Three stories above the sidewalks of North Broadway, in the Lincoln Heights district of Los Angeles, is the new location of the Alissa Bell Press. An atypical 500 square foot studio will come to organize all the processes of this print shop. In this package we have attempted to synthesize existing conditions with the new program to create a holistic architectural understanding that not only facilitates, but improves the life and experiences of the users. From the site, the program, and the client we have developed a concept: the cloud and the machine. Through this concept we have come to understand principles that will govern the organization of space and satisfy the project in all of its facets. In the pages to follow we have consolidated this work, spanning from site analysis to the proposal of new spatial orders.
Spatial Breakdown:
Old Structure
A Mysterious Intervention: Block and Frame
Enclosing Boundary
The Space Cut in Three:
Results in a diversity of spatial qualities
between the earth and the sky there is a cloud, a machine where they meet is the intersection of utility and dream
The concept of the cloud and the machine displays the idea of duality, which permeates this project in multiple ways. This duality is intrinsic both to the space and to the program. We took this as an opportunity to develop the divided studio as two independent yet connected spaces. Each respects the concept of the cloud and the machine, but is governed by different rules that satisfy its particular use and spatial characteristics. Present in the following pages are diagrams which reveal these rules, with the hope to ground the architectural interventions in both utility and dream. In the press room, the organization will be through a spatial horizon that unifies the isolated elements of production:
1. in the production room the body is central and moves between production elemements located along the walls of the space
2. a horizon is drawn at the height of the working body, standing
3. this horizon is the organizing principle of the space; it unites the previously isolated elements of production
1.
2.
3.
coffee table
couch
glass desk
wood desk
sitting chair
desk chair
stool
In the entry room, the organizing principle is still growing. This is due to the enigmatic nature of the space and the multiple programs within it. Present in the following pages are an evolution of diagrams which investigate this spatial puzzle; the final of which we believe to be the most resonate and unified solution of program and concept
The Situation as it Stands: The frame provides an undecided organization of the space, with Alissa’s desk residing below/within it. The couch is placed in the southwest corner of the space with a coffee table flanking the entry into the press room.
Entry Vector Scheme:
A vector is drawn from the main entry to the entrance of the press room This gesture highlights an “opening up of space” and creates a perceived momentum which immediately connects the two rooms Audra’s and Alissa’s desks are organized along this vector, the column lands between (with a multipurpose sheathing added to service and connect the desks) A continuous and shared performance wall for both desks houses storage and additional surface space if necessary The couch remains where it is just prior to the entrance of the press room This proposition does a lot with a little and gives Alissa’s desk the most hierarchy in the room But! This scheme does not capitalize on the northeast corner of the room: its exciting lighting, ceiling height, and spatial vantage point qualities are present but not fully embellished Upon entry the space is fully de-mystified, leaving little room for the imagination to wander Upon entry, one is confronted with the heavy, lethargic form of a couch The view of the press from Alissa’s desk is obscured by the frame
Vector Desk and Cockpit Scheme: pt.1 Alissa’s desk is kept along the entry vector and Audra’s desk sits in the southeast corner of the room, creating a standing work zone with surrounding work surfaces. This desk also serves as an entry bar to create a sense of reception and perceived spatial complexity. With the couch in the northwest corner it capitalizes on its location beneath the frame: again, here there is light, perspective and intimacy. This allows for a productive work triangle between Alissa, Audra, and storage/support facilities But! The entry vector is weakened, as only Alissa’s desk keeps its orientation through the space The couch is cramped between Alissa’s desk and the back wall, resulting in an awkward and undefined meeting space behind Alissa’s personal zone The view of the press from Alissa’s desk is obscured by the frame
pt.2 The couch is moved to the northeast corner of the space leaving Alissa’s desk in a hierarchical position again. Audra’s desk still serves as an entry counter, but looses the adjacent support/storage to the new couch placement. The couch has a coffee table (potentially operable) between it and Alissa’s desk But! The entry vector is weakened, as only Alissa’s desk keeps its orientation through the space The couch becomes cramped with only room for two to sit side by side, leaving couch sitters to face the reception desk. The northeast corner fades aways from Alissa’s desk to impractical distances for support or storage Audra loses her readily available storage/ support to elsewhere in the room The view of the press from Alissa’s desk is obscured by the frame column
Mondrian’s Bookend Scheme: In the northeast corner, a nice sitting area fits within the mysterious qualities of the frame. It is held on both sides by storage walls, “bookends”. Alissa’s and Audra’s desk share the southern zone of the space; their support/storage wraps along the walls and onto their desks Alissa’s and Audra’s desks have direct spatial and visual connection Meaningful adjacency and overlap creates a variety of distint zones The entry is gentle, both defining the private aspects of the space and subtly revealing these different zones The organization of the space clearly fades from public to private as one moves from the door to the production room But! The view of the press from Alissa’s desk is almost impossible unless...