The Littoral between Definite and Indefinite

by Andrea Sandell (MArch I ’23)

The project focus lies in the littoral zone—the zone of exchange between the figure and the plane—and proposes to reinterpret an original diagrammatic entanglement as a calibrated choreography, whereby spaces are constructed through the tension between the explicit and implicit. The resultant exchange is carried throughout the building, suggesting a synthesis that occurs on and through floors.

A rectangular bar volume folds in at two corners through which the interior is accessed. Within, a tripartite ordering of set, figure, and set runs through every floor. While office spaces—the sets—flank the figures on either side, in the center, a series of public programs are arranged in a vertical gradient.

The boundaries established by the tripartite division are obfuscated by the choreographed interplay.

Granular spaces develop, yet orient themselves in relationship to the readability and glimpses of the boundary offices.

Figures spill towards the periphery, suggesting specificity within an otherwise uninflected plane.