Close to the edge : finding the Hammerhead Bar

Abstract

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!"