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09 The Art of Movement
Architecture Thesis: Redefining Movement by Redesigning Liminal Spaces
Year 5 | Spring 2022
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Site: Pier 97; New York, NY
Professor Justin Miller
This design thesis focuses on social architecture that aims to redesign liminal spaces with a progressive human-centric approach, as to redefine how people move that unite architecture with existing urban city movement patterns. The redevelopment of NYC Pier 97 activates the waterfront and unites architecture and the user by implementing a range of diverse passage sequence movements. The design rethinks traditional liminal spatial conditions and preconditioned movement patterns, specifically the way users engage on a Pier, to create a culturally immersive experience. Rather than disconnecting the human body from the man-made landscape, this project showcases how architectural design uses creativity and reorientation to design spaces that challenge the user’s physical skills and encourages a diverse range of movements that better engage the user with his or her environment.
The Hudson River Park serves New York City residents and guests by connecting them to the waterfront – for culture, recreation, and the environment. The development of Pier 97 adds to the overall intentionality of the Hudson River Park as a force for change and neighborhood rejuvenation. Designing program and space through sequence and form, by extruding and colliding existing pier concrete base module forms and river pillars to create a aesthetically complex landmark that intrigues engagement from the community to reactivate the waterfront.
Thresholds / Exploratory Sequence
Manipulated horizontal planes / Habitual Sequence
Tidal Pool (“to connect with water”/”to lay”)
The Bleachers (“the observe”/”to gather”)
Skydeck (“to frame view”)
Hand drawing; movement sequence and Pier form explanation
Hudson River-Walk Promenade (“to change scale+dimension” / “to climb”/”to step”)
Outside Exhibition Promenade (“to explore”/”to turn corners”/”to sit”)
Vertical Ascension / Circulatory Sequence Displaced Pier ground plane for access to Hudson River
Pedestrian Overpass (physical connection to urban core)
