KATE CLANCY ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE
Urban Fragments Design Thesis Projects:
The Modern Movement initially viewed urban space as a void between buildings, an abstract matrix populated by scientifically engineered infrastructural systems or generic parkland. Instead these two projects view the city as a complex entity, composed of public and private spaces with buildings seen as fragments of this framework rather than isolated constructions.
The establishment and continued use of public space is integral to the workings of a civilised city. These projects are an examination of how new buildings not only consolidate the existing structure and fabric of the city, but can enrich and extend new opportunities for the civic relam.
Archetypal urban forms, arcades, loggias and courtyards are tried and tested as clear and legible devices that serve to continue the urban domain from street and into the city block, transferring down to the scale of rooms and circualtion within a building.
CORK COURHOUSE, WASHINGTON STREET, AN URBAN SPACE WITHIN THE CITY.
SPATIAL SEQUENCE STUDY: THE TRANSITION FROM EXTERIOR TO INTERIOR SPACE
Urban Fragments Design Thesis: The Capitol Exchange - Civic Offices & Public Realm
A PLACE OF ASSOCIATION, ACCESSIBLE TO ALL, DIFFERENTIATED WITHIN ITSELF
"At every instant, there is more than the eye can see more than the ear can hear a setting or a view waiting to be explored. Nothing is experienced in itself, but always in relation to its surrounding, the sequence of events leading up to it, the memory of past experiences" -Kevin Lynch "The Image of the City"
The design is composed of a primary route (Arcade) from Grand Parade, which unexpectedly leads into a public square within the building. Differentiated spatial qualities "Solid and Void" "Narrow and Wide" and "The unexpected" are important design elements.
The transaction from the street into the building and the spatial experience within the building is the driving force for this design. People filter underneath the monumental stone facade. The ground floor recesses three meters extending the footpath and creating a sheltered walkway (the in-between space) before one enters into this timber world.
Elevated walkways are an important design element to facilitate street activity in the upper levels and to provide a clear and legible connection to the activity below and to the public spaces. The walkways and the front elevation provide views back towards Grand Parade and Washington Street
THE ARCADE: AN URBAN MOVEMENT THE SQUARE: AN URBAN ROOM OPEN TO THE SKY, A CIVIC PLACE FOR SOCIAL ENCOUNTER
MOMENTS OF PAUSE EXTENDED DOORWAYS AND WINDOW SEATS CREATING FRICTION ALONG THE ROUTE