PROFESSOR: The first step of making architecture
is to visit the site.
It's the site that gives us clues as to how to design.
Of course, we have a program, and we
have thoughts about form.
But it's really the site that is the most
important at the beginning stage.
In fact, we should know the site as well as we our own backyard.
The site is our friend for the whole process of designing.
It's what we keep returning to, keep understanding, seeing it
during the day, at night, in the rain, in the sun.
It's the giver of the original ideas.
Of course, the program and the forms and all the rest
is important, but it's the site that starts it.
So what you're about to see is a site visit
to the North End, which is where we're
doing a project for design of a house on the sides of buildings
and on the roofs of the buildings.
And then later, in the same area, the same site,
we will be designing a community space.
So the following is that first visit to the site.
[CITY NOISES]
What do you think?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: Huh?
Challenging.
You can see the church from here, the nave of it,
through there.
Yeah, I think if you knocked on the door,
and you could probably see the inside of that window.
There's a church and monastery or school there, I think.
I think it's connected.
And, of course, you're on the roof of it.
You got to attach yourself to the side of that [INAUDIBLE]
AUDIENCE: Yeah, it's [INAUDIBLE] a little bit
that it [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: Yeah, so it's going to be hanging off.
And we do have to think about how structure
is going to work in some general way,
and we'll get David Whitney back.
Sometimes you're going to cantilever out.
Sometimes there's going to be braces.
You could run things down to the ground.
You have no limitations of what you can do,
but we do want to be structural.
You could hang over the side, and structurally, it
would hold on.
For instance, who has the vent site that--
two vents but the one that hangs over it?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: OK, both of them.
No--
AUDIENCE: It lands off the side.
PROFESSOR: Yours is on the side, and one hangs over, yeah.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: So that one could hang over almost
like a shelf coming over.
The other one is going to attach itself to the side.
What can anybody see from here that relates to our problem?
AUDIENCE: I think if-- like of you have [INAUDIBLE]..
PROFESSOR: Say again?
AUDIENCE: This-- as far as a problem with having a place
where you have a family, this is literally a playground and you
could--
AUDIENCE: Yeah, over there.
PROFESSOR: Right, and we--
however, later, right across the street,
that's our job is to design a place for us to be,
which would include a--
could include a playground.
That's our site.
Right here where that playground is is part of our site
but also all that area in there.
And certainly, this is a place also
that could be used that way.
This has a special meaning, and that's
part of your site clueing, finding out
why it's here, why all the buildings are here
for that matter.
What else do you see?
Look around.
Quick, behind me.
AUDIENCE: It's got a lot of height.
PROFESSOR: Huh?
Yeah, someone's done what we're doing, very modestly.
Oh, they've added already in a way on top of the roof.
AUDIENCE: And on the side.
PROFESSOR: And on the side, yeah.
So they've done sort of what we're doing
but in a very conservative way.
I'm not suggesting you be conservative.
I do think if you went down to Paul Revere's Mall
and go to the Old North Church and look
at that one that's hanging on the side,
it's more interesting architecturally.
And it's interesting because I think
it fits into the North End.
So part of the issue of this project, like the Quarry,
is how you fit what you're doing into the context.
But now the context is different, obviously.
But it doesn't mean it has to be brick and clone-y or whatever.
We are sitting on the dock of the water, of the old water.
I think somebody might find this out as part of your clue,
but this is the original site when the water was right there.
As you may know-- may I have that drawing just for a second?
That's why this street is curved because that
used to be-- in fact, I think it still-- it says North Street.
It was the original street along the dock.
So this was all water.
This was solid.
And you know, Boston, over the years,
is filled in tremendously.
All Back Bay is filled.
All South End is filled.
All Cambridge is filled.
Where we are is all filled also.
So it's a habit of cities to do that, to fill up the water.
What about the person that's got this one up here?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
PROFESSOR: Phil, Philip.
He's got an interesting issue.
How does he make a form up there that
relates to that little curve?
Or does he?
That's a context issue just like the Quarry.
What does he do?
But he could relate to that, and at the same time,
the top of it, the sky form that we
talk about could be something entirely different.
So it's the same issues as before.
Landform, but the land is up in the sky, and the middle,
and the sky.
And the sky can be something quite different.
It doesn't have to be the same.
What I don't want you to do is to try to, as in the Quarry,
imitate the context.
We are trying to add something that relates
but not necessarily the same.
Otherwise, you end up with little kind of Walt Disney,
colonial, whatever stuff, which is not the issue.
It does, as you can see, our site,
which is over there for the community,
is quite a bit lower than where we are.
Not quite a bit, but lower than this
and then lower still than over here.
It's going uphill slightly.
Now, this area is what we'd like to build the [? eighth ?]
scale out of cardboard, which is the equivalent to our Quarry.
But instead of a place, now we have a path.
We're relating to each end of the street.
On the other hand, I suggest that you probably,
when you're done building, almost everybody
can wave to somebody.
She can wave to Phillip and Stacey.
So there'll be little sub communities.
If you're close together in a site,
you're welcome to explore connections.
This is like the Quarry, and you now are detectives.
A good architect, in my opinion, starts with the site.
This is our site.
So you want to learn as much as you can about the site.
And there are different kinds of information.
Obviously, there's architectural form.
You probably can find any kind of form you want in this site.
In fact, there's a little surprise around the corner--
if you haven't seen it-- of a little guy sticking--
do you see it on the corner--
sticking on the side, a little bay window.
There's all kinds of bay windows up there.
So form and materials is one clue that we're looking for.
But equally important, is people and what they're doing.
What's happening here?
Look at what's happening right around us.
There are tourists from Iowa and Ohio
and all over the country walking around.
But there are also residents.
You can almost tell the difference, who's who.
On weekends, you'll find kids playing in the street.
You go to the Paul Revere Mall this afternoon,
and you may find kids and tourists going through.
So it's a mixture.
You're adding to that mix.
Be good to know something about who your neighbors are,
even though we're building in this canyon
because the next problem of the community place
is how to bring everybody together, including yourself.
There are other clues.
There's historic clues.
What's the history?
Why is this place--
why is the North End like the North End?
What makes it different than the Back Bay?
Why?
Why are the streets like this?
I know why, but you should find out.
So there's history of the place.
Those are clues.
There's real clues.
Philip was probably going to bring back
somebody steps or something.
You don't have to bring something back.
Why don't you bring back is what I
call a clue, which is something in your head or something
physically.
So once again, when we're back in the studio,
we can visualize the site as well as your own backyard,
like the Quarry.
It's the same thing, except it's different.
So you start to think about how you're going to add something
to the-- and I'm using this one as an example--
to the side of that building through some sketches.
It seems to me that this person has to do something vertically.
The house is going to be on several levels, I would think.
There's a limit to how far you can cantilever off.
Whereas, on top of this roof, it could be horizontal.
Phillip, up there, could be horizontal and vertical.
He's not the highest.
And who has the one right next to our community space?
Not the ventilator tower, but over there.
AUDIENCE: It's like one?
PROFESSOR: One.
AUDIENCE: This one?
That's Kelly.
PROFESSOR: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: Kelly.
PROFESSOR: Kelly, oh, that's right.
Kelly has that one.
That one is important because she kind of overlooks
the whole area.
She's going to be the person who's
going to be kind of the gatekeeper of our community
area later.
Who has number 12?
12 is an interesting one because you're on the roof
and you're over the side, and you're a little bit
on the outer limits of our community.
Almost everybody else forms some communities.
That one does too.
It connects with three.
Who is three?
So there's a little connection between the two of you.
And who's 13?
You're 13?
So there's a community of 12, 13 and 3.
They're very close.
OK, what I'd like to have do is have a good time.
Talk to--
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] by the way?
PROFESSOR: I'll show you.
But I would like to ask you just kind of nose
around, talk to people, look and see what you can bring back.
See how many different things you
can find that might influence what you're designing.
That's one.
The second is to go to Paul Revere's Mall, which
is the next street over, which is Hanover.
And go up Hanover about two or three blocks,
and it's on your left by the fire station.
Go through Paul Revere's Mall to the North Church.
That's where the lanterns were.
On the other side to the right, you've got to go all the way up
to the Paul Revere's-- sorry, the North Church,
and then come back along the other side.
You'll find a little quiet courtyard,
and find that building that I spoke about that
is hanging off the side.
So that's two things.
But walk around, enjoy yourself, and have a cannoli or coffee.