Joe Dahmen | Katice Helinski | James Smith
“To be a student is to be in a state of constant transition, with nearly all evidence of one’s presence wiped away at graduation. Against this unforgiving institutional backdrop, the clandestine activities of the students taking place late at night form a history which only appears to those who know where to look. What I hoped to investigate in the project is what the transient and elusive might mean in architectural terms.” (PDF)
A tectonic model, showing how friction and gravity can create balance and strength. Invisible forces are made visible.
A second tectonic model, again showing how strength exists in small forces. The large heavy piece is suspended and floats, through the work of the smaller lighter pieces.
A diagram of forces and movements along the site, showing the boundary conditions of land versus water.
A line drawing showing the many hidden forces and spaces within spaces present in any site. Inspired by the work of Fred Sandback.
A sculptural piece representing the relation between the built environment and artifical land. In the case of MITs campus, the entire site is built on a decades old infill project, which reclaimed land from the Charles River. Those competing forces are studied here.
The first pass at a final model, juxtaposing architectural masses against the forces of the site, and showing both.
The final model. The site exists on the edge of the campus, between the highway and the river, in a space of transition. The nature of student life is transient, and the site plays on that.
A second look at the final model, showing the massing of the project.
