building geometry + space planning

I created a few more lego models to tweak ideas I had pertaining to building geometry.  This next one pretty much solidifies the L-shape plan with a tower on the East side that dominates subsequent plan iterations.

Plan view.  North pointing up.

From Prairie Ave. showing outdoor recreation area.

From NE above El station.  East tower and outdoor terracing shown.

shape refinement with grid
The following images show the development of my floor plans in a very generic sense by grouping together a set of 20-foot and 40-foot shipping container modules.  In these examples, I toyed with an idea for stacking the containers, where I would alternate the direction of the containers  in an attempt to bring structural benefits similar to the alternating of grain when making plywood.  The floor plans here do not truly utilize this, but identify 40' square "super modules" that could be filled with either size container in either direction.

At this point, I had planned on the building being 5 floors, noting that the 3-floor arrangement in my previous layouts would not work with the new building shape without expanding vertically.  (The 4th and 5th plans are the same size/shape.)  On the first floor, the pedestrian axis is left as a passageway through the building, and the 3rd floor plan boundary is held by this line.

3rd, 4th, & 5th Floor Plans with Grid

1st & 2nd Floor Layouts with Grid

And this is the corresponding massing for the 5-story scheme.

South Elevation showing relation to El station and Forum building.

space planning with the new shape
When I started to program the building, however, it was obvious that I would not need 5 floors, and so the building was reduced to 4 floors.

4th Floor Plan - Offices

3rd Floor Plan - Educational

2nd Floor Plan - Kitchens + Events

1st Floor Plan - Dining + Retail + Child Care

(re-)articulating the grid
As the dark blue circulation spaces indicates, the current grid layout does not really respond to the pedestrian axis that is supposedly architecturalized by the building.  Furthermore, if the building is indeed supposed to be built up by these containers, the diagonal axis will be more of an imposition on the grid, requiring a lot of alteration (cutting) of the containers surrounding the axis.

The New Grid, Ruled by the Pedestrian Axis

As the new grid diagram shows, the original grid is altered by the diagonal path, which is architecturalized by the east-west grid lines and the container-line held between them (shown in yellow).  To the east of the diagonal pedestrian axis, the grid is shifted 5 feet back from 43rd street, instead resting against the back easement (shown in orange).  To the west of the axis, the grid rotates 90 degrees so that it terminates into the grid in the same manner that the east grid does (shown in pink).

In the next post, I will show tweaks made to the program as well as the realized plans that were prepared for the midterm review.  I will also share links to my midterm presentation boards.