MCR Matthew C Rheingans
Ann Arbor Middle School
The site itself was interesting because of its trapezoidal shape and the railroad tracks bordering on one side. Taking several people there to get an initial read of the site I had them place pins on a map of points of interest. Some of these were based on site lines, of proximity to the houses across the street etc. Using an average of these points I created a Delaunay triangulation with thread. Then connecting these regions to create a Voronoi diagram. These spaces created by the thread would become the basis for my plan. Being so close to the railroad tracks there is mostly thick exterior walls to block out the sound. To mitigate the darkness this creates I used a series of clerestory windows and a large roof of fritted glass to draw plenty of light in. To create the clerestory and to differentiate the interior organization the classrooms have their own roof with the larger roof sitting above connecting them.