I've been playing with an "Interlocking Room as Wall" design, which subtracts a triangle from the original facade and then adds a series of light, playful rooms and banners to create an inviting entrance to the community hall.
I began with a 3-4-5 triangle and placed a 3x4 skewed rectangle on the floor. The back two walls will be extremely thick concrete walls, with long, deep, and thin punctures to let light into the hall (currently shown as square holes). Then I added a glass cube in the corner as an L-shaped entrance, with a large doorway which can open or close depending on circulation needs.
In front of this large threshold, I wanted to put a rectangular skeletal wall, but while working with trace paper in my experimental model (see above) I began to play with a series of curved banners. These are made of light frames and stretched canvas and can be moved by about five people pushing the thin columns. This invites community involvement and turns the front facade into a dynamic, multipurpose form.
For my preliminary model, I changed the curved walls into a series of flat panels, which I imagine can be covered with posters or interactive surfaces depending on what is currently happening in the community hall. I also added a third banner on the floor to finish off the grid of three, which can also be pushed or pulled as a fun outdoor activity.
The different forms of the banners create a series of different spaces (6 total), which will have different light plays, depending on the translucency of the different panels. I decided to turn the top of the cube into a balcony space from which people can interact with the wall punctures and view the open area.
From the inside, there is a staircase to the balcony. Because the new threshold is V-shaped, people can exit from the left and right corners, which will have doors on the side walls. Right at these corners will be open windows through the concrete which will provide zen views of the outside area. From the photo above, although it won't actually be square punctures you can get an idea of what interesting light plays will occur inside the community hall.
The final addition was a V-shaped tip of the V-shaped wall, so that it could be visible from the courtyard above the banners and add consistency between horizontal and vertical planes. Feel free to leave any suggestions or critiques.
Sketchup model of the interior of the community center. The beams reinforce the proportional grid of the wall. In the final model, there will be a translucent sliding screen that can cover the window near the entrance.
Aerial view of the wall, showing the roof structure and the angles of the walls. The window on the right frames the Zen view.
The approach to the building's entrance from the west side. I wanted to make the approach as interesting as possible, revealing the interior of the building by degrees. At this point, you can see the interior side of the main entrance door (through the window), which means that as you come into the building, you see the inside of the door before you see the outside. The actual line between interior and exterior is also blurred: the two walls coming together with the triangular roof sloping down seem to define an entrance, but there's no clearly-defined boundary. The Zen view window isn't glazed, and I'm also considering putting an opening in the roof to further allow the outside in. The conditioned space of the building is enclosed by the glass doors between the anteroom and the main community hall.
This picture shows the approach to the building from the east side, as one would approach it when entering the courtyard. The entrance is hidden from view, but the staggered walls hint at an opening.
The front of the building. Note that the plan of the building is reflected in the elevation of the roof: the staggered slopes of the roof planes correspond to the two angled front walls of the building. A skylight in the higher roof corresponds to the Zen view window, further reinforcing the connection between the plan and the elevation.
Spiral Apartment in Israel by Zvi Hecker. I thought it was a striking example of how a simple repetitive form can be made much more interesting just by rotating it. Unlike a rectilinear building, using repetitive forms in a spiral makes the viewer want to walk all the way around the building, to see it from all sides.
The American Folk Art Museum in NY, by Tod Williams Billie Tsien. I like the monolithic forms that stand out from the surroundings but also complement the buildings behind them. Inside the building, natural light is provided by narrow windows in the skin of the building, which actually turns out to be deceptively thin. This makes the walls seem light from the inside and heavy from the outside.
Stratford DLR station - I liked the way the wall bends and turns into a hybrid roof/wall system, simultaneously affording access to the building and sheltering the interior space.
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