Open space : theater and public life on the Central Artery

Abstract

In the light of changes to the composition of society and the emergence of new technologies, conventional understandings of public space and inherited spatial forms no longer apply. Yet, for all the pessimism about whether these spaces will continue to exist, people still flock to places where they can be together. At the heart of this urge lies a crucial understanding of the modern city. Instead of being a closed community the modern city is cosmopolitan, a place for the gathering and living together of strangers. The city is the place where one goes to know people different from one self. Consequently, the city's reason for being is to socialize- for information, for business, for the development of the self. Like any place for socializing, it has its roots in pleasure. Located on the North End parcels of the central artery, my thesis project employs those programs that emerged right as this new understanding of the city dawned -- hotels, clubs, coffee shops, public promenades, restaurants, theaters, and pubs- to create spaces for socializing within the city. Social interaction is discursive, based on communicating, instead of being a visual relationship. The goal of the design is to create those moments where individuals can approach each other instead of being passive spectators to one another. Despite its lightheartedness, socializing and pleasure are serious because they set the terms on which different people can communicate and relate to one another, which ultimately is the basis for any democratic politics.