Graduate Center Charlotte, North Carolina
|
.....................................................................................................................................
After studying the urban context of downtown Charlotte, I became aware of the lack of community present. By taking advantage of the street corner site, the juxtaposition of the large park environment meeting the more residential and business zones is addressed by using the structure to serve as a transitional public space between the two city contexts. The expansive program has been very influential from the beginning. The process began by making color coded blocks with approximate square footage of each of the necessary programs within the building, then experimented with arranging and rearranging the programs to find the best location and relationship between the programs. the building began to separate into essentially two towers, one housing the student classrooms, and the other for faculty and administrative activities, with the public functions underneath to create a mall like exterior space through which the public, faculty, and students alike can filter up or through to their respective destinations.
After the relationship between program locations was determined, the form of the structure was highlighted and coordinated with the function and ideal of the programs within. The crystal like glass structures serve as an open and transparent inviting space to house the public programs on the street level and speak to the more organic context of the park, as most of these programs are located on the park side. The offices and classrooms create a more rigid and orderly environment within the towers, which is expressed through the steel beams and glass facades. The materiality allows a consistent view outward to the street and park while simultaneously allowing activities to be seen from the outside. The end result is an intricate composition of form and program that creates a public environment not only for education, but conversation and convocation, to foster a relational community within uptown Charlotte.
After the relationship between program locations was determined, the form of the structure was highlighted and coordinated with the function and ideal of the programs within. The crystal like glass structures serve as an open and transparent inviting space to house the public programs on the street level and speak to the more organic context of the park, as most of these programs are located on the park side. The offices and classrooms create a more rigid and orderly environment within the towers, which is expressed through the steel beams and glass facades. The materiality allows a consistent view outward to the street and park while simultaneously allowing activities to be seen from the outside. The end result is an intricate composition of form and program that creates a public environment not only for education, but conversation and convocation, to foster a relational community within uptown Charlotte.
.....................................................................................................................................
Copyright © 2014