Description:

This is a Vancouver based reimagining of the innovative DesignLibrary in Milan, Italy. The DesignLibrary intends to provide collaborative workspace for designers to share knowledge and ideas.

Site:

The site is an infill situated on Water Street, the main road cutting through Gastown.

Process:

We began our initial investigation in reference to Matthew Frederick’s book, 101 Things I learned in Architecture School. There were a few points, which inspired ideas we later explored through sketches.

In our first sketch we where exploring #66, and #87 in his book which was “ Columns are not merely structural elements; they are tools for organizing and shaping space, and “Careful anchor placement can generate and active building interior.” Thus, the columns became an indication to the threshold between programmatic elements.

For our second sketch, we where referencing #52 “Asymmetrical balance was used in order to create this space that flows smoothly through and acts cohesively as a whole.” Putting greater spatial importance to the auditorium and café space.

After the sketches we looked to further explore the spatial implications of our drawings through mass models. In our final iteration we began to combine what we thought where strengths of each model together. Incorporating the curved auditorium as well as adopting the columns from our first model.

Credits
Alex Salaveria, Cheryl Yu, Jillian Chan, Kevin Ho, Sarah Menard, and Valtcho Kayriamov