NOW PLAYING: CAMBRIDGE CINEMATEK
This project required the design of a cinematek complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The program for the complex included two theaters (60- and 120-seats), an educational center (classroom/computer work space and office for lending film equipment), a cafe (with additional outdoor seating), ticket and concession booths, and administrative offices. The site in Cambridge is located near Harvard Square, between Harvard University and MIT, next to the MIT Museum (assumed to be independent, but have the possibility for future collaboration).
My solution for this project involved negotiating the urban grids of Cambridge. There are two primary grids in the immediate context of the site that collide to produce the triangle shape of the block where the site is situated. The first floor of my cinematek featured most of my programmatic spaces (including the cafe, ticketing, administrative offices, and educational space), and is oriented along the alley between the site and the MIT Museum. The second floor, which includes the theaters, is oriented along Massachusetts Avenue, a main thoroughfare in Cambridge. The geometry of my cinematek was derived from these two grids, resulting in an orthogonal solution on an irregular site.
In my project, I focused attention on the two floors as communicating, but separate parts. The bottom floor consists of load-bearing poured concrete walls, some of which are exaggerated to emphasize that they support the theater volumes above. The theater and hallway volumes above are made of a steel-frame structure, with a fiber-concrete panel rainscreen enclosure system. A requirement of this project involved coordination with the Materials and Assembly course, including a code review of our building and a study of a structural bay.
My solution for this project involved negotiating the urban grids of Cambridge. There are two primary grids in the immediate context of the site that collide to produce the triangle shape of the block where the site is situated. The first floor of my cinematek featured most of my programmatic spaces (including the cafe, ticketing, administrative offices, and educational space), and is oriented along the alley between the site and the MIT Museum. The second floor, which includes the theaters, is oriented along Massachusetts Avenue, a main thoroughfare in Cambridge. The geometry of my cinematek was derived from these two grids, resulting in an orthogonal solution on an irregular site.
In my project, I focused attention on the two floors as communicating, but separate parts. The bottom floor consists of load-bearing poured concrete walls, some of which are exaggerated to emphasize that they support the theater volumes above. The theater and hallway volumes above are made of a steel-frame structure, with a fiber-concrete panel rainscreen enclosure system. A requirement of this project involved coordination with the Materials and Assembly course, including a code review of our building and a study of a structural bay.