SOFTENED WALLS

How to construct a living archive on the land that has a painful history of Gayogohó:n ǫ ’ (the Cayuga Nation) dispossession?

ARCH 4509 | Fall 2022

Instructor:

Tom Carruthers

Situated in the historical district of Seneca Falls, NY, the library is a community hub that aims to construct a living archive. Achieved through bridging, the concept of the project is a series of fenestrated walls linked by transparent volumes. Thickened walls appropriate the dimension of the historical site. Moments of the program are understood to be both physical and metaphorical bridges that engage and critique the past to generate provocative spaces.

Site analysis of the town Seneca Falls showing the historical district in its relationship to the town and our site (Labeled in A zoomed out map showing the locations of our site in relation to the six sovereign fig.4 correlating to the red lines (A) in fig.3, this concept diagram shows 2 systems in the design scheme: a series of walls and trangressing glass volumns. fig.5 correlating to the arrowed major entry ciculation (B) in fig.3: the visual percpetion of the wall changes as one approximates the archive.

The spacing of the walls appropriates dimensions from Seneca Falls’ Main Street, and the program’s relational bridges foster blurred indoor and outdoor activities, generating a soft space within the hardened territories.

+5m double glazing: 8 mm toughened glass + 12 mm cavity with perforated ST. STL. Interlayer

Operable aluminum louvers

150/50cm steel RHS Gutter metal sheething adjustale 18mm steel rod laminated safty glass with reflective film on inner surface

Light-diffusing soffit in lam. safety glass

Triple pane glass

Structural glass floor construction: IGU structural sealant air space perforated ST. STL. interlayer IGU setting block

ST.steel channel solar control alum. louver maintainance catwalk

Symphony Of S Tone

What does marble, or a bus stop sound?

ARCH1102 | Spring 2021

Instructor:

Sasa Zivkovic and Felix Heisel

Teaching Assitance:

Oonagh Davis

Located right above the waterfall of the Nature Trail in Lansing, New York, the bus stop is a threshold of nature. Inspired by the overlying rock bed and waterfall down in the gorge, the project appears as a composition of colorful interlocking marble pieces stacked and interlaced together. The marble pieces come in four modules, where three horizontal modules form the roofs and walls, and one vertical module acts as a column that stitches the whole project together.

Site analysis of the bus stop and its peripheral views of the gorge.

Sound calendar diagram showing the difference in height of the gorge in section.

The bottom score represents the loudness of the waterfall throughout the 12 months, starting from the silent light lines (as the water is frozen) in winter to loud, bold lines in the summer. The interpreted sound of the bus stop is the range of the dashed lines.

Site model showing the bus route fig.5 -6 Featuring the angle and trace of the tile saw, a facade system is applied to the horizontal modules, which forms a water tunnel that allows rainwater to cascade down, creating a hidden, intangible stitch that simulates the sound of the waterfall and weaves the sound of the bus stop into the peripheral site.

When the water flows over the marble, the stone surface is temporarily polished, where water activates the color and texture of the marble, triggering a transitory yet intimate moment that could only be seen in the rain.

Scrap pieces produced during the production become mosaic flooring, acting as a visual cue that leads visitors to the gorge. As visitors trample on the floor, the marbles rub against each other and make a rattling sound.