Kevin Benham
Elizabeth Gibb, AIA
Nathan Langlais
Michael Saul
GRAFT
Submission 0160
Thresholds to an Urban Outdoor Room
Thresholds define edges and announce the place of entry. Our proposal addresses
thresholds via the three scales at work at this urban site: the scale of the
city, the scale of the neighborhood, and the scale of the immediate buildings.
Planes and lines of green emerge from the ground defining a vibrant urban
garden room that gives this area its distinct daytime character. At the main
plaza along Tremont Street vertical solid planes emerge from the ground sometimes
sliding past each other enclosing expanses of greenery. These planes deform
creating places to sit, lounge, and relax. There are a variety of seating
arrangements such as seats for two to have an intimate conversation and urban
“couches” for a small group of friends to linger. The Artist’s
Courtyard is transformed into a “secret garden”. Climbing vines
grow along the stainless steel cables that form a vertical network transforming
this bleak space into a room surrounded by green walls. Thick and thin lines
of greenery create canopies and screens along Warren Street.
A complete transformation of these spaces occurs at night.
Through the use of ephemeral materials a theatrical and dramatic space is
created from the non-material of light. At the Tremont Street Plaza the solid
planes of the day become transparent planes. They appear as shifting, glowing
forms on the ground. The laser light canopy overhead announces this outdoor
room to the city. Flickering lights in the vertical walls of the Artist’s
Courtyard create a subdued space.
