Camille Wimpe
Design
Overall approach // This project re-orients and re-programs a decaying building in Upham’s Corner. Investigating the relationship between the edges of the building and its surroundings, as well as the boundaries between private spaces and those designed for gathering.
Manifesto // Can a building replace what was once public? "The privatization of land is nothing new: it has always been a legalized theft" ("Promised Land," e-flux 2019), wherein we lose a multifunctional tapestry of wholeness, ecology, and living. Even when wrapped in parcels and walls, perhaps by reclaiming the street as a space for all beings, inviting the outside in, and returning to old forms of residence we can make a space that is ours.
Who owns the new Fox Hall? Is it the residents of the Single Room Occupancies? The users of the market? Those passing through the courtyard on their way to harvest tonight's dinner? By blurring the boundaries of inside/outside, mine/yours, we can transform harsh edges into a mélange of use: by all, for all.
The Site // In the interest of reconnecting the Emerald Necklace, we proposed a greenway along one-half of Columbia Road - resolving necessary traffic flows as needed. We proposed extending the greenery through Fox Hall and out into the backyard, seamlessly regrading the exterior space to allow for a more flexible connection between interior and exterior.
Interior Arrangement // The greenhouse intervention is best seen through sections and elevations, cutting a section parallel to Columbia Road shows the extent of the greenhouse which spans between the SRO units on the left-hand side and the public programming on the right-hand side.
Public Facing vs. Private Facing // The sections below show how we approached the interface between the greenhouse and the public side and the SRO side of the building. We created much smaller openings on the SRO side, while carving out larger vestibules on the public-facing side of the building.
Plans // The plans as seen below explain specific programmatic elements on the interior, which include crafting suites, a kitchen, flexible meeting rooms, laundry, a market, and bike storage, which all support the SRO programming on the left-hand side.
Acupunctural Moments // By investigating a series of acupunctural moments, we strategically worked within the existing structure of the building, making small adjustments to improve livability in the SRO units, as well as using vestibules and strategic openings in the party walls to slightly expand the central greenhouse horizontally.
The Follie // Critical to our understanding and establishment of the “in-between” was a way to blend exterior and interior space. We created a distributed network of “follies” that support different public amenities as visualized below. The follies are two heights, three feet, and seven feet respectively, and lie on a 12-foot by 12-foot grid, the same dimensions as the structural grid of Fox Hall.
Additional Project Images // Elevations, demolition-plans, MEP Plans, and additional model photos and other drawings that we used to present our project can be found below.