Special Topics Studio: City Hall Plaza Urban Design Intervention

Urban Design Statement

The failure of City Hall Plaza is due to the combination of programmatic restrictions and a large expanse of empty space. Because of the presence of government, such as FBI Headquarters, public events were regulated and a red desert became inevitable. Today, some government offices have moved and an opportunity for the insertion of diverse programs exists. This project proposes to relocate more government offices and create a division within the plaza through the insertion of a linear grid of solid and transparent volumes. This concept allows for the creation of smaller intimate public spaces as well as creates an opportunity to revitalize and reuse certain existing conditions.

Program Statement

The detailed portion of the program to be designed consists of a restaurant as well as interior and exterior retail and public spaces. The linear grid of solid and transparent volumes transitions from the urban design intervention and into the design of the buildings. The solid and transparent volumes create an opportunity to separate the service and served and the private and public spaces. The private/service spaces become enclosed within the solid forms and the served/public spaces to spill out to the exterior and interact with public events.

Drawings

Site Plan

Layer Diagram

First Level Floor Plan

Second Level Floor Plan

Sections and Elevations

Renderings

Exterior Perspective of Restaurant: Folding Glass Door System Closed

Exterior Perspective of Restaurant - Folding Glass Door System Open

Interior Perspective of Restaurant - Folding Glass Door System Closed

Interior Perspective of Restaurant - Folding Glass Door System Open

Physical Model 

1/32" Site Model Close Up

1/32" Site Model

Perspective - 1/8" Detail Model of Restaurant

Perspective - 1/8" Detail Model of Restaurant

View of Detail on Interior of 1/8" Model

Site Analysis

Site location:
Corner of Washington St. and Ave de Lafayette Boston, MA

Analysis:

Street Analysis

Theatre plays a large role in the development of my thesis project. It is my inspiration for the study of a Willing Suspension of Disbelief. Ultimately the theatre district in Boston becomes an important site for the location of this thesis. After looking at the Theatre District from a distance I noticed a correlation with its placement of the district and the way the streets cross through it. Many of the major streets cross at the location of the theatre district. This also allows three very different parts of the city to converge at one point making it a node. This is the location of the theatre district. The blue represents the back bay street grid. The yellow represents part of Chinatown and the South End. And the Pink represents Downtown Boston, including downtown crossing and the Greenway. The dark circle represents the convergence. The oval represents the location of the main drag of the Theatre District.

Enclosure is another important aspect of the site. In two dimensions the site is completely enclosed except for the street system and the site it self which acts as a void within the fabric of the city.

However in three dimensions due to the height of the buildings the site has different feelings of enclosure. In one part of the site the two skyscrapers tower over the empty void stimulating a feeling of enclosure. On the other side of the site the buildings are much smaller creating a feeling of openness.

Another important aspect of the site is the pedestrian circulation. My site location sits in between Four major places where pedestrians gather, Downtown Crossing, Chinatown, The Theatre District and The Common. The locations as well as the t stops allow for lots of pedestrian activity. To me the Pedestrian activity became solids that moved through the street system. In some areas the streets are more solid then others created larger forms.

The generative site model incorporates all of these ideas as well as pinpoints the location of the different Theatres within the Theatre District.

Thesis Statement

The power of theatre is its ability to be supernaturally immersed within a performance. The source of power for this willing suspension of disbelief lies with the initiation of human interest. Some architects attempt to create a willing suspension of disbelief through the creation of computer-generated forms that exceed straightforward manifestations as buildings. However, these forms camouflage their failure to create a human interest. This thesis explores how architecture can create a willing suspension of disbelief that sparks a human interest and in turn triggers an imaginative experience.

Site Documentation

Site Location: Boston, MA

Description: The chosen site location sits on the edge of the theatre district at the corner of Washington St. and Ave De Lafayette. The site is currently being used as a parking lot across from the Boston Opera House. 

Zoning

Institutional

Commercial

Industrial

Residential

Sun Study

Plan: Equinox - 8am

 Perspective: Equinox- 8am

Plan: Equinox-12pm

Perspective: Equinox- 12pm

Plan: Equinox 4pm

Perspective: Equinox - 4pm

Plan: Summer Solstice 8am

Perspective: Summer Solstice 8am

Plan: Summer Solstice 12pm

Perspective: Summer Solstice 12pm

Plan: Summer Solstice 4pm

Perspective: Summer Solstice 4pm

Plan: Winter Solstice 8am

Perspective: Winter Solstice 8am

Plan: Winter Solstice 12pm

Perspective: Winter Solstice 12pm

Plan: Winter Solstice 3pm

Perspective: Winter Solstice 3pm

Subway Lines

Theatre Locations

Building Heights

Pedestrian Circulation

Site Sections