gallaudet university design for communication
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p e e t h a l l, 1 9 5 7
Galla udet U ni vers i ty Arc hi ves
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introduction through the mind of another architecture out loud theater and threshold two ballards www.studio27arch.com
“ D e a f w a y s of b eing c hal leng e t he not ion o f u n i ve rs al design in favor of a radically inc lu s i ve desig n p rocess.� Hansel Bauman Director of Campus Planning and Design, Gallaudet University
i n t ro d u c t i o n Studio Twenty Seven Architecture
Gallaudet University is the preeminent center for Deaf learning and culture in the United States. It is an institution that illustrates the importance of communication to human activities and advancement. At Gallaudet, vision is the primary medium of communication. The University’s unique culture – and consequently its campus – has developed in direct response to this reprioritization of the senses. When the federal government chartered Gallaudet in 1864, deafness was a widely stigmatized condition. In the 150 years since, Gallaudet University has been an instrumental force in the demarginalization of deafness and the realization of American Sign Language and Deaf culture. The University continues to evolve, using its unique position to affirm Deaf identity and disseminate the insights of Deaf ways of being into the larger culture.
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cle rc h al l
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“A D eaf S pace is one in which Deaf culture, in all its diverse dimensions, can thrive through full access to communication and the unique cognitive, cultural, and creative dimensions of deaf ex p er i ence are encouraged.“ Gallaudet University DeafSpace Guidelines Volume 1 (2010) p. 10
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DeafSpace, a concept developed at Gallaudet, refers to the deaf experience in the context of the built environment. The DeafSpace Project aims not only to set deaf-conscious standards for facilities on campus, but also to advocate for design that is accessible to multiple senses. In our ongoing relationship with the University, Studio Twenty Seven Architecture is exploring an architectural approach to DeafSpace. Using the University’s DeafSpace Guidelines as a basis for design, we have worked with Gallaudet to complete a series of renovations, reviving spaces on campus that were unloved or underutilized. In each interaction, we gained new insight into the power of space to embolden visual communication and community development. The people of Gallaudet are bound together by shared experience and means of expression. This solidarity, reinforced by a legacy of marginalization and misunderstanding, predisposes the community to collaborative and collective action. It is a communitarian ethos that prevails despite wide demographic diversity and an even wider range of capacities for sight, hearing, mobility, manual dexterity, and verbal expression. Designing a universal environment for such a diverse population is both complex – it must be legible to each sense, and support many kinds of experiences – and simple – designed for all. Within Gallaudet’s consensus-driven culture, the architects of Studio Twenty Seven became facilitators of a collective visioning process. We learned to consider the design process as a study in communication, adjusting our methods of representation and presentation in order to better understand the University community and to help them better understand our ideas. This approach is representative of the capacity of design to facilitate communication, particularly in DeafSpace. Dimension, light,
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material, and physicality affect all acts of communication, but they have special profundity to those who communicate predominately through vision. Similarly, visual porosity and spatial continuity are crucial to the success of any building or campus, but especially those used by students and faculty whose eyes must comprehend both space and language simultaneously. This volume brings together the research and reflections the Studio Twenty Seven team is making in the course of our work with Gallaudet University. In particular, this pamphlet documents the importance of communication – both in process and as a design focus – in developing new learning and living environments at Gallaudet.
scales of space and communication 1.
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commu n icat ion commu n icat ion in space
commu n icat ion across space
4. limited commu n icat ion
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car l in h a l l
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through th e min d o f an other Communicating effectively with any client is challenging. When the client is a large community, like a college or university, effective communication is even more difficult. When the conversations between the client and the architect occur in two different languages, however, effective communication is not just a challenge; the method of communication itself becomes a design problem. All of the architects at Studio Twenty Seven Architecture are hearing; at the beginning of our work with Gallaudet, none were versed in American Sign Language. Language barriers create an automatic condition of exteriority; in this case, we began as hearing architects exterior to a community fluent in ASL.
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The Gallaudet Interpreting Services team is the instrument by which non-ASL speakers regularly contribute to the activities of the University. They also ensure that advocates for deaf consciousness have access to every conversation that concerns the Gallaudet community. Though they are a highly skilled group, we found that the volume of information that needed to be exchanged during design workshops exceeded the capacity of the interpreters working between us. This incapacity, and the resulting deficiencies in communication, was at first a major obstacle to the progression of our work with Gallaudet. The people of the University are part of a larger Deaf community that has fought hard to assert its voices, overcoming a history of being considered voiceless by society at large.1 As a result, the culture at Gallaudet is remarkably inclusive. Its decisions are a consensus of all opinions and perspectives; effective bilateral communication is essential to cultivating this consensus. It was Studio Twenty Seven Architecture’s task to conceptualize a way of communicating that could bring the hearing and signing to a shared and sustained understanding. We began as active listeners: seeking to understand the context and gestural intent of every signer, to question all nuance to a point of precision, and to attend to each member of the broader University constituency equitably. When presenting, we learned to be cognizant of the signer more acutely than the interpreter.
1. D e a f c u l t u r e e v o l v e d a r o u n d d e a f n e s s a s a s h a r e d hu m a n e x p e r i e n c e , a n d “… a s a v e r y s m a l l c o m mu n i t y l i v i n g w i t h i n a mu c h l a r g e r c o u nt r y o f h e a r i n g p e o p l e , [ i s s u e s o f p o w e r a n d d o m i n a n c e] a r e u n av o i d a b l e .” C a r o l P a d d e n a n d To m Hu m p h r i e s , I n s i d e D e a f C u l t u r e ( C a m b r i d g e , M a : H a r v a r d Un i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 2 0 0 5 )
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Signers speak with their hands and hear with their eyes; the hands are the primary transmitter of meaning and the face is the transmitter of emphasis and subtext.2 The relationship between the roles of face and body that is expected by a hearing person is, in fact, inverted; this inversion is sometimes the cause of misapprehension. Those that hear with their ears read the expressions of emphasis in a hand-speaker’s face as pronouncements of emotion that seem exaggerated. In actuality, they are crucial to deaf communication (Fig. 1). 2 . “ I n s i g n l a n g u a g e , t h e s e m i o t i c c o m p o n e nt s o f t h e s y m b i o s i s a r e r e v e r s e d : t h e h a n d s c o n v e y t h e t e x t , a n d t h e m o u t h s i mu l t a n e o u s l y s u p p l i e s t h e c o m p l e m e nt a r y g e s t u r e .” We n d y S a n d l e r, “ Sy m b i o t i c s y m b o l i z a t i o n b y h a n d a n d m o u t h i n s i g n l a n g u a g e ,” S e m i o t i c a 174 : 241–2 75 ( 2 0 0 9 )
F i g u r e 1. N e w Yo r k m ay o r M i c h a e l B l o o m b e r g ’s s i g n l a n g u a g e i nt e r p r e t e r L y d i a C a l l i s c a u g ht t h e a t t e nt i o n o f t h e h e a r i n g p u b l i c d u r i n g p r e s s c o n fe r e n c e s i n t h e a f t e r m a t h o f Hu r r i c a n e S a n d y. C a l l i s e x p l a i n e d i n a DNA i n fo a r t icle: “‘Hea r i ng people tend to not underst a nd t hat dea f people need t hose facia l ex pressions... t hey need t he body la ng uage’ t o m a k e u p fo r a l l o f t h e i n fo r m a t i o n t h a t ’s u s u a l l y t r a n s m i t t e d i n o u r v o i c e s w h e n w e s p e a k , C a l l i s s a i d . ‘ I f I s t a n d u p t h e r e w i t h a s t r a i g ht f a c e a n d j u s t i nt e r p r e t i t , t h e y ’r e n o t g e t t i n g h a l f t h e m e s s a g e .’ ” J i l l C o l v i n , “ M e e t M ay o r B l o o m b e r g ’s S i g n - L a n g u a g e C o nt r i b u t o r,” D N A i n f o, O c t o b e r 31, 2 012
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benson hall
“D e e p in [ s i g n l a nguage’s] str u c t u re a re c l u es to the wo r k i n g s o f t h e human brain and the w i s d o m o f s o cial groups that wo r k to g e t h e r to make meaning an d fin d a pu rpo se for l iving .” Carol Padden & Tom Humphries, Inside Deaf Culture, p. 76
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Spatial relationships are embedded within the structure of ASL – many signs are a figural, spatial, or kinetic representation of their meaning (Fig. 2). The signing body and the space in front of it become the medium on which these images are produced. In a similar manner, iconographic gestures are used by hearing communicators to illustrate the shape, spatial situation, or action of a subject.3 As architects, we regularly use iconographic gestures to help us communicate ideas about space to colleagues and clients. Often, we record these gestures as we speak in the form of gesture sketches. Like signing, gesture sketching projects the physical essence of an idea onto a common medium. Both are communication through the movement of a hand tracking in space (Fig. 3). The signing client and sketching architect have a shared fluency at the junction of gesture and form. 3 . I c o n o g r a p h i c g e s t u r e s c a n b e p i c t o g ra p h i c (r e p r e s e nt a t i v e o f t h e s h a p e o f t h e r e f e r e nt) , s p a t i o g ra p h i c (r e p r e s e nt a t i v e o f t h e s p a t i a l s i t u a t i o n o f t h e r e f e r e nt) , a n d k i n e t o g ra p h i c (r e p r e s e nt a t i v e o f t h e r e fe r e nt i n a c t i o n) . R o b e r t S . Fe l d m a n a n d B e r n a r d R i m e , F u n d a m e n t a l s o f N o n v e r b a l B e h a v i o r ( C . M a i s o n d e s S c i e n c e s d e l’ H o m m e a n d C a m b r i d g e Un i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 19 91) 24 5
F i g u r e 2 . I n A S L , a n i n v e r t e d “ V ” s i g n i s t h e p i c t o g r a p h i c c l a s s i f i e r fo r a p e r s o n’s l e g s ; p l a c e d o n t h e o p p o s i t e h a n d i s t h e s p a t i o g r a p h i c s i g n fo r s t a n d ; m o v e d fo r w a r d i n s p a c e o n e b y o n e t o m i m i c w a l k i n g l e g s i s t h e k i n e t o g r a p h i c s i g n fo r w a l k t o .
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“I want to know if someone is in the study room. View is more important than privacy.� (Student Workshop)
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benson hall
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We use this logic as basis for a series of visual representation strategies: first, spatial relationship diagrams, diagrammatic renderings, and scale models; later, photorealistic renderings and full-sized mock ups (Fig. 4–7). We find that these tools elevate our discussions, increasing the efficiency, clarity, and complexity of the interpreters’ words between us. More importantly, in each iteration they serve as a test of how accurately we understand the information given to us by the Gallaudet community. In the development of our renovations for the Hanson Plaza residence halls, we held a sequence of design workshops with a group of Gallaudet students. Most of the students were unfamiliar with Gallaudet’s DeafSpace Guidelines. Though each had their own expectations for the spaces in which they lived and learned, these expectations were better articulated in reference to existing conditions rather than as abstract specifications.
Fig ure 3. I n conversat ion dur i ng a desig n work shop, an architect s k e t c h e s a n d a G a l l a u d e t s t u d e nt s i g n s .
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F i g u r e 4 . A s c a l e m o d e l o f t h e Wo o d C l o u d i n s t a l l a t i o n i n B a l l a r d H a l l N o r t h . E a r l y l e s s o n s t a u g ht u s t h a t l a r g e s c a l e m o d e l s a r e i n v a l u a b l e i n c o m mu n i c a t i n g v o l u m e t r i c a n d s c a l a r r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n t h e hu m a n body and sur rounding spaces.
In the first workshop, we presented our design proposals outright. To the students, the proposals were just as foreign as the DeafSpace Guidelines we used as reference. We learned many lessons, none more so than the difficulty of explaining a hypothetical experience to a group of people whose way of perceiving space is fundamentally different. Architects design spaces for experiences beyond our own all the time – in the majority of our work, the people that will use our projects have lifestyles and backgrounds that we do not share. Assuming the perspective of another is a constant part of the design process. But deafness, as a realignment of the senses that are so crucial to how a person relates to a space, is a much more essential difference in perspective.
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F i g u r e 5 . S t u d i o Tw e nt y S e v e n A r c h i t e c t u r e d e v e l o p e d b a s - r e l i e f d r aw i n g s u s i n g s t a t e - o f- t h e - a r t 3 D p r i nt i n g t o o l s t o c r e a t e t act i le f loor plans annot ated w it h Brai l le to a l low dea f and bl i nd s t u d e nt s t o r e a d t h e n e w s p a c e s .
It is, we learned, as if we are the constituency that lack the use of a sense. We can make no assumptions. Design can only progress by way of constant communication between ourselves and the Gallaudet representatives. If they don’t understand an idea we present, it is a failure of either our idea or our presentation. If we don’t understand an idea they are trying to explain to us, it is a failure of our capacity for communication. All failures are a chance for us to learn. The design team identifies these failures, and then corrects them, through representation. In the subsequent design workshops with students, we began with diagrams of the DeafSpace Guidelines and diagrammatic renderings that illustrated the Guidelines at work in each space. Together, and then more extensively within the project team, we worked forward to photorealistic renderings that reflected a project truly conceived by the collective. The success of our communication, tested again and again by representation, is ultimately affirmed by the final built design.
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Fig ure 6. A f i na l render i ng ( below) a nd photog raph a fter renovat ion (r i g h t) o f t h e s t u d e nt l o u n g e i n C l e r c H a l l .
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clerc hall
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col or & tex ture In a project meeting one day, we were discussing color. In ASL, the sign for the color black is a horizontal sweep of the forefinger across the forehead. To the mouth-speakers present, the sign seemed highly gestural, and none of the implications we gathered from such a gesture had much to do with the color black. Drowning? Lobotomy? Sweating, perhaps? The Gallaudet team explained that the sign was derived from field laborers who, upon removing their hats after hours of working, would have a black line of grime across their foreheads. Another hand sign we learned quickly was the signifier for glass. As if to prove the many ways in which signs relate to experience, the sign for glass is a tap to your front teeth with your fingernail. That’s glass. A haptic, material quality, it is a sign without narrative. For a hand-speaker it is the equivalent of onomatopoeia. Yet, again, this is a sign that, taken as a gesture, would be confusing to a mouth-speaker. Tapping the teeth with a fingernail is more an expression of mental state, implying a state of thoughtfulness, or intent listening. In signing, the body and the space in front of it become the medium on which an image is produced. That image is a signifier for an abstraction that becomes, to some degree or another, removed from the sign. Yet signifier and signified can be universally understood in the same manner that an architect’s gestural sketch can resolve as representative of form.
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“ D e s i g n e d and constructed mostly by h e a ri n g ind ivid ual s, our b uilt e n vi ro n m e nt is conceived , and in large m e a s u re , experienced visually. At the s a m e t i m e , it is designed in such a w a y t h a t a ssumes hearing as a central m e a n s o f s patial orientation. Often the re s u l t s h ows little regard for the ways in w h i c h s pace, for m, l ig ht and material co u l d b e u sed to facilitate greater s p a t i a l a w areness and wellbeing in a m u lt i s e n s or y w ay.� Gallaudet University DeafSpace Guidelines Volume 1 (2010) p. 10
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deafspace The DeafSpace Design Guidelines are part of the ongoing DeafSpace Project led by Hansel Bauman, the Director of Campus Planning and Design at Gallaudet, in collaboration with the University’s ASL DeafStudies Department. The guidelines identify ways that designers can engage and enrich the experiences of deaf people in their work. Studio Twenty Seven Architecture has worked with the Gallaudet University community on several projects, ranging from public space renovations for aging residence halls to the modernization and expansion of a new Science, Technology, and Mathematics facility. Each effort has a shared focus: to reinforce the Campus Master Plan while extending the explorations and discoveries of Gallaudet’s DeafSpace Project.
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CO R B U S I ER ’S MOD ULOR 226
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140 113 86 70 43 27
DE A FSPACE MODULAR
113
86
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43
27
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To inform sectional relationships and wall finishes, the design team developed a DeafSpace Modular based on Le Corbusier’s index of anthropometric scales of proportion. Le Corbusier derived Le Modulor from positions of the body in concert with idealized geometric ratios; the DeafSpace Modular is based on the proportional relationships between two signers.
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benson hall
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“The interior is too disconnected from the balance of the campus. Also the blocked split levels divide the space.� (Student Workshop)
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benson hall
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architec tu re o u t lo u d The first projects completed in Studio Twenty Seven Architecture’s collaboration with the Gallaudet community focused on a series of five of the University’s overworked and outgrown residence halls. The University’s planning projections indicated that the number of students living in dorms would soon exceed the available dwelling units. Dissatisfaction with housing was students’ foremost complaint. All the while, pipes were bursting, interior finishes were wearing, and entropy was setting in. Studio Twenty Seven Architecture assisted in stabilizing and extending the useful lives of the residence halls. These projects are considered a stop gap measure, designed to significantly alter common spaces within the dormitories in keeping with the principals of the University’s DeafSpace Guidelines. Until the mid-20th century, education was seen as a form of rehabilitation; the intention of most academic architecture was to isolate student activities into classified and controlled environments. At schools for the deaf, often physically isolated and culturally insular, this institutional approach was reinforced by architects and administrators who viewed deaf students
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as disabled.1 The five dormitories – Peet (1957), Ballard West (1965), Clerc (1971), Benson (1972), and Carlin (1979) – were built as both academia and academic architecture began to adopt a more inclusive construct. To varying degrees of success, the dormitories attempted to support individual student independence and collective student culture through a mix of public and private spaces. Unfortunately, much of this early logic had been lost by years of official and unofficial modifications. Many of the common spaces in the residences halls felt oppressive and claustrophobic; many spaces were completely unused. Furthermore, the building’s interior public spaces had no effective relationship with the exterior; visual access between common spaces indoors and the campus outside was inhibited by outdated approaches to security and long-superseded assumptions about the behavior of the student body. The Studio Twenty Seven Architecture renovations engage deafness not as a disability, but as life with a perceptual reality that uses four senses and visual language to construct environment and community. 1. T h e s p a c e s i n s i d e s c h o o l s , h o s p i t a l s , a s y l u m s , a n d p e n i t e nt i a r i e s w e r e d e s i g n e d t o c u t o f f i n h a b i t a nt s a n d t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s f r o m o n e a n o t h e r. D e s i g n e r s “ t u r n e d a l l t h e i r a t t e nt i o n i n w a r d , t o t h e d i v i s i o n s o f t i m e a n d s p a c e w i t h i n t h e i n s t i t u t i o n… c o nt r o l l i n g t h e m o v e m e nt s o f b o d i e s w it hi n space wou ld be t he means by which rehabi litat ion wou ld be a c c o m p l i s h e d .” D av i d R o t h a m , T h e D i s c o v e r y o f t h e A s yl u m : S o c i a l O r d e r a n d D i s o r d e r i n t h e N e w R e p u bl i c ( C h i c a g o: A l d i n e Tr a n s a c t i o n , 19 91) 2 7. S e e a l s o P a d d e n & Hu m p h r i e s ’s d i s c u s s i o n o f Fo u c a u l t ’s t h e o r i e s o f o b s e r v a t i o n a n d c o nt r o l i n i n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t i n g s , c r e a t e d “ t o l a b e l a n d r e g u l a t e t h e m o v e m e nt s o f i n d i v i d u a l s ” a n d “o r g a n i z e d . . . b y s i l e n c e .” P a d d e n & Hu m p h r i e s , I n s i d e D e a f C u l t u r e , 3 0 -3 2
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These projects consist of very minor but meaningful insertions at multiple scales and sectional conditions. These insertions were intensely studied to achieve a measured response to the space and project need. They can all be considered in terms of the categories of DeafSpace guidelines developed by Gallaudet.
“The deaf community is a diverse o n e , i n which many people inhabit a rich s e n s o r y world with a heightened visual-tac t i le m eans o f sp at i al ori en tat i on an d v isua l la nguage …”
Gallaudet University DeafSpace Guidelines, Volume 1 (2010), p. 10
Space & Proximity: The removal of opaque boundaries gives students visual control over an expanded scope of their living space. There is a greater capacity for visual communication among interior spaces and between the residence interiors and the campus outside. Informal gathering spaces and nodes for spontaneous social interaction are established through variation in material, lighting, and elevation. Desks and benches promote student use of public spaces and act as shelves for signer’s belongings to free up hands for conversation. Sensory Reach: Interior public spaces and building entries become recognizable landmarks and visible destinations, legible even in peripheral vision. The removal of interior walls and insertion of transparency, especially at points of entry and along paths of circulation, extends a student’s visual sense for their environment. Areas of floor material that carry vibration alert students with limited vision of nearby activity.
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Mobility & Proximity: Wide, sheltered building entries – with automatic doors, at-grade thresholds, and simplified ramps – extend the common spaces of the residence halls into the exterior and do not interrupt students in the middle of conversation. Lounge spaces allow for both stationary and moving conversations within the residence halls’ circulation systems. Light & Color: Contrasting wall finishes within identified signing zones clarify a signer’s hands against the background. Surface finishes vary at programmatic boundaries, articulating changes in use of space both visually and texturally. Within the material scheme, a wayfinding system of contrasting finishes and signage makes building navigation easier for those of limited sight. The capacity for natural lighting is increased, but modulated by curtains and shade devices. The distribution of both natural and artificial lighting is balanced with a focus on glare and light contrast.
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Acoustics & EMI: Soundproofing prevents acoustic transference from being distracting, overbearing, or isolating.
co ntra st
si gn i n g zon e
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re silienc y, to ge t her Robert T. Sirvage is a scholar, researcher, and designer who studies proxemics – how people communicate with and about space – and particularly how Deaf people navigate the world and encounter others. In video footage of deaf and hearing people in conversation, Sirvage demonstrates the unique communitarian ethos native to Deaf culture. Deaf students walk down a hall in the Gallaudet student union deep in conversation. They move together as a pod. As they converse, they move in unison, responding to obstructions in their environment by taking cues from each other as to where things are. In conversation, each person is focused on those who are signing, but each is also acutely aware of the extents of their own cone of peripheral vision and is intuitively responsible for relaying information to the others about the conditions of their environment. They approach a column. Member A sees it, Member B does not. A turn of the foot, a seamless dodge to the left, and they both pass the column without breaking conversation, maintaining the same space between them. A hearing group approaches the same obstacle. They are talking as they approach the column, and each depends on their own scope of vision to navigate the environment. At the column, the group splinters. A member cannot rejoin and walks behind, the conversation impaired. There is no collective response. At Gallaudet, collective action is essential to being in the world.
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benson hall
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thea ter an d th re sh o ld The Gallaudet University campus is itself illustrative of the status of Deaf culture over the past 150 years. At its founding, Gallaudet was relegated to land at the rural periphery of Washington, DC. Even as the city grew to surround it, the gated Gallaudet campus remained largely sequestered. In recent years, however, the University community has emerged as central to the growth of the DC’s Northeast quadrant. Its programs are expanding and development is occurring along all campus boundaries. Though the Gallaudet campus is subject to the same issues of connectivity and community as any urban university, its mission makes the design of its public spaces a more nuanced challenge. The DeafSpace Guidelines underline the importance of clear wayfinding, intuitive circulation patterns, and visual connectivity. Landmarks and wide, at-grade building entries allow students to communicate with each other while understanding the campus; visual access and spatial continuity across elevations and building enclosures extend awareness well beyond the immediate sphere.
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carlin clerc
benson
ballard
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circulation & hubs indoor public hub
circulation & hubs
indoor/ outdoor public hub
indoor public hub outdoor public hub
to peet
public hub
(not in project)
to peet
indoor/ outdoor public hub outdoor public hub
area of repurposed public space public hub
(not in project)
entrances (residence halls) area of repurposed public space entrances (other buildings) entrances (residence halls) local circulation routes entrances (other buildings) local circulation routes (not in project) local circulation routes campus wide circulation routes local circulation routes (not in project)
campus wide circulation routes (not in project)
campus wide circulation routes campus wide circulation routes (not in project)
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As Gallaudet’s campus has expanded to the northeast, its center of gravity has shifted accordingly. This shift can be traced in the alignment of the University’s three main public spaces – Olmstead Green, the Gallaudet Mall, and Hanson Plaza – each establishing a new center of gravity in successive cycles of growth. Arranged spine-like on topography that slopes from south to north, each is an open commons around which facilities are arranged. They serve as centers for circulation hubs and informal gathering places. The oldest is Olmstead Green, named for landscape architect Frank Law Olmstead. Olmsted, who together with his associates contributed to the design of 355 academic campuses, argued for the evaluation of the landscape of academic institutions as equal to their architecture. To Olmsted, the most important role of a university was to shape the tastes and habits of its students; just as the library molds students while they study, gardens and greens instruct them in their relationship to nature and to community. Gallaudet’s Olmsted Green is typical of his designs for academic institutions, which approximate a village: a pastoral green, surrounded in buildings similar in size and style to those found in a small, rural town. The relationship between building and landscape is immediately legible, and landscape correlates directly to community.
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19
8
2 0–
00
0
43
c ol l e g e ha ll , 1 88 7
ol mstead gre e n
p e e t, 19 57
h a l l me m or i al, 19 5 6
han sen p la z a
b a l l a r d we s t, 1 965
b a l l a r d no r th, 1 9 65
18
70
–1 91 0
19
10
0
–1 94
40 –1
19
96
0
19
60
–1
97
0
19
70
–1
98
0
g a lla udet ma ll
b e n s on , 1972
c l e r c , 1971
c ar l i n , 1979
mal l
p l aza
Gallaudet Mall
84’
85’
80’ +2 +1 -1 -1 -2 -1 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -4-4 -2 -5-5 -4-3 -6 -5 -3 -2 -2 -3 -4 -6 -4 -5 -3 -1 -2 -1 -2 -2 -1 -1 80’
79’
-1 -4 -1 -2 -2 -4 -3 -1 -3 -2 -1 -2 -1 -2 -1 -1 79’
natural amphitheatres
The Gallaudet Mall, composed on a strong axis and clearly defined by two major buildings, served as the physical center of halls. the campus for most of the 20th century. In plan, the Mall is an The strategy of theatrical play in the “Z” dimension seems to have been part of the original design intent of Hanson Plaza but it has been lost where the plaza meets the of buildings. fact that theapproach Plaza hides a parking garage archetypal instance the The classical to designing public is incidental, its larger role as a public space was to translate the character of the old Mall and Olmsted Green space. Its irregularity is found in elevation; gently undulating terrain creates natural amphitheaters. At a school for the deaf, grade changes set up conditions of viewing and being viewed that are conducive to collective communication and connectivity.
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gallaudet mall
Built in the 1970s, Hanson Plaza attempted to establish a new commons between five dormitories and a dining hall atop a massive underground parking garage. The design intent of
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circulation datum 79-80’ above sea level
The unique quality of the Gallaudet Mall is not its similarity to other archetypes of academic or civic public space Gallaudet Mall is the spiritual and geographic heart of the Campus, its gently undulating terrain creates natural amphitheatres. These soft changes in elevation contrast with the hard edges on the residential campus and inspire our investigation of the threshold conditions of the residential halls.
79’ -2 -1
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Hanson Plaza seems to have been to translate the character of Olmstead Green and the Mall by adopting similar strategies but using the materials and paradigms of late modernism. Its rigidly cast concrete terraces and retaining walls were in this respect effective in some places; in others – most crucially, where the plaza meets the buildings that surround it – less so. There was an absence of communication, transparency, and reciprocity between many of the exterior and interior public spaces. Furthermore, the often discontinuous growth of the Gallaudet campus surrounding Hanson Plaza resulted in instances of complex and sometimes illegible circulation, odd dead-ends, and backwaters of unused and unloved space. The systematic recalibration and softening of Hanson Plaza was paramount to Studio Twenty Seven Architecture’s interior renovation of the residence halls, four of which sit at its periphery. There was no transparency or reciprocity between the plaza and the dorm’s interior public spaces; while inside, students were completely disconnected from the campus surrounding them. We realized that the design solutions for the residence hall’s interior common spaces needed to transform existing interior boundaries into exterior connections. In keeping with the strategies already established at Olmstead Green and the Gallaudet Mall, the designs seek to employ existing elevation differences as platforms for broadcasting conversations. Transparent portals between interior and exterior space are introduced or given new primacy, allowing visual communication and natural light to permeate to the building core. The interventions in each residence hall claim new sightlines, create new proximities, and establish a sense of interconnectedness within and among the dormitories.
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“The Resident Assistance desk is imposing and uninviting – we need a welcoming information hub!” (Student Workshop)
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carlin hall
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3
Benson Hall
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tu n n el
softened elevation changes
o u tsi de
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threshold: funnel vs. sieve
Exterior and interior is blurred, transitions softer, both audience and stage are activated. Liminal zones, screens, and gradients ameliorate the transition from light to shadow. Access and egress becomes engaging and occupiable – a porous public space. Space devoted to security and surveillance is smaller, integrated within the flow of circulation, and repositioned at grade changes where possible.
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benson hall
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Hanson Plaza zone 4
zone 2
zone 3
zones viewshed from interior public areas physical approach softened thresholds free circulation zones are areas defined by a change in grade, each zone interacts uniquely with the buildings around it.
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zone 1
Each residence hall associates with a terrace zone. Each terrace zone occupies a significantly different elevation on or near Hanson Plaza. These terrace zones, the true thresholds of the residence halls, presented the opportunity to create a new public sphere that mediates between the sometimes claustrophobic interior public spaces and occasionally agoraphobic exterior areas.
h ar d
soft
softened softened
The theatrical possibilities of the spaces and connections are amplified; the entryways become proscenium. Grade changes are utilized, not suppressed.
threshold threshold
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cle rc h al l
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“The entry is labyrinthian. An exterior place to collect and party would be great.� (Student Workshop)
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“[ D e a f pe o p le] are fac ing not a t heory b u t a co n d ition, for they are first, last an d a ll t h e time the p eop le of the eye.� George Veditz, 1910 Gallaudet alumnus former President, U.S. National Association of the Deaf
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clerc hall
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o u tsi de
i n si de
coll e c tin g coll e c ti ve t hought s As the project developed, we held a series of design workshops with Gallaudet students. Their feedback reinforced the relevancy of the DeafSpace guidelines and helped us to design from the perspective of a person with four senses. “Use alternative floor textures to identify entryways to buildings, approaches to stairways and doors, or changes in surface elevations. Use contrastive colors and materials at all entries, doorways, and stairwells.” “We recommend the use of alternative materials to distinguish changes in use within a public area. Contrast guides people as they walk, particularly around areas such as lounges with furniture.” “Rubber flooring as a material is problematic. The guide cane gets stuck especially if there are surface variations to the rubber.” “Brick and tile need to be installed as smoothly as possible. Tile is good, as the meter of the tile can be used to judge distances.” “Steps up and down are no big deal to navigate as long as they are of regular dimensions and there are vertical paths to follow parallel to the path of the stairs.” “Ideally corridors should be straight and doors and openings should be regularly spaced within the hall. Tapering or curved corridors can be disorienting. Whenever possible maintain straight paths and forecast able progression.”
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“Spatial changes are recognized by texture under foot and on the walls, as well as sensed vibration, air flow and intensity of smells.” “Metal grills and walk-off mats are helpful indications of transitions at entries.” “We recommend using furniture with round edges within public spaces, and minimizing the ability of people to reorganize furniture in public areas.” “Incorporate braille into all signage and wayfinding graphics.”
After the projects’ completion, we conducted a postoccupancy interview with a Gallaudet student who is blind. “The residence hall entrances are huge improvements for everyone. The [automatic] sliding doors are great, for me and for wheelchair-bound students as well. I imagine they must be good for deaf students too.” “The floor ‘path’ patterning in Carlin works really well. It sets up a perfect path for blind students to follow.” “The feeling of space in the entrance public area of Carlin is great, it seems like many more people hang out there now.” “The brickwork transition in front of Benson is very useful. I know just when I am approaching the entrance. I also really like the benches outside.”
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b a l l a rd h a l l we st
“Ballard is one of the best dorms because of the visual connection between all of the floors from the atrium.� (Student Workshop) 60
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b a l l a rd h a l l we st
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two b a l lards When first built in 1965, the four-story atriums in the two Ballard Halls were conceived as a unifying social gathering space for college aged students. The spatial relationships they employ to foster visual communication and awareness are exemplary of the DeafSpace Guidelines. Renovation work to Ballard Hall West reinforced this success, adjusting levels of natural and artificial light to activate the atrium and replacing the ceiling treatments to provide visual contrast for distance signing across multiple floors. When the University began the construction of a new residence hall for its Model Secondary School for the Deaf, it needed to temporarily repurpose Ballard Hall North to house the high school students during construction. Boys would occupy the first two floors and girls the top two floors; the areas occupied by the two genders needed to be visually separate. Our challenge was to provide this separation while not compromising the light and airiness of the atrium space.
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b a l l a rd h a l l n o rt h
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b a l l a rd h a l l n o rt h
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This project, Wood Cloud, takes an alternative approach to modulating the interior public space of a Gallaudet University residence hall. Wood Cloud comprises a randomized grid of wooden boxes mounted to an armature of wood framing. Each box is unique relative to location, height, and sectional installation. Most are hollow and of natural finish, but some boxes floating within the field glow white, illuminated with LEDs and faced with translucent lenses. Wood Cloud maintains and supplements the vertical transit of air and light, preserving the spatial and atmospheric qualities of the atrium while establishing visual separation between each adjacent residential zone.
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ballard hall north
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b a l l a rd h a l l n o rt h
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“Co n s i de r the soc iop ol itical i m p l i ca t i o ns of designing the world i n w a y s t h at compel people to look at e a c h o t h e r eye-to-eye much more often. D e a f S p a ce s really is about bringing a new pe rs pec tive to the meaning of g o o d de s i g n.�
Robert T. Sirvage DeafSpace Design Researcher Gallaudet University
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a f te r w a rd DeafSpace founder Hansel Bauman introduces the Deaf experience to a hearing audience: “Deaf communication is eye to eye. This is a profound difference from communication in the hearing world; in eye to eye contact, you behold the person you are in communication with and they behold you. It is an intimate contact.”1 Likewise, the relationship between deaf communication and the architecture that may surround it is also intimate. This idea is evident in how deaf people manipulate the environments they inhabit. Bauman explains, “When deaf people congregate, the group customarily works together to rearrange furnishings into a ‘conversation circle’ to allow clear sightlines so everyone can participate in the visual conversation. Gatherings often begin with participants adjusting window shades, lighting, and seating to optimize conditions for visual communication that minimize eyestrain. Deaf homeowners often cut new openings in walls or place mirrors and lights in strategic locations to extend their sensory awareness and maintain visual connection between family members.”2 Each of these acts clarifies or extends the capacities of visual contact. Each is also architectural. 1 Ha nsel Bau ma n, “ Dea f A rch itect u re: T he Resona nce of Place a nd t h e S e n s e s ” ( p r e s e nt e d a t “ S p e a k e r s a n d S i g n e r s : A C o n fe r e n c e o n L o w - F r e q u e n c y V i b r a t i o n ,” C e nt e r fo r A d v a n c e d V i s u a l S t u d i e s , M a s s a c hu s e t t s I n s t i t u t e o f Te c h n o l o g y, C a m b r i d g e , M a s s a c hu s e t t s . A p r i l 24 , 2 0 0 9 ) 2 H a n s e l B a u m a n , q u o t e d f r o m To d d B y r d , “ D e a f S p a c e ” (G a l l a u d e t To d a y: t h e M a g a z i n e , S p r i n g 2 0 0 7 )
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In DeafSpace, buildings are armatures that facilitate communication. The dimensions of visual contact between people is the basic DeafSpace module. In many instances, Studio Twenty Seven Architecture’s work with Gallaudet to retrofit the University’s residence halls supports visual communication directly. In Clerc Hall, a new exterior terrace has sightlines to both the elevated entranceway and the student commons inside. Lighting modulation in Ballard Hall West allows clear communication across the multistory atrium. Millwork benches in Carlin Hall are backdrops for signed conversations. But just as crucially, the projects support visual communication indirectly. They refine each space to be more legible in peripheral vision and more engaging of the haptic sense, allowing deaf communicators to focus their line-of-sight vision on another person. The textures and patterns of new floor and wall finishes explain circulation paths and programmatic barriers. The updated entrances to Benson, Carlin, and Clerc are wide, transparent, and recognizable from a distance. Repetitive lighting and striated millwork installations construct a datum, making the spatial logic of a space accessible even at a passing glance. It is design that helps students to read their environment in multiple sensory ways. The issue of connections between people is at the core of the DeafSpace project. We answer a call for design that reflects Deaf culture, a community centered on the use of the visual sense to communicate. Together with the Gallaudet community, we work to transform the University’s campus into a place that resonates with deaf sensibilities, but also with all of us.
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List of Im ages : All ph o t o g r a ph s a re by A n i c e Hoa chla nd er, Hoa chla nd er D av is Photog raphy unle ss not e d ot he rw ise. All dr aw i n g s a re by S t udi o Twe nty Seven Architectu re u nles s noted ot he rw ise. cove r :
M i l lwo rk de t a i l, e n t r y lobby, Bens on Ha ll at G a lla u d et U nive r sit y; St udio Twe nt y Seve n A rch i t e ct ure 2 0 1 3
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G a l l a ude t s t ude n t s i n their d or mitor y at Peet Ha ll, 1957. Gallaude t Unive r sit y A rchive s.
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S ke t ch o f i n t e r i o r- ex terior relations hip s. Stu d io Twenty Seve n A rchit e c t ure, 2013
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S t u de n t lo un g e, l o bby, a nd ter ra ce, C lerc Ha ll at G a lla u d e t Unive r sit y, 2013
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D ea fS pa c e co m mun i c ation d ia g ra ms. Stu d io Twenty Seven A rchit e c t ure, 2015
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E n t r y lo bby, C a rli n Ha ll at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 2013
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S c re e n s h o t s o f v i d e o of a press conference given by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg i n t h e a ft e r m at h o f H u r rica ne Sa ndy, a s telev is ed on C NN and post e d on YouTube. Oc t .- Nov. 2012.
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M i l lwo rk de t a i l, s t udent lou ng e, Bens on Ha ll at G a lla u d et Unive r sit y, 2013
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Il l u s t rat i o n s o f s i g n s related to C la s s if ier V in America n Sign Language, “st and” and “jum p.” Im a g e cre di t : A me r i ca n Sig n La ng u a g e U niver s ity, 2014, aslunive r sit y.c om
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( l eft ) S t ude n t l o un g e before renovations, Bens on Ha ll at Gallaude t Unive r sit y, 2011, Image Cre di t : S t udi o Twe n t y Seven Architectu re; (rig ht) Student lounge, Benson Hall at Gallaudet U n i ve r s i t y, 2 0 1 3
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D es i g n wo rk s h o p w i t h G a lla u d et s tu d ents, Se p temb er 2011, Im age c re dit : St udio Twe nt y S eve n Arch i t e ct ure
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S c a le mo de l o f t h e Wood C lou d in Ba lla rd Ha ll North at Gallaude t Unive r sit y, S t udio Twe nt y S eve n Arch i t e ct ure, 2013
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B r a i l l e f l o o r pl a n o f C a rlin Ha ll at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, St udio Twe nt y Seve n A rchit e c t ure, 2 0 13
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Re n d e r i n g o f t h e g ro und f loor student lounge, Clerc Hall at Gallaudet Univer sity. Studio Twe n t y S eve n Arch i t e ctu re, 2013
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G ro un d f lo o r s t ude n t lou ng e, C lerc Ha ll at G a lla u d et U nive r sit y, 2013
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D et a i l o f a g l a s s pa r t i tion, res id entia l commons, C la rin Hall at Gallaude t Unive r sit y, 2013
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( t o p l e ft ) L e C o r bus i e r, Le Mod u lor, 1945; (b ottom) D ea f Spac e M odular, S t udio Twe nt y Seve n A rch i t e ct ure, 2 0 1 3
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( l eft ) Gro un d f l o o r s t u d ent lou ng e, Bens on Ha ll at G a lla u de t Unive r sit y, 2013; (le ft ) Ground f l o o r s t u d e n t l o u n g e before renovations, Benson Hall at Gallaudet Univer sity, 2011. Image Cre di t : S t udi o Twe n t y Seven Architectu re
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G ro un d f lo o r s t ude n t lou ng e, Bens on Ha ll at G a lla u d et U nive r sit y, 2013
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Res i de n t i a l c o m mo n s, C a rlin Ha ll at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 2013
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E l evat i o n o f M i l lwo rk Bench in C a rlin Ha ll at G a lla u d et Unvie r sit y. St udio Twe nt y Seve n A rch i t e ct ure, 2 0 1 3
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M i l lwo rk B e n ch i n C arlin Ha ll at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 20 13
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S t u de n t lo un g e, Pe e t Ha ll at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 2013
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E n t r y lo bby, B e n s o n Ha ll at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 2013
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C i rc u l at i o n h u b s i n Hanson Plaza and adjacent residence halls, Gallaudet Univer sity. Studio Twe n t y S eve n Arch i t e ctu re, 2013
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S at e l l i t e i m a g e o f Galla u d et U niver s ity, b ing.com/ ma p s, 2011
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Cam pus pla n , t h e Ga l la u d et Ma ll. Stu d io Twenty Seven Archit e c t ure, 2013
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( r i g h t ) E n t r y l o bby, Carlin Hall at Gallaudet Univer sity, 2013; (left) Entr y lobby before renovat i o n s, C a rl i n H a ll at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 2011. Image Cre dit : St udio Twe nt y Seve n A rch i t e ct ure
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( l e f t ) S e c t i o n , B e n s o n Hall entr y and student lounge. Studio Twenty Seven Architecture, 2013; ( r i g h t ) D i a g r a m s o f t hres hold cond itions. Stu d io Twenty S eve n A rchit e c t ure, 2013
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E n t r a n c e, B e n s o n Ha ll at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 2013
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( l e f t ) Z o n e s a n d thresholds in Hanson Plaza and adja cent residence halls, Gallaudet Un i ve r s i t y. S t udio Twenty Seven Architectu re, 2013; (right ) Diag ram s of e levat ion change s in publ i c s pa ce. S t ud io Twenty Seven Architectu re, 2013
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( l e f t ) E n t r a n c e a nd ter race, Clerc Hall at Gallaudet Univer sity, 2013; (right) Ramp at entrance t o C le rc H a ll before renovations, 2011. Ima g e C red it: S t udio Twe nt y Seve n A rchit e c t ure
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S e c t i o n , C le rc H a ll entr y a nd s tu d ent lou ng e. Stu d io Twe nt y S eve n A rchit e c t ure, 2013
5 8 -5 9 :
D e s i g n wo rk s h o p with G a lla u d et s tu d ents, Se p temb er 2011, Im age c re dit : St udio Twe nt y S eve n Arch i t e ct u re
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At ri um, Ba lla rd Ha ll Wes t at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 2013
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At ri um, Ba lla rd Ha ll Wes t at G a lla u d et U niver s ity, 2013
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Wo o d C lo ud fro m Below, Ba lla rd Ha ll North at G a llaude t Unive r sit y, 2014
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L owe r at ri um a nd Wood C lou d , Ba lla rd Ha ll North at Gallaude t Unive r sit y, 2014
6 8 -6 9 :
S e c t i o n , Ba lla rd Ha ll North atriu m. Stu d io Twenty Seve n A rchit e c t ure, 2014
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Wo o d C lo ud de t a il f rom Below, Ba lla rd Ha ll North at Gallaude t Unive r sit y, 2014
We w a n t t o ex p re s s o u r s i ncere thanks to all of those in the Gallaudet Univer sity community who a c t i vel y pa rt i c i pat e d w i t h the conce p tu a lizing, ref lection a nd re aliz at ion of t his proje c t : G al l a u d e t Un i ve r s i t y H an se l B a uma n , D i re c t or of C a mp u s D es ig n a nd Pla nning Mi ch a e l Fi e lds, D i re c t o r of C ons tru ction Serv ices Ro b er t S i r va g e, D e a fS pa ce D es ig n Res ea rcher
Reside n c e H a l l Re n ovat i o n s Project Team:
Wo o d Cloud P ro j e ct Team:
G al l a u d e t Un i ve r i s t y S u s a n H a n r a h a n , D i re c tor, Of fice of Residence Li f e a n d H o us i n g Tr avi s I me l , A s s i s t a n t D ea n of Stu d ent Af f a ir s
G a lla u de t Unive r sit y Ed Bosso, Vice President, Laurent Clerc National De af Educ at ion Ce nt e r Nicole Sut lif fe, Exe c ut ive Dire c t or of Ad minist rat ion and Ope rat ions, Cle rc Ce nt e r John Castrese, Director of Student Life, Mod el Se c ondar y S chool for t he De af Tim Frelich, Manager of Business Services a nd Enrollm e nt , Cle rc Ce nt e r Mindi Failing, Principal, Model Secondar y School for t he De af
S t u d e n t Re p res e nta tiv es : Ju s t i n Ar rigo (Resident A s s i s t a n t ) , R a ch e l B a s s, Tiasha Bera, Shannon C a l l a h a n , N a d i a D a m at o, Teraca F lorence, Je n n i f e r H a g g e rdy, Ke l l y Har rison, Jenifer H e s s, D y l a n H i n k s ( S t u dent Body Gover nment Presi de n t ) , S c o t t Ke lle r, D a nielle Kop litz, M e l i s s a M c N a i r, R i a n Nor ris, Chris Nuan, Jordan S a n g a l a n g ( Re s i d e n t A s sistant), Sever ny Smith, Co l i n W h i t e d, As h ly n Witcza k Gra d u a t e S t u d ent R e p res e nta tiv es: Der rick Behm (Student B o dy G ove r n m e n t Vi c e President), Meredith Dura, Z a ch E n n i s, Jo rd o n S a n g alang (Resident Assistant), Jesse S a un de r s, S t e ph S forza , Ta ra Wats on Pro g r a m M a n a g e m e n t : B r ails ford & D u nlavey, Inc. Ja m es B r i n s o n , Re g i o n a l Vice Pres id ent S a r ah H ur t , P ro j e ct A n a ly s t M i ch a e l Q u a d r i n o, P ro j ect Manager G reg B e n s o n , P ro j e ct A na ly s t
Project M anage m e nt : Savills St udley, Inc . Jay J. Bothwell, Senior Managing Director C oll e e n Sc ot t , Dire c t or, P roje c t M anage m e nt Dave Simmons, Director, Project Management C ra i g S t re e t , A ssist ant P roje c t M anage r
Co n su l t i n g Te a m: S t r u c t ura l E n g i n e e r : H ob a rt A p p le, Inc. ME P E n g i n e e r : M e t ro polita n C ons u lting Eng ineer s Li g h t i n g D e s i g n : Bruc e D u nlop Lig hting D es ig n In t er i o r D e s i g n : O de s s a Architectu re G en er a l C o n t r a c t o r : M ona rc C ons tru ction, Inc.
C ons u lt ing Te am : Struc t ural Engine e r: Robe rt Silm an As s oc iat e s MEP Engine e r: Int e rfac e Engine e ring G ene ral Cont rac t or: Jam e s G. Davis C onst ruc t ion Cor porat ion
STUDIOTWENTYSEVENARCHITECTURE is: John K. Burke, AIA Todd Ray, FAIA Craig Cook, AIA Raymond Curtis John Grinham Hans Kuhn James Spearman, AIA Emily Williamson Sophia Zelov Andrew Davis Enrique de Solo Katie Floersheimer Ben Hoelscher Osama Iqab Allyson Klinner Claire Lester Niki Livingston Jacob Marzolf Sarah Beth McKay Raul Montalvo Natalie Mutchler Soledad Pellegrini Jason Shih, AIA Keisha Wilson Ana Zannoni
Studio Twenty Seven Architecture is a collaborative design and research practice based in Washington DC. For more information and to stay up to date with Studio Twenty Seven, please visit our website at www.studio27arch.com Point of Contact: Todd Ray P: 202-939-0027 E: tray@studio27arch.com
First published 2015 by STUDIOTWENTYSEVENARCHITECTURE www.studio27arch.com COPYRIGHT: Š 2015 STUDIOTWENTYSEVENARCHITECTURE. All rights reserved. 1600 K Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006 All material is compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but published without responsibility for errors or omissions. We have attempted to contact all available copyright holders, but this has not been possible in all circumstances. We apologize for any omissions and, if noted, will amend in future editions. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying or microfilming, recording or otherwise, without permission from STUDIOTWENTYSEVENARCHITECTURE.
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Fragment is an episodic publication of Studio Twenty Seven Architecture. Each issue is dedicated to a singular idea, project, or element associated with the Art of Architecture. Studio Twenty Seven is an architectural research and design collaborative located in Washington DC.