PERMEABLE PERIMETERS

HILARY SAMPLE Studio 
Core III - housing
FALL ‘17 - Full semester

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In collaboration with Clifford Champion

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Question:

How can different types of perimeters help to integrate new developments into established neighborhoods?

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Drivers:

Interior vs. Exterior Facades, Courtyard and Balcony Typologies, Neighborhood Fabric

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Perimeters play a crucial role in both the physical and emotional aspects of architecture.  The way in which a structure is designed can create a sense of belonging and invitation or a complete divide.  This project seeks to unpack how different types of perimeters can impact the integration of a new housing complex located in a long-established neighborhood of the south Bronx.  Spanning three city blocks, the new housing development will act as an anchor for a residential revival of the area.

To best accommodate community integration and involvement, the project focuses on the user experience and connectivity.  A variety of physical and digital modeling techniques were employed at difference scales to better understand the spaces and how they flow together. 

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This also project sought to study the role of more traditional local vernacular, such as brownstones, stoops and courtyards and how they could be subverted to introduce positive change, while still respecting the neighborhood’s history and style.  Such as changing angle and depth of a traditional balcony to allow for additional privacy and sunlight for residents or utilizing shifts in orientation and elevation of a courtyard to make it public or private