Circulation: Movement Choreographed for Social Connection

CIRCULATION:

Movement Choreographed For Social Connection Samantha Peyton Phillips

CIRCULATION:

Movement Choreographed For Social Connection Samantha Peyton Phillips

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Architecture Degree, Auburn University.

Thesis 2020 ARCH 5991 May 8, 2020 Professor Justin Miller

Acknowledgements Thank you to my friends, family, professors, and the Bachelor of Architecture Class of 2020, for always being there for me, pushing me, and believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.

Table of Contents Thesis Essay................................. 09 Bibliography................................. 20 Case Studies................................ 23 Program........................................... 37 Site Analysis................................. 45 Final Presentation.................... 51 Appendix......................................... 68

THESIS ESSAY

Circulation:

Movement Choreographed for Social Connection

10

Movement is a part of our day-to-day life;

spaces can generate a movement experience

We live in a world today that is constantly

through a building that causes social interac-

moving. Because of this, much of archi-

tion and visual connection. If more thought

tecture has been concerned with ideas

is put into the way people actually circulate

around movement. Movement has been a

through a building, a more dynamic experi-

fundamental idea in modernist architecture,

ence and choreographed narrative can be

especially focusing on the body’s movement

designed. There are different elements that

through it. Thinking about a body in space

motivate one to move through a building:

and the bodily movements that occur every-

ramps, stairs, elevators, light, views, material,

day has opened up ever changing ideas and

sound, and more. Combining and studying

opportunities in architecture.

these vehicles for creating movement open

This thesis more specifically focuses on

up different opportunities for encouraging

the way a body occupies the space around

circualtion in different ways and enhancing a

it, exploring social connection and bodily

spatial experience.

movement. Creating specific sequential

11

Thinking this way has opened up ideas

notion of body movement through space,

about merging circulation and program to

there is a concrete relationship between

become one in the same. The circulation

dance and architecture. Architecture not

becomes a place to come together and inter-

only dictates the physical placement of

act, not just the a typical corridor used to get

dance, but can inspire its steps. Through

to the programmed destination. The spatial

personal experience and exploration, dance

sequence of circulation can begin to forge

is a special kind of movement; it can be

connective relationships. One example of

formal or informal. There are different styles

circulation design through a building can be

that can create different stories, understand-

looked at through the lens of a typical office

ings, and experiences through various style,

building. This type of building dictates a very

speeds and genres. Although there are many

prescribed way to move on each floor. The

different types of dance, they all go beyond

typical straight and narrow hallway occupies

just the basic steps – there is an art to them.

as little square footage as possible to accom-

Dancers interact with space in different ways

modate the high volume of office spaces. In

through things such as: direction, levels,

typical design, the program is the focus, the

and pathways of movement to list a few. The

circulation then becomes the afterthought;

dancer can shape the space aropund them

the space left over once programmatic

alone, feeling and understanding how thier

requirements have been filled. A more fluidly

own body occupies the area around them.

dynamic experience can be constructed if

Or the group can dance, maneuvering and

lines of circulation and program begin to

interacting wiht one another. The dance can

blur.

be more structurally choreographed such as the tango and ballet, or it can be more

12

Dance and architecture are two different art

open for the dancer’s own interpretation like

forms that have always found connections

in improvisation. The spatial awareness and

and taken inspiration from each other. In the

interaction with the space, other dancers, or

the audience are a big part of how the dance tells its story. Choreography orchestrates specific movement in dance and different architectural elements can do that in a building. A building can help choreograph the movement in which a person should take through it.

The Bauhaus saw the importance of figuring out how the body moves and feels in relation to space. Because of this approach to thinkFigure 1

ing, they began to incorporate performance art into the curriculum of architecture to further explore the body in space. The Bauhaus school of arts and design was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, in 1919.

“The urge for exploring performance in a school concerned mostly with architecture and design was caused by their deep understanding of the importance of space; which lead them to investigating the relation between humans and the space surrounding them, between ideal geometric forms which make up the essence of space itself, and the possibilities of mechanical and human move-

Figure 2

ment within them.”1 The way the Bauhaus

1. “How the Bauhaus School Gave Life to... Performance Art Movement!” Widewalls. Accessed October 15, 2019. https:// www.widewalls.ch/bauhaus-school-performance-art/.

13

incorporated the art form such as dance

becoming one in the same. Looking at how

became just as important as the rest of the

to inhabit architectural spaces in new, inge-

architectural curriculum. Gropius had an

nious ways.3

admirable conception of the Gesamtkunstwerk (“total work of art”) in its relation to

These two look at how different shaped

architecture, but he was missing something:

spaces and environment types allow for

a consideration of the human body itself and

diverse movement exploration. They explore

its experience through space. Although ar-

the intersection of dance and architecture

chitects design for humans, they sometimes

through thinking about the choreography of

neglect to think about the body and how

spaces and understanding spaces used for

it moves and feels in relation to the space.

performance and choreography. “Space is

German painter, sculptor, and choreogra-

to design what movement is to dance and

pher Oskar Schlemmer filled in the body/

sound is to music.”4 Engaging users, encour-

space gap by implementing theater into the

aging participation and attempting to affect

curriculum in 1921. 2 Dance can become a

people’s experiences. Movement and space

vehicle for exploration in movement, space

experience allow the architecture to come

and design in architecture.

alive.

Dance is movement that engages the mind

The way we experience architecture as we

and body. Understanding the movement of

move through a building can be explored

the body through dance can help in better

through an array of spatial notions of move-

understanding how to design an architec-

ment. A comparison arises between the

tural space. Which can be seen when looking

architectural promenade, the function of the

into the studies and work that went on with

oblique, and functional circulation though

Anna and Lawrence Halprin. They dove into

the everyday corridor. Circulation is defined

ideas of dance and day-to-day movement

as movement to and from or around some-

2. Schlemmer, Oskar, Moholy-Nagy László, Molnár Farkas, Walter Gropius, and Arthor S. Wensinger. The Theater Bauhaus. Wesleyan University Press, 1961.

3. Merriman, Peter. “Architecture/Dance: Choreographing and Inhabiting Spaces with Anna and Lawrence Halprin.”

Cultural Geographies17, no. 4 (2010): 430. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474010376011.

4.Merriman, Peter. “Architecture/Dance: Choreographing and Inhabiting Spaces with Ann and Lawrence Halprin.”

Cultural Geographies17, no. 4 (2010): 432. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474010376011.

14

thing. Circulation has a connective function.

tectural promenade is a continuous flow of

The path could be direct or meandering you

meandering through a spatial sequence. It

through a space. The circulation could be for

heavily focused on the interconnection of

a mass group or focused on the movement of

public spaces and circulation. In much of his

the individual. The circulation choreographs

work, he expressed the idea of the architec-

a specific sequence, direct focus, change of

tural promenade which aided in the develop-

pace, and establish thresholds.5 Floors are

ment of the spaces he created. The buildings

the horizontal plane in which we move in

he designed housed circulation systems that

a building. Inclined planes or ramps allow

were more than just that, elaborating the

for a slower or faster pace depending on

ideas behind the buildings and the experi-

the slope. This can be useful in controlling

ence of that space. Le Corbusier was the

the speed of movement through a space. In

first to name and articulate the idea of the

architecture, elements can begin to play a

promenade, but this idea of sequence of

leading role in breaking up that direct path to

spaces can be seen as early as the Athens

create a different experience or direct focus

Acropolis. “Deliberate circulation systems

towards different areas along the path.

associated with spatial experiences” are the backbone of what makes up the architectural promenade. 7 Letting these observation in-

“Architecture is circulation”6 -Le Corbusier, 1930

form the architecture and spacial sequence, the views framed create a specific idea and experience as one moves along the path laid out in front of them. It is a spatial, sequential

The movement of people became a focus

experience choreographed for the user. Le

for some architects such as Le Corbusier.

Corbusier argued for an orchestration of

Le Corbusier coined his idea of movement

spaces that would relate to wandering, active

as the architectural promenade. The archi-

nature of human movement. The Carpenter

5. Hamer, Sophie. “ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS: CIRCULATION.” PORTICO. PORTICO, April 18, 2016. http://portico. space/journal//architectural-concepts-circulation.

6. Le Corbusier, Le Corbusier Talks with Students: From the Schools of Architecture(New York: Princeton Architectural Press,1999), p.47.

7. Zouvelekis, Helen. “Design Blog.” Spacesmith. Spacesmith, March 2, 2017. https://www.spacesmith.com/blog/architectural-promenade.

15

Figure 3

Center is one of Le Corbusier’s buildings that expresses and articulates his architectural promenade. The ramp in this building pulls people through and showcases the activities going on inside. “it constructs a careful spatial experience that works to represent the buildings program and activity to the viewer.”8 The ramp begins to activate in new ways of occupation, forming spaces of social encounter, interaction and exchange.9

“Architecture is experienced as one roams about in it and walks through it. . . so true is this that architectural works can be divided into dead and living ones depending on whether the law of ‘roaming through’ has not been observed or whether on the contrary it has been brilliantly obeyed.”10 -Le Corbusier

8. Stickells, Lee. “Conceiving an Architecture of Movement.” Architectural Research Quarterly14, no. 1 (2010): 42-47. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1359135510000564.

9.Stickells, Lee. “Conceiving an Architecture of Movement.” Architectural Research Quarterly14, no. 1 (2010): 49-50. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1359135510000564.

10.Zouvelekis, Helen. “Design Blog.” Spacesmith. Spacesmith, March 2, 2017. https://www.spacesmith.com/blog/architectural-promenade.

16

Together, architect Claude Parent and philosopher and urbanist Paul Virilio, combined ideas to create the function of the oblique. They fell away from Euclidean space, dismissing the fundamental horizontal and vertical axes. Euclidean space is defined as a space in which Euclid’s axioms and definitions (as of straight and parallel lines and angles of plane triangles) apply. The function of the oblique used inclined planes and sloped

Figure 4

surface to encourage fluid movement and because of the body’s forced need to adapt to change in incline, promoted more intentional interaction.11 “The effort these slopes and ramps require, allow for humans to participate in the architecture. . .It is people who will breathe dynamism into architecture.”12 People would begin to interact differently with the architecture and experience atypical spatial situations. Oblique architecture became a generator of activity and made it possible to achieve a fluidity of movement.

The usable space would become multiplied with the use of these iclined planes.13 Figure 5

11. Johnston, Pamela, Claude Parent, and Paul Virilio. The Function of the Oblique: the Architectureof Claude Parent and Paul Virilio 1963-1969. London: AA Publ., 1996. Pg.5 12. “Frac Centre.” Frac Centre. Accessed September 30, 2019. http://www.frac-centre.fr/_en/art-and-architecturecollection/rub/rubauthors-316.html?authID=10.

13. Johnston, Pamela, Claude Parent, and Paul Virilio. The Function of the Oblique: the Architectureof Claude Parent and Paul Virilio 1963-1969. London: AA Publ., 1996. Pg.52

17

After 1850, the term circulation made its way

Movement is a day-to-day action that when

into architectural discourse. Circulation was

thought about in architecture can open up

used to describe the movement of people

different possibilities in the ways buildings

through space. In Figures, Doors and Pas-

are designed. Movement is a very explored

sages, Robin Evans explains the ideas and

architectural idea. This thesis begins to look

origins of the corridor and their effect it had

at how the movement through a building,

on human social interaction and relationship

more specifically the circulation can become

when moving through a building. He com-

a more dynamically designed space in ar-

pared housing across time periods, focusing

chitecture. The circulation can begin to blur

on spatial organization and the control of

the boundaries of where program starts and

movement. He highlights how social rela-

where circulation begins.

tions can be affected by the arrangements of spaces. When corridors became an architectural device, they were initially introduced as a way to separate the social classes as they moved through the house. Evans refers to the hierarchy of space these corridors created.

The social dynamic of how we move through a building was greatly manipulated by the implementation of the corridor. “Purposeful or necessary communication was facilitated while incidental communication was reduced.�14 The corridor became a defining piece of how we design.

14. Evans, Robin. Translations from Drawing to Building. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997.

18

19

Bibliography Basulto, David. “Rolex Learning Center / SANAA.” ArchDaily. ArchDaily, February 18, 2010. https:/www.archdaily.com/50235/rolex-learning-center-sanaa.

Brillon, James. “DS R Completes New Medical Building for New York’s Columbia University.” Dezeen.

Dezeen, July 17, 2018. https://www.dezeen.com/2016/08/05/diller-scofidio-renfro-completes- vagelos-education-centercolumbia-university-new-york/.

Dean, Penelope. “Program Is as Program Does.” Praxis, no. 8 (2006): 48–51.

Evans, Robin. Translations from Drawing to Building. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997.

Fairs, Marcus. “Rolex Learning Center by SANAA.” Dezeen. Dezeen, October 31, 2016. https://www. dezeen.com/2010/02/17/rolex-learning-center-by-sanaa/.

“Frac Centre.” Frac Centre. Accessed September 30, 2019. http://www.frac-centre.fr/_en/art-and-architecturecollection/rub/rubauthors-316. html?authID=10.

Giannotti, Andrea. “MAXXI Museum / Zaha Hadid Architects.” ArchDaily. ArchDaily, April 20, 2010.

https://www.archdaily.com/43822/maxxi-museum-zaha-hadid-architects.

“Grace Farms by SANAA Photographed by Iwan Baan.” designboom, October 26, 2016. https://www.designboom.com/architecture/grace-farms-sanaa-mies-crown-hall-americas- prize-new-canaanconnecti cut-iwan-baan-10-26-2016/.

“Grace Farms / SANAA.” ArchDaily, October 14, 2015. https://www.archdaily.com/775319/grace-farms- sanaa.

Hamer, Sophie. “ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS: CIRCULATION.” PORTICO. PORTICO,April 18,

2016. http://portico. space/journal//architectural-concepts-circulation.

Hernández, Diego. “Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center / Diller Scofidio Renfro.” ArchDaily. Arch

Daily, August 24, 2016. https://www.archdaily.com/793971/roy-and-diana-vagelos-education-

center-diller-scofidio-plusrenfro.

“How the Bauhaus School Gave Life to... Performance Art Movement!” Widewalls. Accessed

October 15, 2019. https://www.widewalls.ch/bauhaus-school-performance-art/.

Johnston, Pamela, Claude Parent, and Paul Virilio. The Function of the Oblique: the Architecture of

Claude Parent and Paul Virilio 1963-1969. London: AA Publ.,1996. Pg.5,52 Le Corbusier, Le Corbusier Talks with Students: From the Schools of Architecture(New York: Princeton

Architectural Press,1999), p.47.

20

“MAXXI Museum.” arcspace.com. Accessed October 28, 2019. https://arcspace.com/feature/maxxi-mu

seum/. 14 “The Museum.” MAXXI, June 22, 2017. https://www.maxxi.art/en/progetto-architet tonico/.

Merriman, Peter. “Architecture/Dance: Choreographing and Inhabiting Spaces with Anna and Lawrence

Halprin.”Cultural Geographies17, no. 4 (2010): 430-432. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474010376011.

“Museum of Image & Sound.” DS R. Accessed October 28, 2019. https://dsrny.com/project/rio-mis.

“Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center.” DS R. Accessed October 28, 2019. https://dsrny.com/proj ect/vagelos-education-center.

Schlemmer, Oskar, Moholy-Nagy László, Molnár Farkas, Walter Gropius, and Arthor S. Wensinger.

The Theater Bauhaus. Wesleyan University Press, 1961.

Stickells, Lee. “Conceiving an Architecture of Movement.” Architectural Research Quarterly14, no. 1

(2010): 42-50. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1359135510000564.

Zouvelekis, Helen. “Design Blog.” Spacesmith. Spacesmith, March 2, 2017. https://www.spacesmith.com/ blog/architectural-promenade.

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CASE STUDIES

01

MAXXI Museum Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid’s Maxxi Museum in Rome, Italy expresses a distinct attitude toward how one should move though the building. Through its fragmented geometry that helps create multiple perspective points, the building embodies the chaotic fluidity of modern life.

Along with beams and staircases, the lighting systems create a linear path on the ceiling guiding visitors through the spaces. The curved walls create a sinuous flow through the galleries. These elements help guide the visitor through a more dynamic and interactive space. The stairs and ramped floors connect and cross paths creating more interactive and flexible spaces. Because of the dynamic moves these elements make, the experience of traveling through the building becomes more interactive and interesting to experience.15 The main movement outside the large exhibits, facilitates a seemingly perscripitive circualtion through the spaces.

The spaces are designed with continuity involved, to promote a more involved experience, rather than multiple isolated moments.16

15. Giannotti, Andrea. “MAXXI Museum / Zaha Hadid Architects.” ArchDaily. ArchDaily, April 20, 2010. https://www. archdaily. com/43822/maxxi-museum-zaha-hadid-architects.

16.“MAXXI Museum.” arcspace.com. Accessed October 28, 2019. https://arcspace.com/feature/maxxi-museum/. 14 “The Museum.” MAXXI, June 22, 2017. https://www.maxxi.art/en/progetto-architettonico/.

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Figure 6

Figure 8

Figure 7

Figure 9

The images above highlight the indicated movement flow through different spaces in the building through the design of elements such as the ceiling plane, stairs and ramps. Figure 6 shows the MAXXI surrounded by its urban context. This showcases its contrasting sinousity compared to the city in which it sits, while somewhat mimicking the flowing nature of the nearby river.

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02

Vagelos Education Center Diller Scofidio + Renfro

The programmatic demands of an education center might normally insist on direct paths to and from the classrooms within the building, but in the case of the Vagelos Education Center, areas were purposefully designed to be spatially inefficient so that the circulation can also be used as casual meeting areas.

The motivation to move from floor to floor is about the program itself, and what will go on in those spaces. Diller, Scofidio and Renfro use the Vagelos Education Center on the campus of Columbia Unviersity in New York as a chance to enhance and accentuate the circulation that happens in this building. The movement is dramatically visible and expressive from the exterior of the building. This is done in different ways from the transparent material choice and thickened floor plates that follow the geometry of the stair itself.

The circulation and the main public realm of the building have been designed to be one in the same. This activates the space to create more than just the zone of circulation, but of visual and physical activation, interaction and collaboration.17 It is plausible to see a connection between DSR’s design and Parent and Virilio’s idea of the oblique. The Vagelos Education Center expresses similar scenarios of interaction, in the same way the inclined planes of the function of the oblique create intentional interaction among other people and the space itself. They extend and create areas to rest, gather, and sit with

elements such as oversized occupiable landings. The “study cascade” of circulation and movement extends campus activity vertically up the south façade.18 The cascade as well as the classrooms allow for a variety of spatial experiences and opportunities for different size study groups.19 While most buildings tend to hide its circulation, DSR chooses to celebrate it.

17. Hernández, Diego. “Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center / Diller Scofidio Renfro.” ArchDaily. ArchDaily,August 24, 2016. https://www.archdaily.com/793971/roy-and-diana-vagelos-education-center-diller-scofidio-plusrefro.

18. “Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center.” DS R. Accessed October 28, 2019. https://dsrny.com/project/vageloseducation-center.

19. Brillon, James. “DS R Completes New Medical Building for New York’s Columbia University.” Dezeen. Dezeen, July 17, 2018. https://www.dezeen.com/2016/08/05/diller-scofidio-renfro-completes-vagelos-education-centercolumbia-univer sity-new-york/.

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private - classroom/office

public - circulation

Figure 12

Figure 10

Figure 11 Figures 10 and 11 show the distinct expressiveness of the circualtion areas along the south facade of the Vagelos Education Center. The diagram and study model show the concentration of the social circlation as well as explore the flow of the cascading volumes of circulation.

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03

Museum of Image and Sound Diller Scofidio + Renfro

The boulevard along the Copacabana Beach “captures the key element of the beach–a space of the public in motion.” Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, using similar ideas as in their Vagelos Education Center, desinged the Museum of Image and Sound to become an extension of this idea, as the boulevard leaves the horizontal plane and stretches vertically up the façade of the museum. It becomes a zone of more than just circulation, but of activation. The circulation on the exterior serves a functional as well as programmatic purpose.

The exterior circulation transverses interior and exterior programming. With these exterior ramps, it allows certain programs to be accessible, even after the galleries have closed. Through the boulevard’s extension of the public realm and visual connection to the surrounding beach and city, the multiplicity of functions creates a more enriched circulation through the museum. DSR once again relates to the ideas of Parent and Virilio. The sloping planes allow for a social dynamic that differs from the limitations of typical vertical circulation. 20

20.“Museum of Image & Sound.” DS R. Accessed October 28, 2019. https://dsrny.com/project/rio-mis.

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Figure 13

private - exhibits public - circulation

Study models were built to expore the sectional experience in the Museum of Image and Sound (shown above) that can be seen in figure 14. The private vs public diagram helps in demonstrating how figure 13 showcases the building’s main circulation revealed on the exterior of the building, wrapping up the facade.

Figure 14

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04

Grace Farms SANAA

SANAA designed Grace Farms, located in Connecticut, with many experiences in mind.

The building winds around the site, allowing the topography to dictate its flow as well as open up opportunities for interaction with the landscape. 21 The building’s design encourages a more meandering flow in and around the the building form itself. The building becomes a tool the landscape uses to facilitate an experience of awe through the nature that surrounds it. The building’s shape creates courtyards and allows for different experiences and views out into the landscape depending on location. 22 SANAA in many of their projects create an ambiguity of movement one should actually travel through or around a building.

21. “Grace Farms / SANAA.” ArchDaily, October 14, 2015. https://www.archdaily.com/775319/grace-farms-sanaa.

22. “Grace Farms by SANAA Photographed by Iwan Baan.” designboom, October 26, 2016. https://www.designboom.com/architecture/grace-farms-sanaa-mies-crown-hall-americas-prize-new-canaanconnecticut-iwanbaan-10-26-2016/.

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Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18 Figures 16 and 18 highlight the curving movement of the Grace Farms building through and around the landscape. Figures 15 and 17, showcase the serpintine circulation the shape of the building encourages.

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05

Rolex Center SANAA

Similarly to Grace Farms, also designed by SANAA, the Rolex Center in Switzerland displays an ambiguity of circualtion. The floors curve up to create space below the main building as an extension of the campus beneath. The curved and sloped surfaces offer a continuous, organic flow through the building. 23 It is a seamless, fluid space that can cater to large groups of people or the smaller spaces within can seclude the individual.

The ramped surfaces allow for continuous movement and openness throughout the entire building. This type of open space and sloping floor creates intentional collaboration and interaction relating to the ideas of the function of the oblique. 24 The openness of the space along with the round openings allow for views out as well as a meandering circulation through the building that becomes quite evident in plan. There is no specifically choregraphed sequence of movement. The Rolex Center is not so structured in the direct path that should be taken.

23. Basulto, David. “Rolex Learning Center / SANAA.” ArchDaily. ArchDaily, February 18, 2010. https://www.archdaily. com/50235/rolex-learning-center-sanaa.

24. Fairs, Marcus. “Rolex Learning Center by SANAA.” Dezeen. Dezeen, October 31, 2016. https://www.dezeen. com/2010/02/17/rolex-learning-center-by-sanaa/.

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Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

The images above highlight the arching up and down of the building structure. This type of flow creates a variety of inabited spaces. Spaces of interaction occur due to the sloping surfaces. The inclined planes branch off, becoming more than the circualtion; it creates programmed areas. This circualtion becomes less percripstive and more of a meandering flow.

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06

Knowlton School of Architecture Mack Scogin, Merril Elam

The Knowlton School of Architecture located on The Ohio State University campus reimagines what program can do. Mack and Merril experimented with what the circulation can do and accomplish outsides its original intended purpose. The building houses a continuous concrete ramp that switches back on itself along the building’s length. “Circulation as inclined-surface connects and distributes program within a larger enveloping volume.”25 In most scenarios, architects design thinking about program, allowing circulation to essentially become whatever is left over.

The movement through the KSA becomes the driving factor in its design and is prioritized first. Penelope Dean says, “circulation – typically peripheral to program – becomes program itself.”26 The ramps create a flowing perscriptive circulation through the entire building. That circulation begins to branch off and blur the boundaries of the program and circulation.

25. Dean, Penelope. “Program Is as Program Does.” Praxis, no. 8 (2006): 50.

26. Dean, Penelope. “Program Is as Program Does.” Praxis, no. 8 (2006): 50.

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Figure 24 Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27 The images and section above highlight the ramps thats circulate through the entire Knowlton School of Architecture building. These inclined planes sit adjacent to program and extend off the ramps allowing the circualtion and program to become one in the same. This adjacency allows for visual connection as well. A study model above was built to examine the system of movement integrated throughout the building. This type of ramped system creates a perscriptive yet more dynamic circulation.

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PROGRAM

Program:

Creative Arts Center This project type of a creative arts center allows the freedom of program adjacencies and layout to focus more on the movement and circulation between and through the program itself. While also exploring how that effects social intersection and engagement.

A school building may traditionally be organized by sector of program causing a less than interesting and accommodating circulation to get from classroom to classroom.

This interconnection of programs allows to show the importance of interaction and the benefits of this crossover of spaces.

A creative arts center for SCAD Atlanta campus allows for exploration in these ideas because of its need for collaboration and interaction. Constructed moments of spatial experiences expose and integrate the person and the program of the building. The flexibility of spaces and ability for them to be interchangeable or without “boundaries�, allows for flow and multiplicity of use. This can help make the experience and interaction through the space more dynamic.

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01

Visual Arts Building Steven Holl

Total Square Footage:

126000sqft

Studio Classroom Gallery Lab Office Seminar Circulation/Mechanical Bathroom Exterior

26.85% 3.53% 2.57% 7.55% 2.53% 1.23% 44.49% 1.49% 9.76%

The Visual Arts Building served as a programatic study as well as an influencer on ideas of scoial connection. The building’s design focuses on the stairs as vertical social condensors. The stairs are shapped to encourage meeting, interaction, and discussion. The Visual Arts Building helped in the study of interconnection. The plans and section diagrams aided in identifying and understanding the program and its layout.

level 5

level 4

level 3

level 2

level 1

40

Figure 28

Figure 29 The carved out spaces and shifts in floor plates are visible from the exterior (figure 28).

These moves allow for visual connection across programs as well as to let light into the spaces. The central stair wraps around and through the differnet spaces creating opportunites for discusion and connection (figure 29).

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02

Knowlton School of Architecture Mack Scogin, Merril Elam

Total Square Footage:

176000 sqft

Woodshop Exterior Maechanical Jury/Lecture Space Cafe Gallery/Center Space Calssroom Administration/Faculty Office Auditorium Seminar Studio Lab Library Bathroom Circulation/Other

3% 9.9% 14% 2% 1% 2% 2.9% 9.3% 2.9% .7% 19% 3% 3% 2% 26%

level 5

level 4

level 3

The Knowlton School of Architecture was studied because of its program, layout and circulation. The building served as a good example for the circulation as program. The ramps’ continous flow throughout the building allow for visual and physical interaction. A programatic study was done through plans and below, a study model helped to explore the movement circualtion through the building.

level 2

level 1

lower level

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Figure 30

Figure 31 The main center space above (figure 30) is flexible to be used in multiple ways. The ramps slide by the spaces such as that, all throughout the building. The program stretches off the inclined planes like the library (figure 31). This allows for flow and direct access between spaces as well as direct visual connections.

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SITE ANALYSIS

Context

A

B

C D E

F Midtown SCAD ATL Arts/ Entertainment Site

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A: Savannah College of the Arts Atlanta - Main Campus Building

B: Center for Puppetry Arts

C: Center Stage Entertainment - The Loft

D: High Museum of Art

E: ACA Sculpture Studio of SCAD

F: The Fox Theater

Left: A map showing the downtown Atlanta, Georgia area. Indicating differnet relevant context buildings around the chosen site.

Above: Specific callouts of relevant SCAD and arts/entertainment buildings in area.

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Site The site is located in Atlanta, Georgia. A location that was conducive for the program selected was chosen due to its close vicinity to the main campus building of Savannah College of the Arts Atlanta. The northern edge of Midtown is home to multiple SCAD buildings, allowing a sensible choice to add to the arts district and this school’s curriculum. Located on 17th street between Spring Street and West Peachtree, the site sits just blocks away from the main campus building. This location allows the building to contribute to the heavy arts and entertainment presence in this Midtown area.

B

C E

SPRING STREET

D

SITE

WEST PEACHTREE STREET

17TH STREET

A

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A: Looking north on West Peachtree towards site.

B: Loooking south from West Peachtree towrads site and Midtown.

C: Looking south-east from 17th Street towards site and Midtown.

D: Looking east directly on site from Spring Street.

E: Looking onto site from intersection of West Peachtree and 17th Street.

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FINAL PRESENTATION

Circulation: Movement Choreographed for Social Connection

SCAD Atlanta Creative Arts Center

The idea of movement in architecture has been around for a long time. Movement is a day to day action that when put into the context of how we circulate through a building, opens up questions on how to create a more dynamic circulation. The project focuses on a study and enhancement of the movement (or circulation) through spaces in a building, merging program and circulation to form a social condensor. This stemming from ideas of thinking about how a body occupies and moves through space.

Taking precedent from different movement ideas in architecure such as: the architectural promenade and the function of the oblique, the project explores the question of dance movement and architecture and how it can foster social spaces on the interior.

Through ideas about spatial organization of public space and circulation, the building tries to promote connective and collaborative relationships. The circulation can begin to blur the boundary of programmatic expectation. Through choreographed spatial sequences of ramps and stairs, among other elements, both physical and visual interactions are created while circulating through the building.

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Program

Circulation as Program

The program consists of spaces filled with different kinds of classrooms and performance spaces with a more dynamic nature in which the building operates. Circulation as program - a way to program the activity of the building. Each zone of circulation functions differently depending on where they are deployed in the project.

Right: Shows the stacked layout of the program throughout the building.

Below: Diagram showing three main zones of circulation.

studio studio

classroom classroom auditorium auditorium office office

terrace terrace common common spacespace administration administration

lobbylobby

corecore

theater theater

gallery gallery

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Plans

Ground Level

Lower Level 1

Lower Level 2 0

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5

10

20

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Level 7

Level 6

Level 5

Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

0

5

10

20

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01

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Section Perspective Interior Perspective Vignettes: Front Stair Circulation

A

A: View looking up stair circulation as it begins to wrap up through studio spaces.

B

B: View looking up and down stair circulation and stacked classrooms across.

C

C: View looking into double height class room through to wrapping stair.

C

B

A

02

Section Perspective

B

C

A

D

02

Section Perspective

Interior Perspective Vignettes: Auditorium + Upper Studio Circulation

A

B

A: View looking into auditorium, and adjacent stair extruding into auditorium space.

B: View looking at carved out multi-use space under auditorium.

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C

D

C: View looking up at terracing studio spaces.

D: View looking down stair adjacent to auditroium. Carving into auditorium to left and studio spaces to right.

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03

Section Perspective Interior Perspective Vignette: Ramps into Gallery

A

A

A: View from behind theater, looking down into gallery and across to ramps from lobby.

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Night time vingette showing how the terrace can be occupied during the evening, after typical school hours.

Exterior view of Creative Arts Center, looking north on West Peachtree Street toward lobby and exterior plaza entry.

Exterior view off Spring Street, looking southeast up 17th Street. View of gallery entrance, mural wall, and long north facade along 17th.

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Longitudinal Section Longitudinal section, highlighting three different zones of movement. Each looking at different ways to circulate the building.

0

5

10

20

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Appendix Figure 1: http://socks-studio.com/2017/07/19/when-body-draws-the-abstract-space-slatdance-by-oskar-schlemmer/ Figure 2: https://www.bagtazocollection.com/blog/2015/8/16/movement-study-das-triadisches-ballett-oskar-schlemmer-and-the-bauhaus-theater Figure 3: https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-09-29/ugliest-building-harvards-campus-justmight-be-its-most-beautiful Figure 4: https://nocloudinthesky.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/the-inclined-plane/ Figure 5: https://thefunambulist.net/architectural-projects/great-speculations-the-obliquefunction-by-claude-parent-and-paul-virilio Figure 6-9: https://www.archdaily.com/43822/maxxi-museum-zaha-hadid-architects Figure 10-11: https://www.archdaily.com/793971/roy-and-diana-vagelos-education-centerdiller-scofidio-plus-renfro Figure 12: https://www.area-arch.it/en/the-roy-and-diana-vagelos-education-center/ Figure 13: https://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/14/museum-of-image-and-sound-by-diller-scofidio-renfro/ Figure 14: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threads/rio-de-janeiro-museum-of-image-soundu-c.934720/ Figure 15: https://vimeo.com/297416092 Figure 16: https://gracefarms.org

Colophon Acumin Pro SemiCondensed Designed by Robert Slimbach DIN 2014 Designed by Vasily Biryukov

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Figure 17-18: https://www.archdaily.com/775319/grace-farms-sanaa Figure 19: https://www.archdaily.com/50235/rolex-learning-center-sanaa Figure 20: https://actu.epfl.ch/news/rolex-learning-center-closed-this-weekend-15-16-oc/ Figure 21: https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/rolex-learning-center Figure 22: https://www.archdaily.com/50235/rolex-learning-center-sanaa Figure 23: https://www.archdaily.com/53536/rolex-learning-center-sanaa-by-iwanbaan/5008acac28ba0d50da0016d4-rolex-learning-center-sanaa-by-iwan-baan-photo Figure 24-25: https://www.archdaily.com/129400/austin-e-knowlton-school-of-architecturemack-scogin-merrill-elam-architects Figure 26: http://architypereview.com/project/the-ohio-state-university-knowlton-school-ofarchitectureissue_id386/ Figuer 27: https://www.archdaily.com/129400/austin-e-knowlton-school-of-architecturemack-scogin-merrill-elam-architects Figure 28-29: https://www.dezeen.com/2016/10/10/visual-arts-building-steven-holl-universityiowa/ Figure 30-31: https://www.archdaily.com/129400/austin-e-knowlton-school-of-architecturemack-scogin-merrill-elam-architects

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THANK YOU

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