Peter Lee
Submission 0136
The project begins directly from the BCA's desire to present a more inviting
public face to the outside community. It identifies its current physical structure,
although animated with a wide range of activity in its interior, as less than
explanatory because of its anonymous exterior. The design takes quite literally
the title 'inside-out' in projecting the BCA's programmatic contents to the
public by reorienting existing program to the exterior and casting additional
theatre and gallery spaces in the newly formed plaza to provide clues to activity
within. This along with other elements such as a neighborhood cafe, outdoor
theatre and dining patio help to create a new urban park in the South End
and ultimately encourage the public to engage more acti--vely with BCA than
in the past.plaza plan, scale 1" = 16' - 0" Most of the new program
pieces are nested within a 3' high plinth. The plinth is accordingly carved
out to create the central plaza which is protected from the street but still
visible to the passerby. A sloping outdoor theatre helps to announce the theatres
beyond and the institutional character of the BCA complx.
-cafe. centrally located with adjacent outdoor seating.
-lobby. expanded to be more consistent with the BCA's public aspirations and
proportionate to the volume of rather extensive theatre space. also contains
an information desk and exhibition area.
-outdoor restaurant seating
-jazz cafe. overlooks the sloped outdoor theatre
-plinth galleries. provide hints at the artists' community beyond
-outdoor theatre/ gallery. would allow for performances from adjacent jazz
club, nighttime movies, musical groups
-central plaza. cafe seating, performances, opening receptionssite plan strategy
The site plan aims to mitigate the monolithic nature of the current BCA block.
The architectural operation in plan suggests a chipping, or fracturing away
of the existing mass, liberating chunks of program such as gallery, theatre,
and cafe to the plaza south of the complex. In doing so, it simultaneously
reveals its more complex nature and presents itself in more manageable and
identifiable pieces. The resultant fissures between the existing block and
the fragments of program become new interior circulation. Paradoxically, although
the current programmatic components are encased within one mass, they function
in a disjointed manner since many have just one entry from the exterior. The
new interior passage creates a multiplicity of access, unifying the components
to the eye of the public viewer and allows the synergistic potential of the
wide range of activities that the BCA offers to be realized. Permitting one,
for example to have a coffee, watch a play, see artwork, and listen to live
music all within the same interior sequence. The goal is to encourage people
to enter the complex to visit the BCA complex as an urban experience as much
as for specific events. Ultimately, the design posits that an integrated solution
to the plaza and interior is necessary for the complex to properly function,
that mere beautification of the exterior would be insufficient.
