Building the water edge : a public event for art and artists at Fort Point Channel

Abstract

The thesis deals with building the water edge at Fort Point Channel, between Congress Street and Summer Street Bridges. It serves as a public event that intends to establish continuity of movement along the waterfront. The design proposes a multilayered promenade into which various activities are interwoven. It is a place for artists' studios as well as indoor and outdoor exhibit spaces for the artists working there. The project also informs about the many galleries and studios in the Fort Point Channel Warehouse District. Instead of viewing the building as a single enclosure or container, the thesis explores as an alternative a particular connection of built elements in which the built form becomes a three-dimensional screen, incorporating into its structural framework public open spaces, as well as visual and spatial interactions. The site is situated between two tectonics: on one side the wooden piles and decking, on the other, industrial buildings which are firmly anchored to the ground and present continuous surfaces. The proposed project echoes these materials and language of forms.