Rethinking Complex Spaces: A Humanistic Approach to Subway Architecture

Well, I can see I haven't updated this in a while and my thesis has definitely changed a lot. This past critique I've noticed that my thesis isn't so much about hapticity anymore, nor do I think it has been for a while. It was almost just a nice word that kind of stuck around that was holding me back from my other ideas. My methodology has also changed many many times during this semester and has made me look at this project in all different ways. My main problem that was holding my design back in the beginning of the semester was working within the confines of everything that was already existing in the station. I was also working too much in plan because that's how I feel most people work because it's the easiest. However, my project cannot be designed in plan, it is definitely a sectional project. Now that I've freed myself up I'm accepting the station in plan but pushing it different ways in section. I'm excited to see where it goes and hope this time my method works. Here is my updated thesis abstract:

The lack of human relationship in infrastructure architecture has caused people to feel removed from the space and not be aware of their surroundings. As one enters the station, there is a constant linear procession that one follows and tends to not pay much attention to their surroundings. In addition, the Government Center Station has many different structural systems that have been built over the years and cause congestion and chaos. I seek to simplify and rethink this confusion in a way that makes the space more clear, and naturally direct people through the space.

Architecture is not a physical space, but a lived space that is defined by different activities and the movement between them. It is a space that is meant to be experienced, rather than simply looked at or built to function. By minimizing the complexity of the space, using coherent spatial definition, maximizing natural lighting, using color and welcoming materials, and looking at the social and functional proportion requirements of the human, the space will have a stronger relationship with the users. Architect and painter, Herb Greene believes that “human scale can reflect our individual existential being. Its presence in the environment makes us feel ‘at home’ and can encourage us to interact with the environment.”

The redesign of the subway station will bring about an awareness of one’s movement through space through designing for the human. My methodology starts with studying the existing conditions of the station, and the way in which people inhabit the space. I will create a visual critique on why the existing station is a complex space that needs to be reconceptualized to allow a better relationship with the users. To further my argument that the space is too complex and not functioning as it should, I will sketch the existing mesh of structural systems. Then I will diagram the site, above ground conditions with the existing tracks and shell below ground, to take advantage of optimal spaces for light wells, vertical circulation, and main entrances. Next, the placements of the programmatic spaces will need to be determined by integrating them in with the paths through the station. These different areas will start to be defined spatially by ceilings, floors, walls, materials, and color. The proportions of the created spaces will inform me on whether the materials should provoke a warmer and more intimate space, or a more open and airy public space. To work through the materials, I will sketch the different ways to use materials to create those feelings.