Architecture as a Unifying Thread

Buildings exist because humans have a natural desire for shelter and safety, but what sets one building apart from another? Expression. Whether it is a conversation about place, material, program, or a fanciful idea- architecture offers an interpretation of the ordinary, inviting questions, appreciation, or controversy. With the introduction of a position, a conversation begins, yielding a discussion. Ideas continue to grow and form, creating and reinforcing the continuously evolving world of the built environment. This project offers an interpretation of a way to blend the disparate elements of walls, program, and experience. This project achieves unity through a series of architectural gestures that reinforce the program of the building and strengthen the architectural thought of connecting unlike elements. Great spatial opportunity can be found in both the building of barriers and the destruction of them. Tension between opposite conditions has great power to set the static in motion. The age, texture and weight of the existing walls are contrasted by the lightness of the new structure that breaks through the old, revealing its nature and opening it up for appreciation. The constructed nature of the new structure is contrasted by the fluidity of the poured concrete wall that ends the building and holds the project above the old. The old then becomes a tool for appreciation, while the new represents a tangible journey through the design process. The stair is the mediator between creation and display providing a sense of rest and a new perspective. An architecture of stitches is created, forming a fabric that speaks to the past, the program, and the stated intention to maximize the coexistence of each.