Envelope & Density Explored

   This project was concentrated on designing a building from a pre-existing building section that was given, through our own terms of production. The new design comes out of the section drawing of the old design. This new building was to be a library in downtown Los Angeles. My focus for this project was exploring the relationship between density and envelope, and whether or not envelope determines density or inner density determines the envelope.

    My goal for the library and learning center was to produce varying degrees of density between envelope and interior – a kind of meta interior project whereby space is established through first stacking the section, then slicing at the periphery to establish new occupiable space. A nuanced reading of density and void is established in the new interior. These voids and open spaces in my building translate into spaces meant for gathering space, and points of higher activity. By comparison, the dense areas are experienced as quiet zones, study areas, and places of low activity.

    The process of this was first iniated by examining different sectional properties in the given section, and then extruding them to different lengths to create nesting relationships and a massing that had different levels. This was then copied, rotated and merged in a variety of different ways until a desired result was achieved. In this process, the beginning hints of an envelope was revealed, which was then the new point of focus in the design process.  

    In a collapsed plan view (see diagram) reveals a highly regulated rational vertical organization as section and plan reflect the points of high density and the areas of voids. A partial envelope with areas of revealing the insides is produced through the process. This is a design in which the density shapes the envelope as a result.