Portfolio: Section

Some of the things that become strongly evident from the sections are the importance of the main plaza, as well as the vertical orientation of the different space "groups." Even before I reconciled the program with the site, I knew that it was important to have a south facing plaza for students, staff, and the general public to take advantage of. The building site located at the highly visible junction of Mass Ave. and Boylston St. and it is subject to extensive pedestrian traffic. What better way to take advantage of this than to provide a comfortable place to sit down and people watch or eat lunch next to the reflecting pool? With the tall ivy screen separating the plaza from the street, strongly during the warm growing months, less so as the ivy grows dormant in the winter, there is a sense of enclosure and transparency all at the same time. Furthermore, as the users on the ground level are separated from the plaza and the public merely by sheets of glass, as one ascends higher into the building they grow more detached from the hustle and bustle below and are afforded the opportunity to retreat into their private dormrooms.