Intervention

I finally finished my collage after restarting it because my first attempt was not what I was looking for.  I started the final collage by cutting up strips of any grass in pictures of the site and then proceeded to place them one at a time by making a decision, placing it and leaving it.  I then moved on to the buildings which are adjacent to my intervention's site.  it transitions from grass, to the pathways, to the buildings, to the sky. Something I discovered through this was that the green aspect continues from the ground to the sky through the trees.  Here's the final product:

I proceeded to create a basic model for a conceptual idea I have using aspects of the collage.  It focuses on the brick continuing up the facade of the buildings.  I would like to translate this idea into my building but with grass and greenery.  My concept is to have the ground 'ripple' as it gets close to the building corners and then rise up out of the ground in the empty space between them.

Too Polite!

My architecture studio had a critique today of our three general designs based on cubism, our seeing machines, and our site analysis/mapping.  After this crit I realize that I need to push my ideas farther and revert back to my previous models for reference in my building design.  My three schemes all held to existing lines of the site and were "too polite" for what I need to achieve.  Cubism was executed with an above grade scheme, seeing machines was approached with a below grade scheme, and mapping was done through an on grade scheme.  Now I need to combine some of the good aspects of each design and push them farther than the rational ideas.  Shards is a perfect word to start my new combined design around as I look into a way to fight horizontal circulation tension at the two buildings' corners.  Is it possible to fix a problem of tension by introducing a new form of tension?

Site Drawdel

After visiting the site and getting a better idea of the spaces I moved on to try and combine the diagrams I have as suggested by my professor.  I lightly drafted the regulating lines constructed from the building edges onto the strathmore and cut out the building and street profiles as they are boundaries.  I mounted the strathmore to black foamcore for rigidity and used my 'vision' diagram that showed where the possible site could be within view of the Carpenter Center as what I would raise and lower in my drawdel.  I debated whether the 'ramping' of this element should get higher as it gets to the points of constricted circulation or if it should start high and become part of the drawing plane at these points.  Inclining the paper up to the point of constricted circulation would reflect the idea of it being harder to go up a ramp than down just like going through a tight space rather than an open one.  On the other hand declining the strathmore to the points of constricted circulation would reflect almost a solution for the problem and it was also a more graphical method of showing open circulation vs. constricted circulation.  I chose the second of the two choices creating a decline as circulation became more constricted.  Finally, I placed the actual sidewalk circulation over the drawdel to show contrast to Harvard's building grid and also the current circulation...although it was not necessarily a contributor to the main idea behind the site drawdel.

Choosing a Site

After breaking the overall campus down by diagrams I have come to a better understanding of the possible sites.  One thing that I noticed quickly was that Harvard's buildings are all on the same orthogonal grid except for the few that hold the road edge.  I also noted the points where the circulation is compressed such as at building corner relations or adjacent buildings.  This fragmentation caused by circulation dividing the buildings and open ground is depicted in the third diagram down.  A quick attempt at inverse massing of the buildings was made as well, as a tool to understand the ground plane.  I think developing the inverse massing diagram more could help in a further understanding of the idea that the buildings and objects on the circulation plane subconsciously guide you in getting to your destination.  The fact that the mass of the building going into the earth instead of out of the earth opposes the safety issue in the traveling to a destination also adds a completely different feeling if you had to pass through one of the compressed circulation areas.

Site Possibilities

Constricted Circulation

Fragmentation

Inversion of Massing

I'm going to Harvard

After concluding our cubist analysis of drawings, models, seeing machines, etc. the task at hand is choosing a site on the Harvard campus that is within viewing proximity of the Carpenter Center.  My first mistake was thinking what I was going to put on the site and then picking the place to put it.  After my desk crit today I realize (aka was told) to think about what emotion/feeling I want to achieve and choose part of the campus within the criteria of viewing the Carpenter Center that evokes the sensation.  The question is...'what is the question?' - meaning what am I trying to answer about the site as my reason for selecting a specific area.  I have decided to focus on the idea of a Continuum as the question and now hope to find the answer through my analysis with the Continuum in mind.