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ARCH 202B: Architectural Design II Gallery: The LA School, Materials, and a Kindergarten: Carefully Careless / Serious Play

FREE BIRD

My design stems from the theme of building blocks around a courtyard; a courtyard conceived as an open to sky garden with blocks set around them. This open space and spill-over spaces whether ground based or other-wise (balconies, loggias) have been thought of as centers of activities aiding transition from one space to another, encouraging a constant dialogue between the open, semi-open and built spaces and enhancing social contact and interaction of users.

The other cornerstone of the design is of expanding the program of a kindergarten (adding meditation/yoga, music and dance halls) resulting in encouraging different age groups to frequent the building, ensuring footfalls and utility of the building after kindergarten hours (and hence it’s use throughout the day) ; It is hoped that the expanded Program would lead to spaces that are not mutually exclusive(contribute to co-learning and growth) those that would be culturally vibrant, therapeutic and free mind and soul.

The above combined with the precedent of the industrial shed (and related exercises done earlier) with it’s extent, ribbed structure, symmetry, sloping silhouette give rise to a visual imagery(simple in plan and elevation) a deconstructionist form rich in pattern, texture (with screens/lattices) and utilitarian spaces, with clear linkages and circulation patterns.