Thesis by Ian Shelton

I A N T

S H E L T O N e

Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design Bachelor of Architecture Undergraduate thesis, 2013-2014 ADVISORS Keith Zawistowski Marie Zawistowski Ellen Braaten

+contents

ENTRANCE TO THE CITY .01 p. 02-13

ON ENTRANCE .02 p. 14-21

ON PATH .03 p. 22-29

ON IDENTITY .04 p. 30-37

ON PERMANENCE .05 p. 38-43 01

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ENTRANCE TO THE CITY Transit Station | Richmond, Virginia

Entrance is the initiation of the constructed experience, the first encounter with a mental and physical space. This encounter is emphasized by its role in the architecture. It is a gateway, a destination, a reference point for identity. Entrance is a sequential, intentional process rather than a simple threshold. It removes the individual from the urban condition while delivering him to the architecture. This extended sequence of entry brings the frame of reference to the foreground. The building itself becomes a marker of arrival, an architectural encounter with the process of entering. Through this process the individual projects himself into the identity of the building and in turn the building is projected into the identity of the city.

On an urban scale, Richmond lacks an entrance. The approach to the city was characterized by a series of boundaries defined loosely by the James River and downtown, which is skirted by Interstate 95. I-95 cuts through the heart of the city; however, without a defined entrance the interstate seems to run along the outside of the city. The site for my project is located along I-95 at the start of downtown across from the James Monroe Building - the tallest building in Richmond - and next to the Main Street Train Station - the longest building in Richmond. 05

The transit station seeks to address the condition of entrance at various scales. The station uses its siting in proximity to the interstate and relation to the buildings around it to make a gateway at the scale of the city. The spatial sequence and organization of program form a fluid layout of space, which extends the notion of entrance throughout the building. 07

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ON ENTRANCE

The first interaction with any architecture is through the act of entering. The sequence of actions and procession of spaces involved in entering a building are a significant moment. Entrance is not just the formal access at the front of a building. Entering is a process that involves more than crossing a single threshold and walking inside. The sequence of entering a building is the intentional approach employing opportunities to direct movement through the spatial organization of the building. The architecture of the entrance frames the perception of the building as a whole. Layers of entry are defined through individual moments and at various scales but the encounter with the architecture and the process of occupying it is perceived wholly as entrance.

In its urban context, the transit station rises up next to the interstate to frame a gateway that clearly marks the entrance to Richmond. The monolithic form and placement on the site in proximity to the interstate enforce the station as a marker in the city. At the scale of the person, the entrance reaches out to the city with a series of paths and levels of threshold. The individual is directed to a clearly defined entrance. As a regional transit hub, the project mediates an intersection of pedestrian and vehicle, traveler and transport. The person and the vehicle are taken into the building where the building makes a point of resolution for departure and arrival. At both scales the building is framed as a reference point within its context. 17

pl an

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bus a ccess + service

pl an

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lobby + dining

pl an

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of f ice + ex hibit

pl an of f ice

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Entrance is expressed through a material and a spatial transparency. The spatial organization is fluid and implies a movement and direction. Materially, a perforated aluminum skin shrouds the monolithic core towers. This translucent skin functions as a filter of space and light. It stands in contrast from its surroundings as a glowing box, further enforcing the architecture as a marker of arrival. The skinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose is also to remove the individual from the city as they enter the building. This screen is another layer of threshold that defines a permeable boundary while veiling the visitor in a space of refuge from the city -- a place to wait.

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ON PATH

Entrance is resolved through a choreographed approach at different scales and speeds. The moment of arrival is emphasized by the process employed to get there. In the extended, intentional process of entry, entrance is initiated by the sequence of events leading to the building. Path and circulation become the means for entry. The project reaches out to the urban context as the organization of space directs a measured approach. The sequence of circulation captures the project in specific moments. This spatial sequence frames the context of the architecture and in turn the experience and use of the building. The idea of path extends entrance from the city through the site before it culminates in the occupation of the building.

In the context of the city, the site connects ma jor districts of downtown with a pedestrian axis that is cut through the landscape. There are two explicit paths of entry: one for the bus and one for the person. The path takes the person from the car through the site and delivers them to their transportation. The spatial transparency used in the layout of the plan of the building is evident in addressing the landscape. Small courtyards are arranged off of the axial cut and layers of trees frame the station as the individual proceeds through the path to the entrance.

At the scale of the individual, path is defined by a series of spaces that compress and expand, pulling the visitor through the architecture. This compression of space is tied to its function and scale, from the public to the intimate. Cuts through the landscape lead to an open plaza that acknowledges the whole of the building before leading to the interior. The space carved out by the core towers forms a rhythm of circulation that delivers the individual to places of pause and moments of arrival. 27

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The essence of rhythm is the preparation for a new event by the ending of the previous one... everything that prepares a future creates a rhythm, everything that begets or intensifies expectation.â&#x20AC;? - Susann Langer, Feeling and Form 29

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ON IDENTITY

The confrontation with entrance as a marker initiates an identity within the mental and physical construction of the city. The station as the first encounter with the city is ingrained in the urban identity. It is a reference point for the memory and experience of the process of entering at its various scales. Entrance is identified by form, space, material and detail. The interior of the building offers a degree of removal from the urban streets, arriving at a space to wait, a moment of reflection. The materiality and detailing become present to further the constructed setting in the foreground of identity.

Wall Plan Detail

Wall Section Detail

S c a l e 1 /4 ” = 1 ’

Ce il i n g D eta il

Screen Frame Detail

Floor Reveal Detail

Screen Frame Detail Scale 1/2” = 1’

The architecture is anchored in its sense of place and use of material. Detail becomes important in the built expression of place. The concrete cores are of the site, primary in their presence in the station. The verticality of the cores is stressed through the board-form concrete material and the detail of the floor is pulled slightly away from the cores. Identity is enforced at the scale of the person through the act of occupying the space. By shrouding the surroundings with the perforated aluminum faรงade, the constructed space becomes more present. In the hectic course of urban travel the station provides an atmosphere of removal, pulling apart a single threshold into an extended encounter. 35

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ON PERMANENCE

The program of a transit station is inherently occupied by a state of transience. However, the idea of entrance is permanent in its context. As a marker and symbol of arrival, the form of the station transcends specific programmatic requirements. The iconic form of gateway is anchored in its site. There is physical timelessness in the expression of the core towers that is translated into the mental construct of the visitor. The building is perceived as a symbol for entrance and the significance of its meaning becomes permanent through the identity of the individual and of the city.

The station addresses permanence through tectonic expression. The monolithic structures of the core towers are archaic in their form and character. They are of the earth, deriving their presence from the ground where the building is cut into the landscape. Structure is inherent to the cores, while the rest of the building is dependent on their solidity. The figurative weight of the towers is evidenced by the contrast with the lightness of material expression of the rest of the station, as the floor slabs and screen facade are hung from the cores. The screen and floors take on a more temporal role in occupying functions related to travel while the core towers are a monument to entrance regardless of time and program. 43

Experience and identity are a result of constructed setting. Architecture becomes a reference point in daily life and in turn memory. Entrance is the initiation of this constructed memory. In a typology of transience, a place of physical and mentally constructed solidity signifies a marker of arrival, a destination. In this sense entrance is the destination. Entrance as a reference point becomes more significant as it is engaged at different scales of interaction. The transit station becomes a gateway directing movement and experience. Without an intentional presence the station is merely a vessel for traffic. The architecture engages the traveler as a point of identity. It brings the frame of reference to the foreground as the building is occupied in its daily use. The station is ingrained in the identity of the individual and the city through its significance as the initial encounter with the city. Architecture then becomes permanent through the constructed memory of identity.