Prospect and refuge : shelter in Roxbury

Abstract

This thesis attempts to use the concept of juxtaposed prospect and refuge to design shelter on a large urban site (92,000 square feet). The broad range of scales stretches the applicability of prospect and refuge as a design tool, yet also forges a varied understanding of related (and sometimes synonymous) architectural principles such as back-front directionality, contrast, threshold, mystery, life-affirmation. The selection of a 'healing' shelter for program intensified the exploration of prospect and refuge, as the given user group compelled a particular attention to architectural elements and dimensions at an intimate scale. This precision, coupled with the demands of community space on such a large site, brought into play intermediate issues of continuity and adjacencies and, thus, more incidents of prospect and refuge.