harrison House to the West. The cut on the western edge of our building references the existing curb cut along N. Gift St, which allows for accessible storage for past and future gallery exhibits. This cut also opens another opportunity for secondary entry into our building, wrapping around the auditorium, feeding you towards the main lobby. The procession continues to be a driving force on the interior of our project through the ramp, which as a result informs our program layout.
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Both the exhibition and auditorium spaces are sunken into the ground, allowing for Columbus to be submerged. This leaves us not looking up at him, not looking down on him, but simply staring him in the face. On the first floor, both entrances lead you to the front desk, which visually directs you either to the auditorium, or to the main gallery. Through the main gallery, you approach the openings in the building envelope which function as present time, creating views towards the future. On the second floor, you have a direct view of the existing tree, and second floor gallery space. Up the ramp a half level you reach our reading room and lounge spaces, accessible for public use. On the Third floor, you reach the archive space, which has a glass wall to give glimpses into the galleries and Columbus below. Up to the top of the ramp is the admin office space, the final destination for the employees.
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Our courtyard space on the back half of the site displays both familiar, and unfamiliar figures. The familiar figures, potentially discarded from other locations, are displayed below in a zen garden, untouchable to the public. The unfamiliar figures are housed above on the elevated walkway, on display and easily accessible from the third floor. The vision of the unfamiliar figures look beyond the frosted glass in front of them, and down onto the familiar figures displayed below. This is a denial of the common binary thinking of historical figures; limiting your vision to figures above, as if you were part of this history yourself.
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