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.