CANOE FACILITY A Site Analysis and Design Exploring Existence and Nonexistence
THE SITE
800 feet of sloped land along the Cambridge side of the Charles River. Bounded by the BU bridge to the west, busy Memorial Drive to the North, and an esplanade to the east. A graffiti covered railroad bridge bisects the site.
Riverway
Boston University T Stop
Boston Back Bay
Esplanade that is interrupted at the site
The BU Bridge ove
Stair into Site
My first foray into watercolor, I sketched along two routes to the site. Cold weather forced me to quickly capture the essence of the scene.
ershadows the site
Graffiti on R.R. Bridge, a
Geese remind visitors of the silliness of
mark of the community
animal and human interaction
R.R. and BU Bridges
View from Site
SITE THESIS:
The site makes the visitor and the city feel nonexistent, this in turn makes the city and one’s existence even more palpable. Dense boundaries and a general forgottenness isolate the site from the city. However, architectural elements such as the bridges, and views of downtown remind the visitor of urban surroundings. The river reflects existence, yet the reflection itself is not real. It is as if the visitor watches Boston across and through the Charles. I thought of the site as a throne for an exiled queen.
Model of the River’s reflectivity
Dense thicket at the site
Model of the city (wire) surrounding the site (plastic bag). Made with trash from the site.
Model of various sections through the site
Collage of Site
This concept model of the site inspired a design thesis: to intensify the interplay between existence and nonexistence provided by the river, city, and site characteristics.
DESIGN THESIS:
To create a site installation in which visitors felt strangely nonexistent so that existence could be redefined.
Design Concept Models: Wire represents the connections that make us aware of our existence and the disconnections that make us feel nonexistent. In each, an element aids in the experience of existence and nonexistence. Acrylic casting gel on the left and suspension on the right.
THE DESIGN
• Visitors can enter the site from three entrances: the existing walkways to the east and west (previously interrupted by the site), or from across the Railroad Bridge onto which a pedestrian path has been designed. The site begins to exist as people are welcomed into it, yet its dense boundaries are preserved so that it retains an aura of nonexistence. • Paths directing visitors weave over land and water • A gathering area attaches to the Railroad Bridge and gives views of the city • A canoe storage area is nested into the slope, canoers paddle down a canal before entering the Charles
PATHS
Paths over the water have a grated metal floor and high curving walls so that sky and water are isolated. The city is removed from view and replaced with art from its inhabitants. This surreal experience makes both the person and city feel nonexistence.
“Its pure chaos, claiming a territory that doesn’t belong to you to state your own identity. Its like saying, I’ve got no other way to say I exist.” -Barry McGee on Graffiti
1/8� Model of Path Section
Visitors enter underneath the BU Bridge, the only place in the world where a plane can fly over a car, over a train, over a boat... And now over a pedestrian.
“To soften and blur and finally banish The edges you regret I don’t see, To learn the line I called the horizon Does not exist and sky and water, So long apart, are the same state of being.” -From Monet Refuses the Operation by Lisel Mueller
CANOE STORAGE AREA
1/2� Model of Lockers Canoes hang from columns the size of larger trees on the site. Overhead, layers of semitransparent material filters light like a canopy. Lockers are inside the columns so canoers can leave material possessions behind.
1/8� Model of Canoe Launch
Canoers launch into a curving canal in which sensory elements of the city are blocked. Similar to the experience of the paths, canoers are connected to the sky and water before being exposed to the city. The canal acts as a threshold between land and river.
Sketch model of Canopy
Various canal explorations
GATHERING AREA
Columns are arranged in plan based upon the way watercolor dried on a palette. This gives an arbitrary feeling without disorder.
Columns pierce through a semi-transparent floor shaping space for walkers above and canoers below. Groups of columns become seating and are partially contained by the columns around them. In this area, the surreal experience makes one more aware of the city and their own existence
Early explorations of placement and configuration of the gathering area...
Viewing the city from across the river both connects the visitor to Boston, and emphasizes the disconnection due to the Charles.
Columns piercing through the floor unites gatherers and canoers. Both get a similar forest-like threshold before viewing downtown Boston.
1/8� Final Model of Gathering Area
“Water has the strange power to stimulate the imagination and to make us aware of life’s possibilities.” -Tadao Ando
Each model was built to hold water so that reflectivity on the river and water level could be further understood. Looking back, it may not have been necessary in every model. This model would have been more helpful and interactive if it were holdable.
1/32� Final Site Model
WHAT I LEARNED
• Methods to investigate and understand a site qualitatively and quantitatively • Methods for translating complex ideas into a design • To use the CNC machine, glue wood, and caulk • To express ideas in watercolor • How to design with accessibility in mind
WITH FURTHER INVESTIGATION • Iron out details in the design
• Design at more of a human scale • Further explore how the design both connects and disconnects the visitor • Rethink and redesign the use of water in models