First floor plan progess post as promised... seems to work well. The studios extend further out into the gardens than in the diagrammitic plan. Also not sure how fond I am of the pointed form for the East stair. I do have much better exhibit/flex space, which I am very pleased with. Now to flesh out the wild flower gardens.
Another benefit to reworking the first floor is that it simplifies the first floor framing quite a bit. Instead of having the awkward bends in the stepped studio walls, it can now be a more straight forward framing.
The open stair volume needs to worked out. At this point it is going to align with the Boylston St axis. Turning the open stair results in "crimping" the student room closet to the lounge. Pulling it out onto the street allows for more room and access to the roof garden above the studios.
2 comments:
Rick, your studios seem to have become bigger (?); I liked the buffer between the studio and the parking on the adjacent lot. In your old plan you had one large space for the studios with partitions. In your new plan you are showing three individual boxes with a hallway in the back. I’m not sure if that is necessary and/or a good move.
The point in the stair is not necessary; it was a means in my diagram to indicate a slimmer volume. Whatever it is, it has to have something to do architecturally with the ramps at the tail end.
The support spaces to me are still a bit too dominant. The exhibit/café/waiting/lobby space should read primary, the support space secondary. Right now the e/c/w/l space is inarticulate leftover space that is calling for a fun intervention.
I was showing the work that we are doing in studio to one of my friends. He had (rightfully so) a hard time with your notion of building a wooden structure in the city, remembering all the large city fires in the past. We had a lengthy discussion and concluded that with sprinkler and the highway in the back as a fire break the shells would probably not be in danger. On the Boylston Street side there would however be a good argument for establishing a non-combustible edge zone (maybe the width of entrance – elevator – stairs and a very thick garden wall (with niches of course).
Werner... thanks for the additional comments.
1. The studios are programmed at 1120sf each. They were under sized in the previous plan.
2. Buffer was removed in order to accommodate correctly sized studios. I am working on getting it back... especially because of the building setback for the side yard.
3. I still intend to use one large space with the shoji partitions, but they are distinct studio spaces. The "blocks" in the last plan posted are more a layout of the larger spaces than the actual wall location/construction.
4. The corridor along the back of the studios is a result of the diagrams you posted. I re-visited them again this afternoon and I think I can accomplish the circulation along the back of studios by locating the main sliding shoji partitions along the back spine and perpendicular to it thus creating a circulation zone within each studio. Main studio entrances will be within this zone allowing the shell edge to be expressed. Egress will be accomplished out into the gardens.
5. The pointed stair is getting chopped... hehe.
6. I am reworking the support spaces by dividing them up and shifting the larger mass of the restrooms to Boylston axis and incorporating it into the "non-conbustibile edge"
7. In response to the wood construction... it is a part of one of my main green design concepts. Wood as a renewable natural resource. All the wood is either reclaimed heavy timbers, engineered wood products utilizing recycled wood, or standard framing studs from certified managed forests found in Mass. It is my position that wood as a construction material has a lower embedded cost than concrete or steel. By looking at the energy required to manufacturer and transport steel... wood has a lower environmental impact.
As far as fire protection goes... I was already planning on sprinklered construction. It's the right thing to do here.
The non-conbustible edge is an idea I like. By using concrete block and masonry veneer the material I am using similar materials to the city/grid/Boylston St materiality.
With out doing any historical fact checking I would counter the whole city fires of the past argument by stating that they probably did not have fire protection systems back in the day. While many old building Boston still may not... I would have a tendency to believe that more do than don't these days. If this were to be a built project much research and education of the public entities would be required. Architect and government would need to work together instead of opposed. It is my strong belief that wood construction is a very viable green strategy that can safe, attractive, and economical given the proper design approach.
Another plan post to come later tonight...
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