PROJECT 1501 North Gay Street, A Social Incubator
LOCATION Baltimore, MD USA
PROJECT COMPLETION DATE 4/1/2016
PROJECT CATEGORY Graduate / Upper Level Design
PROJECT TYPE Studio
ENTRANT Jason Knight
TEAM MEMBERS
SCHOOL Morgan State University, School of Architecture and Planning
FACULTY SPONSOR Ruth Connell, Associate Professor / Architecture
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
1501 North Gay Street is a social incubator in one of the most troubled neighborhoods in Baltimore. It will provide a focal point for residents, activists, and organizers to find each other, develop their voices, and amplify their cultural and political power. Residents will gather in a variety of contexts and express themselves in a variety of formats. There will be a café for meeting, learning and debating, a gathering space for more organized events, exhibition space for visual arts and advocacy, spaces for lectures and performances, educational space, and mechanisms for community outreach. Beyond its express mission, the center will provide a flexible space for the unforeseen needs of a changing community.
STUDENT'S STATEMENT
As a site, 1501 North Gay Street is characterized by two dominant qualities. It is a perfect right triangle and it slopes down continuously from east to west. As a concept, 1501 North Gay Street celebrates these two qualities as the heart of the design.
The triangle is the primary statement of the built solution. Indeed, the structure occupies the entire site, while simultaneously preserving the site as an enhanced public amenity. The enclosed space exploits the slope to create a volume that emerges from the ground, creating two distinct environments—one interior and one exterior.
The upper level is continuously accessible from North Chester Street, which slopes modestly downward from south to north. The slope of the site is countered by a gentle upward slope, rising to the southwest corner. At the northeast corner is a cafe, the first of many opportunities to gather and share ideas. The cafe is connected to the main hall by an interior stair. At center is a large light well with water above and below. To the south, the theater pierces the upper level. A continuous skylight separates the masses and the ribboned assembly glows at night. At the southwest corner, the site is its most secluded and its most dramatic, with elevated views of the city.
The lower level features a large covered entrance. Windows extend to either side, tapering with the slope of the streets. Inside, the space is composed of a variety of sizes and types of space, for a variety of community activities. There are galleries and a large informal hall, smaller learning spaces, and a theater, which seats two hundred. The light well opens to the hall letting in fresh air and is a pleasant escape from the noise and grit of the city beyond.
IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS
IMAGE 1: 1501 North Gay Street, Evening View
IMAGE 2: 1501 North Gay Street, Interior
IMAGE 3: 1501 North Gay Street, Aerial
IMAGE 4: 1501 North Gay Street, Southwest Entrance
IMAGE 5: 1501 North Gay Street, Accessible Plaza
IMAGE 6: 1501 North Gay Street, Northeast View
IMAGE 7: 1501 North Gay Street, Light Well
MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
1501 North Gay Street, A Social Incubator
Category
AIA Maryland Student Design Awards > Graduate > Graduate / Upper Level Design
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