Close to the edge : finding the Hammerhead Bar

I believe that it takes only three things to do architecture-- an intact sensibility, a deep understanding of the qualities of a place and a specific intention. This thesis explores this premise and presents a project inspired by it. The thesis begins by showing things shaped for various human activities-- things which have influenced the shaping of my sensibility. As a prelude to introducing the site, I show how others before me have built in similar locations-- close to an edge. Then, I reveal the site, a place so vulnerable to the ravages of hurricanes that almost everything built there is eventually left in ruins. Central to this thesis are my thoughts about ruins, for they set the stage for the presentation of the building which emerged from my explorations. Imbedded in the sand on a wind-swept beach, the Hammerhead Bar, designed with intention and shaped by my sensibility, invites both the reader and the next hurricane alike to "Take your best shot!"

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1989

Author dc:creator

• Nowell, Gregory

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bill Hubbard, Jr.

• 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/1721.1/76417

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/76417