An artists' community in the Back Bay : continuity and change

This thesis is a study of the relationship between continuity and change. It's premise is the idea that architecture can be receptive to the need for growth and change while still being rooted to the continuity of its relative setting or community. Accordingly, this is an exploration of how a building can represent the continuity or associative identity of a community. The process will be to look for positive, place-making elements, or patterns, within the context and community. By working with an appropriate range of uses, sizes and forms from within the community, I hope to be able to generate a sense of meaningful space and form, or 'place.' I will be looking for ways to enrich a place within it's community - to give it meaning for those who use and experience it. The basic question is how can we conform to an existing context, yet still accommodate the need for change, and to advance our understanding of our place in the world. The design for an artists' community will be set at the edge of Boston's Back Bay, an architecturally rich and clearly defined community. The design of a small community within a larger community will enable me to focus on the activities, spatial qualities and social patterns that are essential for inducing a sense of place. Ideally, the artists' community should become a microcosm of the larger community - a place where a diverse range of people and activities can combine to create a rich environment with continually changing social relationships and the potential to reinforce the total form of the community, while still allowing different yet similar uses. Design is an exploration of the possible, an awakening to the wisdom of the world to which we all aspire. It is the literal reflection of the ways by which we relate to our universe. In other words, it should reveal our greatest potential, reflect our highest hopes and dreams and increase our understanding of where and how we are in a particular place and time.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1988

Author dc:creator

• Duckham, Kenton Leland

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Fernando Domeyko.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65665

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/65665