site and environment
bff Interacting at the deCordova
This fourth studio in the design sequence focuses on the relationship of building and site, place and environment, topography and architecture. Building on the foundations begun in the site planning and environmental systems classes, this studio will explore how site and building are interrelated and how the simultaneous consideration of both creates design opportunities, improved building performance, and more meaningful relationships between humans and our environment. The course is structured around a series of problems that will introduce concepts and tools of site design along with increased complexity through the semester. The semester begins with a two-stage design project that focuses on the interrelation of interior and exterior space with the design of interrelated small interior and landscape spaces. The final project, lasting roughly eight weeks, will be a more complex building located on a local site and will focus on site circulation and site planning issues, and the interrelationship of interior and exterior space. All work shall be documented in a portfolio due at the end of the semester.
Lui Thomas McCormack
The terrace between the deCordova Museum and Alice’s Garden the project looks to build an art school that also houses artists. The school is designed to accommodate the needs of a stone sculpture, glassblower, and traveling artist, as well as providing facilities for community events. When working with the terrace, it originally acted as a space people quickly moved through between the Museum and Park, the project looks to recreate it as a destina­tion for the park that can be used by visitors and artists. To minimize the footprint of the buildings they grow vertically, while still keeping a relation to the museum. This structuring allows for pockets of space to develop on the terrace, the building to act as frames to the environment as you move in and out of the space, and giving certain program elements views to the lake at the edge of the property.
li lieu Julie Rahilly
A network of pathways works in multiple ways. Designed based on the existing topography, these pathways create spaces within the voids. Simple buildings work as retaining walls, using the pathways as a means of circulation from floor to green roof. This access creates an outdoor space for students and artists to use for viewing the landscape. In this case, the landscape used for building is recycled on the roof of the buildings. Aside from program, void space between pathways separates the landscape into individual gardens, to be cultivated by the horticulturist, and experienced by the painters and weavers.
lo m Nate St. Jean
Performance can be a funny thing. What is a performance  Is it where people gather and watch a film, a concert, or a world famous musician? Or is performance something completely different; a world-class chef preparing a meal, a photographer producing prints, or a glass blower making a vase? The following project begins to take a look at the preconceived notion of performance and what it means in relation to space.