BRICKS AND GRAVEL
The prompt calls for a “resilience hub”, a new typology for communities to recieve government funding. Yet the response is not a solution to the lack of workforce and widespread poverty in the city. The project will never be a savior, does not attempt to be, and does not allow for that responsibility. The bricks are just the realization that caring about the people around you looks like riding your bikes together after school to play basketball and trying to win the game and in the case of winning or losing there is only the act of trying again and doing so together.
Benton Harbor is looking for something to be proud of and the answer is that they should be proud of themselves. The only provided program is identity. There is an outdoor basketball court and an indoor building. There is no building name or thought of a shimmering beacon of hope that was gracefully given to the poor. Everything is designed to a 8” x 4” x 2” local red brick. The bricklayers should adjust as seen fit.
The choice of material prompts a specific type of architecture. Brick’s step-by-step nature prompts a modular style, and asks at every moment and every word and every brick what should be happening. i.e. “What do you want, brick?” In the same way, community is built step-by-step. The plan for the site allows four quadrants. One for cars, one for grass, one for building, and one for basketball. The most essential part of the project is simply adding a shelter and pavilion to an empty lot in the center of the city.
The building is accessed centrally, where you must travel through a dark open block into a light closed block with four double doorways. Once inside, there is an inherent order to the other blocks. All following doorways are to the right of an equally sized window. These double gaps in the brick walls prompt a counterclockwise rythym, and cause a loss of outside orientation once leaving the entryway. To regain that orientation, a series of perimeter windows and pathways provide different spatial experiences. Natural light filters through a slotted roof banally or religiously, depending on your viewpoint.
All construction is completed with three lines of load bearing brick and concrete slab. The most important elements of the structure are located in a central chassis with stairs and elevators. Keeping these sectional details central adds support, allows for a small cantilever, and provides an invitation to go upwards. There are small moments of one line brick that does not follow a need to support the concrete slabs above. In these moments, the wall loses some bricks or the brick turns or the brick sticks out a little bit. Thresholds are created, turning the act of traveling upwards into an experience of gradually feeling less weight and more skylight. The streetside features an uninsulated walkway with a perforated brick facade that follows the angle of the street.
Type: Studio Project
Instructor: Craig Borum
Year: 2023
Duration: 3 months
Location: Benton Harbor, Michigan
Project selected for 2023 Taubman College Student Show
Special thanks to Grieta Blaka, Eden Boes, Isa Cirulis, Mia Flynn, Grace Dempsey, Brenan Dione, Yojairo Lomeli, Peyton Neal, Alvin Poon, Nicole Prince, Max Rector, Taylor Rhodes, JP Silva, Skye Thompson and Hazel Wolf