John Ullman
Submission 0129
“. . . All things change into fire, and fire exhausted falls back into
things.”
-- Heraclitus
I have imagined a setting in which enlivened exterior elements would elicit
individual interpretation and internal experience, and have created a space
of constantly changing situation. The Idea is to present the internal workings
of the BCA through physical matter capable of involving visitors in an inter-active
performance in architecture.
The plaza would consist of the following primary elements:
A stone vessel that would produce water at its perimeter, which would then
move across a textured stone surface and fall off into 3 square voids at the
vessel’s center
3 portal gates, which would be comprised of 12 freestanding cast glass “pylons”
producing clouds of steam intermittently through the day.
7 mature London Plane trees, which would be arranged at strategic locations
within the order of the plaza.
Movable folding tables and chairs that “find” their own placement.
Stone and brick paving, which would relate to the over all order of the proposed
design.
The architectural form of the portal gates would be established by the geometry
of the adjacent Estate Building; the stone vessel’s placement would
relate to Tremont. Pulled in from the historical fabric of the South End,
the separated assemblages would conjoin and create phenomenal creations. The
water vessel, which ingenuously fills itself, would supply water which would
flow underground. Mixing with fire, the water would change to vapors and re
emerge as clouds of steam, which would mark the location of the BCA site and
engage gathering individuals in direct experiences.
