In the past few days I have simultaneously re-work on the book and drawings, site visiting, to further clarify the intention of the thesis…

Below is an update précis statement, it is not a finalized version yet…




The Dematerialized Boundaries of Urban Public and Private Realms

Programs: the relationships of these two realms are investigated on two levels
Ground Level: The public SIDEWALK and the small private STORE
Second Level: The public subway’s PLATFORM and the private LOFT

The deprivation of the senses in a work of architecture had propelled the experience to the mere pleasure of the eyes. Architecture is then seen as a landmark, an object that is viewed and judged by the external form. It is designed within the realm for the public, in that its imageries in the physical appearance, dynamic forms, are the criteria in judging the architectural experience. The ‘public’ likes the form, a consensus approval experience of architecture. The lack of other sensory cues then has deprived a private interpretation of the space. One could remember an intimate space for the harmonious acoustical level it generates while another fears from entering a small space that could trigger claustrophobia. Beyond the experiences of space at the scale of a room, with or without sensory cues, though private or public perspective; the fusion of the actual physical realms of public and spaces within the scale of the city offers an abundant sensory experience. In this haptic city, these experiences are exemplified on many sidewalks in which the intrusion of the realms of private street vendors’ carts advertising their merchandises in the middle of pedestrian path way. These obstacles including vendor’s carts, merchandises, and people compress the sidewalk into a haptic condition where passing through is a struggle. One would constantly redirect the body to pass through and avoid the unavoidable bumps into merchandises, street vendors’ cart or other people. It is a haptic experience with additional exposure to the scents generated by these merchandise and people as well as the overwhelming fusion of noises that could be unpleasant to the ears. The crossing of these senses within these spaces, or synesthetic experience, could be generated through the fusion of these private and public realms by the dematerialization of their boundaries.
In the sketch project, the dematerialization of this boundary between the two realms was firstly investigated. To express the invisible boundary between the public central court and the private offices and studios behind the facades framing this court was a physical insertion of an ethereal screen between them. The screen dematerializes the facades and blurs the visual experiences of these watchful eyes looking down at the public court.
In searching for the appropriate site for the thesis, the conditions of the site suggest that dematerialized screen should not be simply inserted between the two realms. The physical boundaries between the two should collapse into this single ethereal screen, implying the flowing of spaces from one realm into another. The public realm of New York City’s side walks are the stages not only for the street vendors as described but also are the areas where private stores behind the city’s facades expand out and carve them into individualized spaces for uses of their businesses. Some markets use them to display foods while restaurants imply spaces for outdoor sitting. The degree of intrusion into these spaces could be expressed even further by dematerialize the façades where these private programs are hidden. The physical façade is demolished and replaced as a translucent screen. This screen is pushed outward toward the boundary between the street and the sidewalk. In addition the image of the old facade is imprinted onto this screen. This implies the reciprocal expansion of the building right into the sidewalk and vice versa bringing the streets’ vendor’s shops, the haptic experience into the realm of the building. In other words, the scale of the city’s public sidewalk is continuing its path right into the scale of a building’ room before returning back to the city. As the sidewalk flows into the space between two adjacent buildings, the series of small shops and their merchandise would compress further intensify the experience of moving though these sensory spaces of noises, haptic conditions. The private realm of the store is enhanced, fused with the public experience on the sidewalk.
These relationships on specific programs will be explained further more in the drawings for tomorrow.