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| 18" x 24" |
E K P H R A S
I S
SYNAESTHETIC
PRESENCE
INTERCITY BUS TERMINAL AND HOSTAL, Washington DC
Drum studio
project spring 2011
“The irruption of energy in the
universe of architecture smashes its crystalline images, shakes its mute
silhouette, and gives it a definite place in the field of processes of life.
Architecture can then be thought of as a transformation of the material environment
by changing living beings, and artifact continuously altered by use and
circumstances, in constant degradation and repair before the aggression of
time, permanently perishing and renewing itself.” [1]
An important component of my project was its atrium.
Users tend to converge in the atrium. The vast vestibule is also de main
entrance to the terminal when arriving and departing Washington DC. It is also
a focal point as seen from the exterior, being the most transparent and
traslucid section of the building. It projects the character of the building to
the external audience. The goal is for it to increase commerce, to promote
interaction between terminal users, and to create more pleasant and safe
surroundings. How is it possible to enhance it? By appealing to the human
senses through improvement the materials, the forms and the colors.
Synaesthesia is when two or more senses are
connected. The goal of the drawing was
to study how materials, forms, colors and light can enrich the sensorial
experience of the atrium, its surroundings and its projection to the city.
Deciding how the floor would look and feel
like in the atrium and the surroundings was important to me. I decided to
divide it by sections. Using a map of the city and pictures of the building’s
model I created a different collage for each section. Each collage would help
me understand what I wanted the section to transmit.
Playing with the transparency, translucency
and color would allow me define the permeability of the skin. It would also
help me state how light comes in and out and how information is being shared or
reserved.
Color played an important role in this
drawing. I used color to express character. I used red and pink to represent a
higher level of human activity and/or circulation. Yellow represents fire or
energy, the core of the project, the hearth. The atrium is the core of the
building and where energy is generated. White and beige represent silence,
pauses, and barriers. It also represents the bone structure of the project. Its
presence is important and obvious yet quiet and sutile.
In addition, making the drawing helped me
realize the possibility of projecting the hostel volume to the sky. This would
reinforce together with the atrium, the projection of the building towards the
city and would give the developer an increase in square footage.
[1] Luis Fernandez-Galiano, “Architecture
discovers Fire” in Fire and Memory: On Architecture and Energy (2000).
p 4.
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