Phenomena and Form at the Water's Edge:

AScenario For Boston

by

Grace W. Cheng
Bachelor of Architecture
Eugene, Oregon
1992

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
OF MASTER OF SCIENCE INARCHITECTURE STUDIES
AT THE
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
JUNE 1994

©Grace W.Cheng 1994. All rights reserved.

The author hereby grants M.I.T. permission to reproduce and to distribute

publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part.

Signature of Author
V
Grace W. Cheng, Depa ment of Architecture
May 6, 1994

Certified by

Professor Michael Dennis, Department of Architecture

Thesis Supervisor

Accepted by A
Professor Julian Beinart
Chairman, Departmental Committee on Graduate Students
MASSACHU;SETTS iNSTITUTE

JUL 141994
LIBRARES
 Phenomena and Form at the Water's Edge:
A Scenario For Boston
by
GRACE W.CHENG
Submitted to the Department of Architecture
on May 6, 1994
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
Degree of Master of Science in Architecture Studies

ABSTRACT
Hypothesis
Phenomenology of Water and Design passed away, the edge is often left with warehouses
Water is an important element in our envi- and factories. Both harbors and riverfronts have often
ronment and thus isimportant inurban, architectural, suffered from the same problem of neglect and lack of
and landscape design. It also has an inseparable development. Cities need to reclaim their water's edge
relationship with human beings inour visual, acous- as a great asset.
tic, olfactory, and tactile environments. This thesis Waterfront development should address the
explores the potential for using the qualities of water question of people's access to the water. Well-devel-
as an expressive element in design to create poetic oped open spaces should become places where people
spaces. These explorations include a derivation of a can experience the power of water.
language of form from the phenomenology of water:
- The physical nature of water
- The metaphysical nature of water Design Concept: A Contemporary Museum of
- Experiencing water with the five senses Arts and a Water Garden
In the design explorations, set out in this
The Water's Edge: The In-Between Zone thesis, a new scenario for Boston iscreated-an urban
The waterfront is the edge that separates courtyard that stages the drama of water-a place for
land and water. Historically, cities around the world people to experience the water's edge and to touch
have increased their footprints by infilling the water water.
for more land. Insome cases, the water has disap- The site that has been selected is special
peared at the end of the process. This one-sided because itisbetween the Charles River and the Boston
expansion at the edge has caused cities to overlook Harbor, acting like athreshold between the two zones.
the value of waterfront. This thesis proposes that we Nevertheless, many attributes of the site apply to other
should look at the edge from the other side-the waterfronts since the site is an infilled industrial left-
water. over area with traces of history and thus public memory
The study of the edge conditions between offering references and meaning for design.
land and water includes the following areas:-
- Duality of the edge Conclusions
- Types of edge conditions The design tested the hypothesis and demon-
- Threshold at the edge strated how one can derive form from the
phenomenology of water through an integrated design
Reclaiming The Water's Edge For People of architecture and the urban landscape. Avariation of
In America, the water's edge is often used treatment of the water's edge where it meets the city,
for industrial development. When the wharf era had buildings, program, and the people isshown. Through
the design of thresholds and the movement pattern in
penetrating different spatial zones, visitors of the project
can percieve the impact of the drama of water.
Thesis Supervisor: Mr. Michael Dennis
Title: Professor of Architecture
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Itisapleasure to have the opportunity to thank the people who have made the research andthe writing
of this thesis such a fruitful and memorable experience. My supervisor, Professor Michael Dennis, and other
members of my thesis committee: Professor Julian Beinart, Professor Shun Kanda, and Mr. Antonio Di Mambro,
have all offered me invaluable guidance and advice from the inception of this project to its completion. They have
generously shared with me their time and expertise, often beyond what the duty of athesis advisor calls for. In
addition to them, I must also thank Professor Bill Porter, Professor Ellen Dunham Jones, Professor Ellen
Whitmore at the GSD, architect Steven Holl and my colleague Jack Debartolo 3for their inspirational comments
on the thesis.

I must also thank Carla Morelli, Peter Brigham at Wallace Floyd Associates, the Metropolitan District
Commision fo the help in obtaining the site information.

Various fellowships and grants have provided me with the financial resources for the thesis. The AIA
Scholarship for Advanced Research and the RTKL Intern / Travel Fellowship funded my trip to Europe, where
I took many of the photographs found here. The RTKL grant in addition allowed me to work as an intern in the
RTKL offices in Baltimore and Los Angeles in the summer of 1993.

I want to thank my friends and classmates who have helped me at various stages of this project. To
Li Pei, who took and processed the photographs of the models as seen in the thesis. To Zachary Lee, for
volunteering to do the humdrum work of photocopying and scanning inthe last week before the thesis was due.
To Agnes, Sin Yan, and my friends in church, all of whom have left their imprints on the thesis in one way or
another, fortheir constant support, encouragement, and prayers. Their reminder that Icould do all things through
God, had inspired me at times when I was tired and discouraged especially when I had to rebuild one of the
models after itwas crushed before any documentation.

Finally, I must express my heartfelt gratitude to my family and my friend Samuel. My sister has always
been there for me, sharing my joys and pains. My parents have not only shouldered the expenses of graduate
school in the past two years, but have also been my unfailing supporters. I would not have been able to
accomplish what I had without them. My dedication of this thesis to them is but a token of my appreciation for
what they have done for me.
 --- 4-
CONTENTS

or

3 THESIS ABSTRACT

5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

9 INTRODUCTION

11 HYPOTHESIS
12 Phenomenology of Water and Design
20 The Water's Edge: The In-between Zone
28 Reclaiming The Water's Edge For People

31 INVESTIGATION

32 PRECEDENTS
42 SYNTHESIS
42 The Concept
43 The Site
50 Urban Design
56 Architectural Design
58 Design Principles
64 The Program: A Contemporary Museum of Art
and Water Garden

77 CONCLUSIONS

--II 85 THE PROJECT: DRAWINGS AND MODELS

106 BIBLIOGRAPHY

108 SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS

8
 1. Aerial view of 3. Museum of Literature,
design in Himeji. Tadao Ando, 1989-
context. 90 (Y.Takase)

U2.
INTRODUCTION
Fountain, Luis
Barragon
4,6. Forecourt, Louvre. I.M.
Pei.

Water is the most interesting object in a land-

scape, and the happiest circumstance ina
retired recess; captivates the eye at a distance,
invites approach, and is delightful when near; it
refreshes an open exposure; it animates a
shade; cheers the dreariness of a waste, and
enriches the most crowded view ... It may 2
spread ina clam expanse, to soothe the tran-
quillity of a peaceful scene; or hurrying along a
devious course, add splendor to a gay, and
extravagance to a romantic situation.
Thomas Whately, 1770 3

Water and man are inseparable. Water isone

of the two most important components inthe
world because water and land make up the
earth on which we build our world. Water
covers 70% of the earth's surface and consti- 4
tutes the major part of the human body.
Moreover, water is an essential amenity. Man
relies on water as a working medium in
transportation, power generation and as an
industrial agent. Above all, water gives pleasure
to people. Bodies of water "add excitment as
well as serenity, definition as well as a sense of
space to the cityscape, to say nothing of cool
breezes, recreation, and reflection at night."1

"The relations existing between archi-

tecture and water may assume various forms,
occasionally mutually raising their value,
5, 8-9,11. Port of Genoa, 7. Pool outside the Chapel at 10. Canary Wharf, London 12. Pool at Museum of
Renzo Piano. Ronchamp, Paris. Literature, Tadao Ando.
(Y.Takasa)

sometimes however opposing each other

dialectically. But it is always the water that
assumes a precise typological value in the
sense of determining and valorizing the organi-
......
.. zation and quality of the spaces inquestion. In
addition, water plays inmany architectonic
examples a poetic role, embodying those values
"beyond"the actual architectonic facts: inte-
grated into architecture as in Wright's
"Fallingwater" and indramatic opposition as in
Libera's Villa Malaparte, or as "Ariadne's
Thread" in order to better understand Scarpa's
architecture, water accompanies - as it has
done through the ages - all significant changes
within contemporary architecture."
Paolo Fumagall

Water isof interest to disciplines of con-

temporary architecture. Architects who use water
frequently in their designs include Tadao Ando
and Luis Barragon. Among famous projects are
the cemetery by Carlo Scarpa, the reflective pools
at the Louvre, the waterwall inthe East Wing of the
National Gallery of Art by 1.M.Pei, as well as the
Falling Water and the Raul Bailleres House by
Frank Lloyd Wright. All of these projects involve
water as a major design element.
Through looking at precedents and in
acutual designs, the ways in which the spirit of
water can enliven urban, architectural and land-
scape designs will be explored.
Notes:
Wof Von Eckardt. 'Reclaiming waterfronts.' Urban Open
Spaces
PHENOMENOLOGY OF WATER AND DESIGN

THE WATER'S EDGE: THE IN-BETWEEN ZONE

RECLAIMING THE WATER'S EDGE FOR PEOPLE

 PHENOMENOLOGY OF WATER
AND DESIGN

12

"Sensuous,dynamic, and often unpredictable in

form, water adds drama and mystery to
architecture."
Translucent, malleable, seemingly immaterial,
yet with form and color, water is the most
chimerical of architectural materials, promising
4 shapes, creating voids, extracting context, and
imprisoning imagery in a shimmering forma-
tions, assuming the shape of its container, water
seduces the senses as it skips down stones,
cascades from concrete walls, and murmurs a
gentle invitation to splash, touch, and dive
through its mirrored surface. Inthe solid
implcable world of stone and concrete, water is
the playful, unpredictable, and powerful source
of much of architecture's poignancy."

Definition of Phenomenon
1. An occurrence or fact directly perceptible by the senses.
2. Philos. That which appears real to the senses, regardless
of whether its underlying existence is proved or its nature
understood. 3. Physics. An observable event. 2

Hypothesis
My thesis explores the potential for using
...... the qualities of water as an expressive element in
contemporary design to create poetic spaces.
These explorations include deriving a language of
form from the phenomenology3 of water inthree
respects: the physical nature of water, the
metaphiysical nature of water, and how water
interacts with other elements indesign.
1, 3-5. Fountain 2. Children playing with 6. Waterwall, British 7. Refleciton 10. Rocks at the
Place, Dallas soap. (Allen) Pavillion, Seville. 8. Refraction water's edge.
Nicholas 9. Interference Museum
Grimshaw of Science exhibits

The Physical Nature of Water

13

The Three Physical States: Solid, Liquid, and

Gas
Water exists inthree natural states: solid, liquid,
and gas in different temperature and pressure.
We can find all three states inour urban environ- 7
ments: inthe form of liquid water from the droplet
form to the depths of the ocean; ice on streets and
on our buildings inthe winter; and steam coming
out from steamliners or from ventilation shafts
along subway lines.

Buoyancy 8
One of the characteristics of water isthat
it supports things of lower density to float on it.
Ships, floating barges, floating docks, are all in-
habitable spaces on water.

Reflection, Refraction, And Interference

When a water wave travels and hits an 9
obstacle or an edge, itreacts to the medium in
different ways. Itmay create a reflection inwhich
the wave bounces back with a different wave-
length. This is called reflection. If there is an
opening inthe edge, the wave will go through and
travel ina refracted course. The phenomenon of
refraction depends on the size of the threshold in
the edge. Interference appears when two trav-
eling waves meet, producing a new wave whose
wavelength equals the addition of the two original
waveforms.
11. Ice on the Charles River. 12. Fountain inTexas 13, 15. Fountain Place 14. Fountain infront
inDallas. of the Pantheon,
Rome.

The Changing Phenonmena of Water

Change In Season:
Change InPhysical States
Water changes its physical state inaccor-
dance with seasonal climatic changes, and thus
11 helps to transfrom the character of a place. For
example, a frozen river in the winter creates a
rather different atmosphere from the one itcreates
when it isflowing inthe summer. The perception
of a building can also be different when snow
covers its site.

Change InTime:
Tidal Change InWater Level
Inaccordance with the movement of the
moon and the resulting magnetic fields, there is
the phenomenon of the tide. The waters edge
becomes animated when the water level rises and
recedes to a different level. Ifthe edge has a
sloped section, as in a beach, the phenomenon
becomes more apparent since the walkable sur-
face area diminishes when the waters edge moves
up the land.

Change InTemperature:
Cooling And Heating Effect
Designers can take advantage of the cool-
ing and heating effect of water. Incities with an
arid climate, such as Dallas, large-scale urban
designs employ water extensively at building edges
to bring down the temperature.
16. Water takes the different 17.Rushingwater.Lok 18. Contained water. 19. Lok Fu Park, Hong
shapes of its vessels. Fu Park, Hong Thomas Cole, The Kong. (Higuchi)
Museum of Science exhibit. Kong. (Higuchi) Tilan's Goblet 1833.
(MOMA, New York).

Change In Form: Fluidity And Containment

Since water flows, ithas no distint form of 15
its own until a vessel contains ft. Itthen takes the
form of the vessel. The design of pools can thus
take many shapes inplan and insection.
16
Change InMotion: Movement And Static
Water can rush downwards, as a water-
fall, shoot upwards as in a fountain, and flow
sideways as in a river indifferent speeds. It can
also become as calm as amirror inan undisturbed
pool.

The Metaphysical Nature of Water 17

Metaphorical And Symbolic Meaning

As an element full of symbolism, people of
different cultures have loaded water with content
and meaning throughout the ages.

Ceremonial Delight
Water is magic. Water adds a sense of
celebration and uplifts the spirit by virtue of its
flowing character. Historically, fountains contrib-
ute tothe making of public plazas. Almost typically,
one would find a fountain inEuropean piazzas to
mark the space and give a sense of ceremony. It
provides a reason for people to gather together,
and these places are usually landmarks. In
Geneva, a water shoot in the middle of the lake
 20. Concrete Fountainintheplaza 21. Waterfall at 22. Baptism in 23. Reflection of 24. Ceremonial
of Reston, Virginia. James Yosemite. Triplett Creek building in pool
Rossart. Provides incidental (Marion Post Canary reinforcing
playfro childrenin warm and Wolcott) Wharf, axis. Paris.
cold weathers. London.

also marks a special place for people to visit

16 frequently.

Contemplation
The quiet, static character of water also
accompanies asense of contemplation. Itsoothes
the mind. Japanese landscape designs often
employ water in a Zen way of thinking. Itoffers a
sense of meditation.

Rejuvenation of Energy and Life

Water as adrinking source nourishes the
20 body. Water also provides a water medium to
cushion the human fetus inthe mothers womb. It
thus symbolizes energy and life.

Cleansing And Purification

The ritual of cleansing with water, espe-
...... .cially in public, forms a very important part of
Eastern cultures.

Sacredness
21 During a Christian baptism, aperson goes
through a transformation of life when he or she
enters and breaks into the plane of the water inthe
baptismal pool, and emerges from the water sur-
face as a spiritually new-born person.
25. Sea rhythms. San 26. Emergence from water. 27. Reflective pool infrontof the 28. Fountain as an
Francisco Bay. Williams Square, Los Washington Monument acoustic screen.
(Laurence Nelson) Colinas, Texas. Robert linking vistas and joining the
Glen. sky. Washington D.C.

Experiencing Water With the Five

Senses 17
Inthe application of water indesign, an
understanding of the interaction of water with
other elements is mandatory. These elements
appeal to the five senses of human to experience
the drama of water inour visual, acoustic, olfac-
tory, tactile, and cognitive environments.
23

The Phenomenal Lens 4: Water And Light

One of the most prominent features of
water isthe play of light and shadow, or even color,
as water captures the light. As light reflects off
water, itcreates aunique shadow of ripples. Inthe
MIT chapel by Saarinen, a pool of water on the
outside edge of the building miraculously ani-
mates the building inthe interiorth rough windows.
This acts as an example of using water and its
reflection to complete the penetration of spaces.6
Water can also act as a mirror - a plane
that takes an object from a real space to a virtual
space. Reflecting pools applies this principle to
enhance the monumental quality of the building or
to reinforce the axis to establish avisual continuity.
27
Water Music: Water and Sound
The sound of water isone of the first few
stimuli to our acoustic sense as an infant. The
continuous sound of water inpublic spaces can
enliven the space. It can also act as an acoustic
screen from background noises. It becomes part
of an experiential sequence when one progresses
29. Touching 30. Touching the 31,32. Four Continents 33. Playground, 34. Water shoot in
the edge. lake. Geneva, Bridge, Japan. Site NewYorkCity. the lake as a
Fountain Switzerland. Architects. Behrend. landmark.
P1 a c e , (Taylor) Geneva.
Dallas

18o to the space. After establishing a distant visual

connection, one can then hear the sound of water
in increasing intensity through the progression.

Water and Smell

The olfactory sense of water gives an
29 identity to waterfronts. One can often smell the
harbor when approaching the city.

Touching Water: Water And Materials

The very fact that one will get wet is a
powerful experience. Some fountain and water
garden designs push the limits to provide an
option for people to enjoy water by getting wet.
Inaddition, materials share a close rela-
I~ tionship with water. As inawaterwall, glass allows
people to see water flow ina controlled but trans-
parent way. It allows light to penetrate into the
interior space through the refraction by water.
Stone, sand, and gravel submit to nature's pro-
cess. Water erodes, polishes, and deposits these
materials onto the shore.
3.1.

The Three-Dimensional Knit: Water-Sky-Land

Water, sky and land are the three main
components of the earth. When one views the city
from the water, the land divides the sky and from
the water. However, when viewed from the city,
the water and the sky merge into one at the horizon
1 I line. From the sky, water and land share an
adjoining line. Water, land, and sky knit with one
another in three dimensions. This is part of a
35. Kinetic water 36. Water, the sky, 37. The roof and the 38. Water 39. floating stones in
scultures. Georges and the city. waterwall. British sculpture. the pond in the
Pompidou Center (Daidalos) Pavilion, Seville. David von botoanical park in
Phatte & Tinguely. N i c h o Ia s Schlegell Hamburg.
(Higuchi) * Grimshaw.

public memory that most of us share when we

depart from the city and retum in aferry trip.

Notes:
1 Victoria Geibel, "The Allure of Water," Metropolis 7/8,
1987 p.44
2 Webster's I New Riverside University Dictionary
3 Definition of Phenomenology: The study of human
awareness in which considerations of objective reality
and purely subjective response are temporarily left out
of account. (Webster's Il New Riverside University
Dictionary)
4 Steven Holl, lecture in Boston Architectual Center, 1994.
 THE WATER'S EDGE:
THE IN-BETWEEN ZONE

20

The waterfront is the edge that divides

land and water. Historically, cities around the
world have increased theirfootprints by infilling the
water for more land. Insome cases, the water
disappears at the end of the process. This one-
sided expansion at the edge causes cities to
overlook the value of waterfront. Ipropose that we
should look at the edge from the other side of the
edge-the water.
The study of the edge condition between
land and water includes four aspects: the two-
sidedness of the edge, types of edge conditions,
the threshold at the edge, and crossing the edge.

Duality of the Edge

There are two sides to an edge. Webster's
II New Riverside University Dictionary defines
edge as: "adividing line or point of transition, the
line of intersection of two surfaces of asolid." The
water's edge isa dividing line between two zones:
land and water, water and sky and the two sides of
land as a river or harbor dissects acity. Itcan also
act as a point of transition for two spaces, a line of
exchange, a line or a plane of intersection that
separates and joins two elements.

Types of Edge Conditions

Besides being an in-between zone, an
edge can infact act as a zone with its own identity.
1. Land-water exchange at 2. The inbetween zone ofthe 3. Duality at the edge. 4. The overlapping edge.
theedge. Thein-between edge. (G. Cullen) (G. Cullen) (G. Cullen)
zone.
5. A separating 6. Sidney Opera 7. South Street 8. The skyline of 9. The edgejoining the land
edge. (G. House on the Seaport and the New York. (T. and the sky. Iseo. (G.
Cullen) skyline.. view of the city. Weinstein) Cullen)

The following are the types of edge condi- 21

tions that I explored:

A Distinct Line Of Separation

The waterfront acts as a city's boundary,
There are cities surrounded by water-islands, 5
cities with inner harbors or dissected by a river,
and lastly, cities with water on one edge-coastal
cities, etc. Harborfront, riverfront, seafront,
lakefront, canal edge, all have different bound-
aries.
The water's edge is a dividing line to
separate the viewer from the city or the dense built
form from the openness of the water. The skyline 6
then becomes every city's urban identity. The
containment of alarge body of water allows people
to look at a city or a building from a distance.
Driving along the expressway by the East River in
Manhattan, one perceives acontrast between the
openness of the river and the density of high-rises. 7
These simultaneous views of different characters
change constantly along the edge of the city. .

An Adjoining Line
The horizon line joins the sky and water.
In addition, the body of water on the surface of
earth links the continents while the edge sepa-
rates land from water. Therefore, a port city has a
dialectic identity of being individual and being a
part of a collective system.
 10. Exchange 11. Entering and 12. The inhabited 13. The inhabited edge. 14. The edge between the
at the city's exiting the edge. edge. Hamburg. Piazza San Marco. outside and the inside,
edge. (C. Venise (George Venice overlooking the water.
Rowe) Roldger) South Street Seatport,
New York.

A Line Of Exchange
22 The water's frontier isthe threshold where
goods and people from different parts of the world
enter and exit. It is a line or an interface of
exchange.
10
An Inhabited Edge
One can interpret the dimensions of the
water's edge and thus ina large scale the edge
can be inhabited. Buildings by the edge of canals
are often built up to the edge and let the base of the
building open up as arcades or so. Activities like
eating can happen at the edge.

The Changing Edge

Sometimes, the edge condition can be a
blurred separation or an ambiguous zone since
the edge changes constantly. The beach exempli-
fies this idea and the process of urban inf ill for land
made cities creates a changing shoreline.

Threshold At The Edge

The Concept of Threshold

-111
Threshold: An entrance or doorway. A-place or
point of beginning: OUTSET. The intensity below
which a mental or physical stimulus cannot be
perceived and can produce no response.'
Threshold is a point where one passes
from one zone to another, mostly without prior
knowledge of zone two when one is inzone one.
15. Water transcending 16-18. Piazza 19. Dualinhabitancy. 20. Floating lilies. 21. Floating /halfway-
inside-and outside San Marco. Williams Plaza. Hamburg park. submergedwalk.
space.. Hollyhock Venice. Los Colinas, Hamburg park,.
House, Frank Lloyd Texas. Robert
Wright. Glen

Iwould like to propose that this point between the

two zones can happen inspace, both inplan, in 23
section, or three dimensional; in time, and in
different scales ifItake the idea metaphorically. It
can be as small as a doorway, or as large as a
gateway into a city.
Itcan become azone of its own inacity's
scale. For example, Piazza San Marco being the
threshold of urban life before one enters the Grand
Canal. At adifferent scale, the two columns at the
entry of the Piazza also act as a threshold that
separates the waterfront from the smaller piazza.
These two columns frame the view from the piazza
into the vast open canal.

Duality of Inhabitation: Threshold of Water

Between Submergence, Emergence, and Float-
ing
Instudying the different kinds of thresh-
olds, the penetration, and the condition before and
after penetration, the cover of a National Geo-
graphic magazine illustrates the point by a picture 19
of a frog halfway submerged in water. The frog
inhabits the threshold between land and water. It
penetrates the two zones simultaneously. Afrog
can submerge in water and inhabit the under-
ground world. It can also float and swim inwater, 20
letting its body occupy half water and half sky; or
both water and sky. Itcan also emerge from the
water's surface, and move to the land. Lastly,
when it dries itself on land, it has completely
emerged from the water to the land. We can apply
 22. Skylights in Courtyard, 23-25. Waterwall insubterranean
National Gallery of Art. cafe. National Gallery of
I. M.Pei. (Leare) Art.

this analogy of conditions to architecture: a build-

24 ing or space that is located right on the edge, or
below the plane (insection), or an island city that
appears to be floating on water..... It is all about
penetrating the threshold insection (aplane) and
22 -in plan (a line).

Intersection In Three Dimensions: Threshold

InSection
A vertical flow of energy of water can
intersect the ground plane through a threshold in
section. Francisco Javier Biurrun has designed a
project called A Monument to Water, inthe Plaza
of Coronation, Estella, Navarra, Spain. He trans-
formed an urban parking lot into a pedestrian
space, with a monument to water on the site.'
Biurrun's theme is energy, and the linkage of the
well isan analogy to the excavation of the historic
site and ruins. The point of relevance lies inthe
fact that awell becomes athreshold forthe vertical
shoot of water, inthe z-dimension, that intersects
the horizontal plane inthe x-y dimension.
24
Threshold Between The Outside And The In-
side
At the building scale, the zone between
the outside and the inside calls for attention to
create drama in the transition. The threshold
between the two zones is the episode of the
sequence of movement. Inthe National Gallery of
Art, East Wing, Pei uses water to bring light from
the plaza level to the subterranean cafe level. The
26. Threshold looking 27. Corssing the edge. 28. Rialto Bridge. 29. Crossing. Museum
from the inside to the Braendesgrard Haven. Venice. Wharf. Tower Bridge,
outside. Museum of (Allen) London.
Literature. Himeji.
Tadao Ando. (Y.
Takase)

waterwall becomes acentral focus inthe space. It

transcends the inside to the outside through water 25
and light. The Gas Company Building in Los
Angeles employs strips of water to extend the
outside to the inside at the threshold - the lobby.
Tiny bars of water shoot under a piece of glass in
the interior, continuing the other half inthe outdoor
courtyard.

Crossing the edge

26
Urban Crossings
Urban crossings like bridges link two parts
of the city, generating a dialogue while they cross
the waters edge twice at a right angle. They also
act as a threshold for water and boats to pass
undemeath. They spatially divide an outer part of
water and claim the inner part. Often they also
become iconographic landmarks that are part of a
sequence to the city center. Since they span over
27*
the water, they have arelationship with the sky, the
land, and the water, with a spatial weave of differ-
ent layers inthe x-, y-, z-axes. (x-axis: land to
water to land, y-axis: waterto crossing to water, z-
axis: water to crossing to sky)
Ponte Vecchio and Rialto Bridge are both
built up and iihabited on either sides. This creates
a sense of compression and subsequent release
when the view opens up inthe middle of the river.
Other bridges take the form of a simple line that 29
merges with the openness of the river they span. 28
30. Duality of an 31, 32. Building 33. Tower 34. Water as 35. Abridgeand 36.37. Buildings
edge. M. of edges by the Bridge, the in- an edge of a and canal
Literature. cana London between pl a z a . e dge s.
Ando. (Y. Venice. zone. Venice. Venice.
Takase)

Inconclusion, my investigation is based

on looking at the critical moments at the water's
edge and how that edge is constituted and pen-
etrated. Itrelates to the study of movement pattern
and the entry sequence through the threshold.

NOTES:
I Webster's 11New Riverside University Dictionary
2 Sites 25 pp. 140-143
38.Thresholdand 39. Crossing 40. Threshold of 41. Ponte 42. Rambling River- 44. Urban 45. Urban
Crossing. by the the bridge. Vecchio. -the Charles ina Crossing. landmark:
Venice. ed ge . Amsterdam. Florence. typical pattern at wate shoot
Venice. Maple Swamp. in lake.
(Laurence Hamburg.
Lowry)
 RECLAIMING THE WATER'S
EEDGE FOR PEOPLE

28 _____

Water As A Form Giver of Cities

Human beings have coexisted with the
forces of nature for centuries during which time the
relationship between water and cities has evolved.
Although floods still occur, cities still make ties to
their water edges since people have an inherent
fondness of water.
The need for transportation and the de-
velopment of harbors led to the formation of the
waterfront inport cities. The river's natural course
similarly shaped cities with riverfronts. Cities with
extensive canal systems, like San Antonio and
Hamburg, also have their particular forms. Cities
.. that orient to their plan to their water edges include
Chicago, Washington, DC, Sylvanna, etc.
Amsterdam and Venice are unique cases. There
are also small American beach towns like Venice,
Santa Monica and San Diego on the Califomia
coastline.
2

After The Working Waterfront

Industrial development often occurred at
the water's edge. When the wharf era passed by,
the edges of port cities have often been left with
warehouses and factories. Both harbors and
riverfronts have suffered from the same problem
of neglect and lack of development. Cities need to
realize that the water's edge isinfact agreat asset.
3 By reestablishing the connection to the water's
1. Peopleatthe water's 2. H adrian 3.epieredge. 4.LuisBarragon 5. Entry at the 6. Entry at the
edge. The ground Villa. (G.Cullen) House. British Museum of
is animated by the (Wlyson) (RVC) Pavillion, Literature.
water that came in Seville. imeji. Tadao
athightide. (RVC) (Nicholas Ando. (Y.
Grimshaw) Takase)

edge from the center, or reclaiming a lost asset, a

port city may gain back its lost identity. 29

Between Public Memory and Future Promises

Some cities have started to develop their
riverfronts into parks and their harbors into com-
mercial developments. In Tokyo, although the
river has basically dried up, the districts developed
along the river still flourish inthe absence of the
water. The flow of people now substitutes the flow
of water. 1 4

Building Form and Public Space on the Edge

Acity should conserve some of its water's
edge for developing active open spaces and pro-
tecting it from inaccessible privatization. View
corridors should lead to the water where the public
can easily gain access to the edge from the city.
In cities such as Boston, development
has begun on the wharves and has proved to be
successful. However, buildings constructed on
wharves such as Rowe's Wharf, tend to take up
the whole footprint of the wharf, leaving only a
5
pedestrian pathway to each side. Inthe design
explorations, set out inthis thesis, a new scenario
for Boston is created - an urban courtyard that
stages the drama of water-a place for people to .
experience the water's edge, and to touch water. ....
7. Water as 8.. Apadding 11. Waterfront 12. Ferry 1 0 , 1 3 . 14. Music Hall 15. Baltimore
t h e pool in restaurant in Terminal, Anserdam by the Inne r
fanmml Amstadam. Rotterdam. Hamburg. buildings. can aI. Harbor,
lens. (Allen) Amsterdam. including
9. Water park Aquarium
(RVC) and park.

Summary of Hypothesis
30. I believe that designs that relate to water should
strive to heighten the experience for human en-
counter with water and the passage of the edge
through the threshold. One should draw themes
from the phenomenon of water, the dialectic rela-
7 tionship between land and water, the dividing line
of the horizon, and the critical moment of submer-
gence and emergence. One can design spaces
that are analogous to the dual habitat of a frog,
which can either live under water or on land. The
dual and simultaneous occurrence at the edge
holds great interest for design.

NOTES:
1 Shun Kanda, colloquium at M.I.T., 1993.

9 10 11 12

77.,..
mWM

PRECEDENTS

SYNTHESIS
 1. Facing the Water's Edge. (Allen)
2. The deck at South Street Seaport.

3. Lake front in Geneva. The stepped - e

section and the spatial layering. PRECEDENTS

32
Ihave selected the following examples to show
how water, inthe architectural, landscape, and urban
design environment, takes on a distinct role in the
projects. Ineach case, the presence of water isso vital
4 that f one takes the water away, the project loses its
impact. Some projects also show sensitivity in the
. . ......-- setting of buildings intheir landscape.

Rotterdam
The Linearity Of The Waterfront And The Sequence
To The Center
5 The linear characteristic of waterfronts some-
times implies that there are two endpoints which are
mostly terminated in a poor and undefined way. At-
tempts to bridge the line with the city fabric can activate
the edge by providing multiple points of entry.
The largest port inthe world, Rotterdam isa city
that was almost completely rebuilt after the World War 11.
Itthus has acoherent architectural style. The intention
to establish arelationship with the water starts to show
6
inthe sequence from downtown to the waterfront. The
Marine Museum and its form constitute the first gateway
from the city. Subsequently, interesting contemporary
building forms and programs like a performing arts
theater, the Rotterdam Waterstad, and a small marine
factory line the main street inasequence that ends at the
harbor. The buildings form a continuous fabric on one
side and break into a series of interesting buildings on
4-7. Sequence 8. Waterfront art 9. Cable- 10 - 17 , 19 . 18 Old 20. Autonomous
f ro m stayed Sequencein warehouse form in the
downtown bridge in Waterfront, district in h a r b o r.
to the Rotterdam. Rotterdam. the harbor, Rotterdam
waterfront. Rotterdam
Roterdam.

the other where acanal comes in.The street ends with

an apartment building and a hotel which together mark
the end as a second gateway.
This isthen aligned with a small steel bridge
that echoes the gateway asmall distance away. Itshows
sensitivity towards the city scale and the harbor scale
and the transition between the two happens on the
waterfront. Many works of public art celebrating the
themes of water are located across the length of the
waterfront whose entire landscape treatment invites
people to come to the edge. The linear edge ends with
abeautiful red cable-stayed bridge which iswidely used
by both pedestrians and vehicles. At the other far end,
the working harbor, people are also drawn tothe edge by
apark system and auniversity nearby. Rotterdam isan
example of an integrated design at all scales. 10

12

19 20
21. The 22. Dogana da Mar and 23. Aerial view of 25, 29. 26. Doge's Palace.
enclosure Sam Giorgio the enclosed Dogana Venice. 1857
of water by Maggioreat the tip of water. da Mar showing the traffic
the three theirsiteto command a n d at the canals.
mnanras. the space around Giudecca.
them.

Venice

Enclosing Water inthe Making of Urban Space

Although Venice isaunique case, we can still
extract some of its relationships with water as principles.
With the Grand Canal acting as the artery of the
city, Piazza San Marco acts as the landmark and the
majorglaza oriented along the water.
At the city's scale, the Grand Canal isaprimary
component inthe making of the space enclosed by the
monuments St. Mark's Cathedral, Dogana da Mar at the
21 tip of Giudecca, and San Giorgio Maggiore.
At the next scale down, Piazza San Marco, the
primary political and religious center, acts as the thresh-
_ 2_;_

old of the canal from which people enter Venice. The

IM
piazza is oriented to greet the entry from the water's
edge.

23 24
24, 28. The 27.SanGiorgio 30. Piazza San 31. The flooded 32. Piazza near the 33-37. Details of
columns take Maggiore. Marco and Piazza San h os p i t o I, Venice.
the thrust of St. Mark's Marcoathigh showing the
the river into Cathedral. t i d e . edge of water.
the plaza. Sketch (Egtkosak)

35

~!

32

34 35 37
 38-46. The Water Garden,
Fort Worth, Texas.
Philip Johnson

The Water Gardens, Fort Worth,TX, Philip

36 Johnson
The Kinetics Of Water inthe Making of an Urban
Waterfall

As a four-block urban renewal project, the

Water Garden istruly a monumental urban waterfall. It
has three pools of water that bear different characters: a
38 39
roaring waterfall, a celebratory fountain, and acontem-
plative pool.
The experience of the waterfall istruly stun-
ning. The immense body of water rushes down the spiral
steps that descend to the bottom more than thirty feet
below ground. This power iscontrasted by the droplets
that make up aquiet sheet of water that hangs down the
wall like a roll of silk. Avisitor can touch the water inthe
trough in a roughly three-foot high wall that leads one
down into the pit. There exists, nonetheless, acertain
invisible threshold inthe spiral that one passes and feels
the roaring water seemingly falling onto you.
After the roaring experience one moves on to
a sequence leading to the contemplative pool after
passing through a celebratory fountain. Overall, the
garden explores water's mobile and static states and
42
their meaning.
47, 48. The Falling Water.
Frank lUoyd Wright.
(Paolo Fumagali)

Falling Water And Raul Bailleres House,

Frank Lloyd Wright

The Changing Context: Water InIts Natural Setting

Victoria Geibel points out that Falling water, as

its name suggests, was Wright's most fully realized built
architectural homage to water. On the other hand, riIEE
T7 I q
Professor Kathryn Smith of the Southern Califomia
Institute of Architecture argues that many other schemes
followed that revealed the architect's ongoing refine- 47
mentof water's myriad effects, both practical andfantastic.
InWright's 1952 plan for the Raul Bailleres House in 1AI -I

Acapulco, which un- The institute will relate forever to the

fortunately was ocean. There isnothing to block the
view between the institute and the
never built, he suc- horizon, provided for by planning the ,. .....
. . .
ceeded in creating institute on the edge of amesa. The
feeling was that the institute should be
an architectural away from the mainstream for the
4
composition where purpose of contemplation."

building and water weave in and out of one another,

being inseparable partners in a sarabande of forms.
Wright also used the approach to the house, intended for
a cliff-side site overlooking Acapulco Bay, to announce
the intended union.
InFalling Water, as Prof. Smith explains, the
drive to the house "led through luxurious planting to a
fountain that spilled water down several tiers of falls,
continuing as a stream, weaving and intersecting with
the drive." Wright planned bridges to periodically cross
the stream "where water again forms apool, narrows as
itapproaches the house, where itbranches off inseveral
directions. Architecturally, itmerges inthe house as a
49-51. Track of water drops
from the forecourt to the
fountain at the end of the
axis. Louis Kahn.

cooling system and as a swimming pool, which reaches

the edgeto cascade down tothe bay. At the centerof the
house, Wright created a fireplace mass that would
double as an air-cooling system for the tropical climate.
Water was brought inand up the shaft to drop as spray
M
on the rocks." 2

Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, Louis

49 Kahn (1964-66)

Water And Site Relationships: Transcending A

Building From ALocal Site To ALarger Context
"7hinkinterms of light, air, the sounds that you hear, water, the
green world, the animal world.3
"Louis Kahn was a master in manipulating
50 water in architecture for reasons both practical and
metaphysical." Inthe Salk Institute, Kahn tried to com-
municate "the sense of man" through the meeting of
materials, the organization of the plan, and the presence
of water. He wanted to create an institute that would sit
"at the juncture of the land, sea, and sky."
On the east-west axis the two concrete labora-
tory buildings face onto a concrete courtyard marked
only by a line of water imbedded at grade. Originating in
asmall enclosure at the eastern end of the courtyard, the
water feeds through the two sides of the elevated square
enclosure, and comes together intwo gentle arches that
fold together like bird's wings, before dropping into the
shallow, still pool. Once inside the pool, the water moves
calmly westward through the narrow channel into an-
52-54. Time's I&II,
Nakagyo, Kyoto,
Tadao Ando.
(Ando)

other larger enclosure, perpendicular to the channel,

that marks adrop inelevation. Only momentarily captive 39
within this pool enclosure, the water then tumbles down
through an opening on the pool's western end, falling
down into one, and then into another separate pool.
When seen from the eastern end of the courtyard, the
waterappears to drop off the courtyard, overthe cliff, and
intotheocean. Reflecting on the institute's visual power,
Dr. Salk expressed the following words: 52
"The institute will relate forever to the ocean. There
is nothing to block the view between the institute and
the horizon, provided for by planning the insitute on
the edge of a mesa. The feeling was that the
institute should be away from the mainstream for the
and *"*..

purpose of contemplation. "5

Water
were to .
weave in
Time's I & , Nakagyo, Kyoto,out
Tadao Ando (1983-84, 1986-) of one
another, 53 , . ....

Interplay of River and Building being

The relationship of people to the river remains insepa-
the theme of the Time's IProject, and Ando attempted to rable
draw the landscape into the building. "The building partners
relates to the river invarious ways, creating complex
spaces. The first level isnearly at water level. The small sarabande
plaza at this level isinthe shape of asixth of acircle and of
iscontinuous with the river. The stairway descending to forms.2
this plaza gives the observer aforetaste of the interplay
of the river with the building." Itbecomes the dividing line
that separates the building with the river and yet that is
 55-58. Chapel on the Water,
Tomamu, Hokkaido.
Tadao Ando.
Transcendence of space.

the line that one can penetrate and transverse. "In

40 walking between the spatially distinct shops, one can
come suddenly upon aview of the sky or new vistas of
the river. Places open to the river and places open to the
sky are scattered throughout the building."
Inthe Time's Il Project, Ando extended the
plaza along the river. The three-level volume of the
building isdropped at the plaza level to the water's edge.
1 II II The section shows the building submerged below the
5
plane of the street level down to the water.

Chapel on the Water, Tomamu, Hokkaido,

Tadao Ando (1985-88)

Transcendence From Concrete To The Dematerial-

56 ized Spiritual Realm.
The chapel isbuilt right on apond's edge on top
of asmall hill. An L-shaped wall partially wraps around
the building. The building projects into the pond and
immerses inthe water. Italso steps down insection and
turns into planes of concrete that go under the water and
creates aseries of descending planes of water, quiet and
yet the motion happens at the line where the different
planes of water isexchanged. Moreover, through the
open structural frame at the end of the building, next to
the outdoor worship space, people view across standing
on the plane of the water, metaphorically analogous to
Jesus walking on water, and transcending the building
into adematerialized realm with spiritual presence.
59, 61. Entry through 60. Plan and sections.
penetration. Temple of
water. Tadao Ando.

Temple of Water, Tadao Ando

Penetration of the Water's Edge

The simple geometry of the building heightens
one experience: the experience of being ledthrough the
plane of water. The dish-like section of the building is
penetrated by a stair which takes people to the temple
below. The atmosphere completely changes as the
blue-light-filled space evokes one's sense of holiness.
As an extension of a nearby temple, Ando
reinvents the use of the lily pond as the entry plane rather
than using alandscape element that traditionally accom-
panies temple landscape.

Notes:
1 Victoria Geibel, "The Allure of Water," Metropolis 7/8,1987 p.43
2* Metropolis 7/8 1987, p.43
3 What Will Be Has Always Been: The Words of Louis 1.Kahn,
edited by Richard Saul Wurman.
4 Geibel, p.44 *1
 1. Photograph of asection
of a wave.
2.Wave Genenator, Museum
of Science.
3. Beach. (Brooks Vaughn, SYNTHESIS
National Park Service)

42

THE CONCEPT

Through the process of synthesis inareal site,

Ihope to illustrate my ideas about water and design and
..
put my hypothesis to atest. The sucessive reclamation
of the site calls for the expression ot the changing edge.
As opposed to infilling water for more land, I make a
theoretical proposition to develop the site by taking out
some land to reclaim the water.
The main idea lies increating astage for water
to perform, telling the narrative of its own autobiography
and the story of the Charles River. Itcan serve as anew
paradigm for waterfront development: an urban court-
yard, giving anew identity and order to the site.
By devoting half of the site to a water garden
and using buildings to enclose aclaimed zone of water,
I can provide enjoyment for people at the riverfront. I
have set out to create an integrated architecture and
landscape design that offers choices and dramatic expe-.
riences for people to meet water at its edge at multiple
scales with forms derived from the research already
described.
4. View of Beacon Hill and 5. Cover of "New Boston" 6. Rowes Wharf. 7. Waterfront along Atlantic
State House across showing waterfront Ave. (Kanda)
Charles River. (Kanda) gateway.

8. Boston Harbor (1950s) 9. Quincy Market. Old 10. Long Wharf, Aquarium
(Kanda) Boston Harbor. (Kanda) (Kanda)

THE SITE

Boston As A Context
Boston isaport city that grew insize by infilling
its edges. The reclamation of the coastline almost tripled
the size of the original Shawmut Peninsula.
The Boston Harbor joins the Charles River in .

the north and the Fort Point Channel inthe south. Inthe
past, Boston has had severalsucessf ulwaterfront projects
such as the Faneuil Hall urban renewal plan, the trans-
formation of the embankment to the Esplanade, the ........

on-going rehabilitation process of the Fort Point Channel 5

area, Rowes Wharf and the south Boston wharf develop-
ment, and the future Fan Pier master plan. Therefore
Boston offers a set of rich references.

9 10
 11. Museum of 12. Inlet of water 13. Existing site as a 14. Reflections of 15. Existing site as a
Science. next to the suffering from light on warehouse
site. lack of attention. the viaduct. district.

Generalities Of The Site

Similar to many riverfronts, things left on the
edge of this part of the Charles River are among others,
highways, warehouses, undeveloped areas like the park-
ing space facing the splendid view of the water and the
disappearing natural habitat of marine life.
Inmy design I try to take advantage of the
attributes of the waterfront with its richness insensory
experiences. The design will address the dimension of
natural elements such as the water shimmering insun-
light, and its shape and figure, the sky and the wind.

Immediate Context
The site is located between the Museum of
Science and Highway 93. The project hopefully gives
meaning to the larger context while revitalizing use inthe
abandoned site. The immediate surroundings have the
following elements:
- The Museum of Science on the Craigine Bridge with
the subway
- The termination of the Esplanade to the wast of the
bridge and the shell
- Anew Charles River Crossing (Non-River-Tunnel
design) of the new Central Artery/Tunnel Project,
with new highway bridges and acable-stayed bridge
as a monumental gateway into the city from the
north
- The proximity to Charlestown and the distant re-
sponse to its topography and to the Bunker Hill
Monument

15
16. Urbanization 17. Viaduct and 18. West End inthe 19, 21. Charles River 20. Transparency, East
process of the Museum 80's. (Kanda) andtheExplanade. Cambridge viaduct.
Bo s t o n . of Science.. Small lock at the
(Kanda) righL(Maycock)

1890

17
 22. Charles River and the 23. Rowes Wharf. (Kanda) 24. Bird's Eye View of the 25. The wharves, Boston.
Esplanade (Kanda) Navy Yard. (Landslides) (Kanda)

The Site as the In-Between Zone

46

Between the River and the Harbor

The site, referred to as the "lost mile," islocated
between the Charles River and the Boston Harbor. It
acts as athreshold into the inner river. Informal terms,
the river isone continuous strip while the wharves inthe
harbors are indented with edges.
22

Between Cambridge, Boston, and Charlestown

. .Though administrativelybelongingto EastCam-
bridge, the site sits between three precints: East
Cambridge inthe southwest, Boston inthe southeast
and Charlestown inthe north.

23 Between the Old Charles River Dam and the New

Lock System
The site isnext to the Old Charles River Dam
on which the Museum of Science sits. Water flows
through the viaduct. Adam separates and control two
levels of water. Itacts as athreshold of the level change,
and also divides an inner and outer zone of water. In
24 section, itreads as a separating plane with two lines of
. water level infront and behind.

Between Recreational and Industrial

While the Charles River is historically recre-
ational, the harbor and the wharves are industrial. As it
exists, the site itself isdevoted to industrial use. The
juxtaposition creates additional interest.
26. Between theharbor 27-29.Site attributes 30. View down from 31. View from the
and the river. including wildlife. the harbor. Charles River.
(Kanda)

28

29

f4
gi.§
.........
Mum.
WIN
. . .....
. ....
. rMA
R. xz
32-37. Ordered Complexity:
Repeating structures on
the site.

Ordered Complexity: The Genius Loci of the

Site

Industrial Ad-hoc Character

Boston Sand and Gravel, historical railroad
32 yards and existing warehouses constitute the elements
32
on the site.
The site isa graphical composition full of ob-
jects with repeating elements, like a tracery of lines,
grids, coming inall directions, each having an orderof its
own, coming from adifferent time, orchestrating into a
collage of systems. These objects consist of the rhyth-
mic arches of the viaduct, the open frames of the steel
highway piers, the layered decks of the elevated high-
way, the massive concrete support of the commuter rail,
the wooden piers inthe water, the ongoing pitches of the
warehouses. Autonomous and sometimes monumen-
tal, yet full of detail, these objects make up a scene of
34 ordered complexity.

Hearing the Site

Sounds in the site include that of the birds
resting on the frozen surface of the water inwinter, the
sound of the Metro rail at the museum, and an occasional
35 landing of a helicopter inthe parking lot.

37
38. EastCambridgerailroad 39-40. Commuter Rail line 42. Richeisstune Wharf, 43. Wamen Bridges and
track marks. (Maycock) (Maycock). Lechmere Canal. 1900. Boston and Manni yards,
(Maycock) looking toward East
41. Existing site. Cambridge. 1911.
(Maycock)

39 40 41

-i4
N

42 r
 44. Context model showing 45. View of Bunker Hill .46. Museum of Science and 47 Visual continuity to
urban design. monument from the the viaduct (to be and from site.
museum and form the penetrated.)
site.

URBAN STRATEGIES
50
My urban strategies include establishing conti-
nuities of the the context inthe following categories:

Physical Continuity
- Connect the project to the city fabric and centers of
activities.
- Connect to existing infrastructure.
- Connect by inventing an urban crossing -a pedes-
trian bridge-to link the project to the opening inthe
44 Museum of Science.

Programmatic Continuity
- Change the whole site into a cultural complex by
gathering the two museums with amixed-use build-
ing on the edge to generate activity.
- The buildings thus form the edges of an urban
courtyard to enclose the water garden and the inlet
of water as a claimed zone.

Historical Continuity
- Connect to the past of the site by expressing the
46 changing shoreline and the seawall.
- Invoke public memory of the railroad yards, the
bringing of cargoes into the warehouses, the trans-
X. portation of logs of wood down the stream of river.

Visual Continuity
- Establish a distant dialogue with the Bunker Hill
Monument which can be experienced from crossing
the viaduct to the site.
48. Where the city meets the water. 49. Plan of Boston (Kanda)

50. Landmarks and places 51. Urban fabric.

52. Park / Open Spaces 53. Access.

48 49

wiIL-~

1~4 ~
54. View from the 55. The bridge at the 56. Viewofthe Bunker 57. Park at the end of 59. The transitional zone
Museum of Old Charles River Hill Monument the Esplanade. between in and
Science into the Dam. from the Museum outside. Piazza Sam
Charles River. of Science. Marco.
58. Fountain Place,
Dallas. (Higuchi)

Provide views towards the harbor and the river from

the site.

Continuity of The Making of Thresholds

- The site may become agateway and anew show-
case for Boston with the construction of the Central
Artery/Tunnel Project and the development pro-
posed by the Metropolitan District Commission.
The project can take advantage of this context while
creating local thresholds into and out of the project
premise.

Continuity of the Esplanade

- Continue the existing Esplanade on the Charles
River on both sides of the site with active recreation.
- Develop the site as the head of the Esplanade.
- Explore the linearity of the waterfront and its role as
aconnector of events.

Continuity of the Open Space System

- Connect the Water Garden as part of the open
_"R space system, to fill inthis missing piece of the
.. ..
development from the Emerald Necklace to the
Boston Gardens.
60. The site. Lower Basin 61. Sketch plan of reservation upon 62. View of the site from
aerial View c. 1947, the banks of the Charles River Boston.
showing Victory Gardens Olmstead. Olmstead,Jr.
along Cambridge 1894.(Kanda)
Parkway. (Maycock)
 63. Perspective view on 6 4 - 6 6 . M o d el a n d
approaching to the perspectives of the new
project. Charles River Crossing
proposed by the MDC

Besides establishing continuities, there are the

54 following strategies:

The Making Of Fabric

Using the site to end the axis from the northwest
after drafting a new masterplan for the site (by
incorporating principles from Mortensen's "A Vision
For Boston" for the context.)
By orienting the short side of buildings to the water-
front, the blocks open up to the water with each
street terminating with aview. The double-loaded
63 .streets can protect people from the wind while one
should feel the relief of openness to the water at the
end of the axis.

Designing With Perspectives

Setting the bar building off axis so that the
pedestrian and the cars coming from the top of the site
.will ...........
........ be directed to open up to the water garden and the
new museum at the end of the axis.

64 Accommodating the Highway As Part of the Modern

Urban Landscape
Rather than turning its back to the highway, the
project seeks to accomodate the highway on the side.
 city's
site from the
67-69. The

67-69. The site from the city's

edge and the water's edge.

........... 5 5
70. Dancing water, Fort 71. Water sculpture, Church 72. Fountain, Lawerence 73. Waterandstructure. Fort
Worth,Texas Plaza, Berlin(Higuchi) Halprin (Higuchi) Point Channel.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Integration of Architecture and the Modern Land-

scape
The design tries to knit the building and the
landscape together by reflecting the plan of the land-
70
scape inthree-dimensional form inthe building through
the walls of the open gallery and the stepped section of
the assembly hall.

Crossing the Edge

By designing the movement across the zones
through the threshold, crossing the edge may be a
dramatic experience through water.

Designing With Water

Manipulating The Nature Of Water
By understanding the nature of water one can
express the different forms of water such as:
- The Moving Body Of Water
-the river. This ismainly exhibitied inthe water
garden.
The Contained Body Of Water
and its vessel. This is expressed inthe museum
building
- The Solid State Of Water
* The Droplet
Structural Expression Of Building On Water
- Anchors And Ties
- Floating Masses
- Floating Barges
- Pier Structures
- Walls
- Roof Forms
74. Plan view of model. 75. Spashing water 76. The droplet level 77. Hydraulic dredge filling
(RVC) Cambridge wetlands,
ove the seawall. 1898.
M.I.T. Museum)
 78-81. Bridge structures on
the site.

58 ......
DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Juxtapose Geometries
One of the principles of Le Corbusier's archi-
tecture isto set up acurvilinear form against a straight
78 line to juxtapose the geometries. Ican apply the principle
inthe following way:
- The bar building versus the curved ramp of the
highway
- The curve of the seawall versus the straight edge of
the museum
79 * *The undulating edge of the wave-like plaza versus
the building

Express Dialectic Relationships

Temporal Versus Permanent
- The temporal aspect of the site can be seen inthe
changing shoreline due to historical infill, and the
80
fluid, moldable, ever-changing quality of water.
- The existing Central Artery Expressway, will be
demolished and replaced by a new one. What
seems to be new will become old soon. What then,
istemporary, and what ispermanent?

81 Establish Active Versus Passive

- Establish asystem of active and passive designs for
using water, just as asolar-energy building inwhich
there isan active and passive way of using the sun.
- This project will mainly take on apassive design for
water, intending to set astage for people to see the
otherwise unseen properties of water.
82. The joint between the 83. Spanning piersturucture. 84. Boston piers. (Kanda) 85. Unloading colliers.
Museum and the Water London. Broad Canal, 1899.
Garden. (Maycock)

82

84 85
86-88. Transitions at the 89. Layers are established 90. Depth of spaces is
PonteVecchio, Florence. through a window in established through
Rotterdam. garden gate view in
Venice.

Inthe waterwall and water shoots, however, there

will be an active experience to highlight the ceremo-
nial aspects of water.

Express the Penetration and Transition of Spatial

Zones
Between different spatial zones such as the
inside and the outside, there should either be atransition
or adramatic penetration. Inthe project, Iwill provide the
dialectic experience of being above a vast body of
natural, uncontained water (inthe water garden) and
being below or next to acontained body of water (inthe
in-between zone of the museum and the garden).

Design a Memorable Entry Sequence

e Allow multiple entry options with a distinct experi-
ence ineach case.

Make connections to near and far

- Establish near connections with the bar building,
and distant visual connection to the city's edge.

Design An Experiential Movement Pattern

- Provide opportunities to go up, down, around, and
through 1

Establish Layers
- Provied multiple layers to the design, just as there
'09 3 lit A& 41121
are different layers ina wave section and inthe
depth of water.
91. Connections with the 92. Whaves in Boston 93. Lechmere Canal at half
context (Process) tide, 1902.
 94.Sunlightthroughwindow. 95. Connect the horizontal 96. Interactionoflight 97. The drama of light.
Marine Museum, ground plane with the and water. South National Gallery of Art
Rotterdam. vertical dimension of the Street Seaport. (Higuchi)
sky. Hamburg.
98. Project inthe morning light. 99. Project at noon time. 100.Project in the late
afternoon.

62 Connect Spaces Horizontally And Vertically

- Create the interplay of plan and section by exchang-
ing and connecting spaces horizontally and vertically.

Orient Spaces For Sunlight

e Orient the building to face southeast to sunlight.
- Orient the water to face southwest so that the lower
sun can penetrate deep into the space through the
94
running water, creating ripple-like shadows at the
entry.

95 96 97
101.Axonometric view of 102. Canal opening in 103. Lock in Hamburg 104. Bridging the edge.
model. Amsterdam. harbor. Hamburg.

105. Bridge. Rodring Perez 106. Structural complexity

de ArceandVagoConde
(Sites)

102 103

I 3~4i ____ j
 107. "Play sculpture"--spiral 108. Water sculpture. 109.The changing
pipe with watersprouting (Higuchi) edge of the water
forth in the middle. garden.
(Water Space Today)

THE PROGRAM:
64 A Contemporary Museum of Art and Water
Garden

The Elements
The Water Garden
107 Activities
The water garden serves a aplace for people to seek
refuge from the crowded city during lunch hour, to rest
and read on the steps after work, and forfamilies to come
and picnic on weekends. Children can learn about water
through hands-on experimentations inthe museum and
inthe garden. The garden itself will exhibit the nature of
water and will educate and serve its different user groups
108 inavariety of ways.

The Changing Edge Phenomenon

Usually an edge isastraight line insection and
one cannot see the changes inwater level from a plan
view. By disintegrating the straight edge and sloping it,
an increase inwater level will mean aconstantly chang-
ing shoreline. The different levels of the plaza can thus
exhibit the level changes of water due to the tide and
precipitation. Itadds delight tothe visitor who will find the
water come up to adifferent level of the plaza, meaning
changing accessibility, at different times of the day and
of the year.

The Form: DisciplinedComplexity

Water's form changes, and is thus hard to
capture. I thus represent the plan form of the water
100
garden inits true way-keeping i to the conceptual level
110. Photograph of a wave section.
Reverse of a wave section.
Outline of a wave section.
Reversed outline of a wave section.
111. An edge broken down 112. Dynamic water sculpture. 113. Water sculputure.
into stepped sections. Office Building Plaza. (Higuchi)
Borrowed landscapein a David von Schlegelt.
distance.

by showing a snapshot of a wave at one particular

instance through a glass window inthe exhibit inthe
Museum of Science.
I call the process inthe making of the wave
disciplined complexity which includesthefollowing steps:
Capturing the wave-using asection of awatertoform
..the plan of the garden
Disciplining the wave - approximate the form into
.1 level changes which stops at each interval of the four
urban piers.
Geometricizing the wave - making straight walls to
oppose the untamed form of the water to express human
intervention.
Inhabiting the wave - making seating, spray walls,
steps, tree-lined walks, etc. for people to use the garden.

Materials
Arange of textures will pave the water garden.
Afine material like slate and polished concrete will go
112 near the building edge while rougher and more rustic
materials will form the lower levels. Nature will then do
its part inpolishing the surfaces through time. Some use
of marble will accent important pedestrian areas whereas
softer materials can include flower beds and grass.
Lastly, wood planks and wood piers will appear on the
edge.

Water Sculptures
Water sculptures will further exhibit the tidal
change and other properties of water such as buoyancy.
For example, calibrated poles inserted inpotholes will be
~pushed
11' up to adifferent height when water fills up the
114-117. Materials in the 118. Planof the watergarden. 119. Rock and water garden. 120. The cuvalinear form of
water garden. (RVC) Harvard University. the river. Painting,
(Higuchi) Youngja Oh.

11
III

~K~3A~* Il
Il
||I
IIl

116

117
 121. The bar building and 122. The waveformsections 123. The dialogue 124. Apier structure.
the piers intersecting inthe pendulum. between the
through it. towers,

hole each time. While some pools at the lower plazas will
68 .constantly be filled, some tracks and pools will only be
filled when the water level reaches acertain threshold. In
other times it may empty out when the water retrieves.
Thus the variation indisplaying the tidal difference will be
limited only to the imagination of the artists who are
invited to make the periodic installation.

The Bar Building and The Four Piers

The bar building and the four arms that extend
121 on both sides set up an orthogonalframeworkfor the site.
The four arms correspond to the piers inthe viaduct, thus
establishing a rhythm from the existing order. The fluid
curve of the plaza will then become subordinate to the
EM framework.
122 The bar building isamixed-use building lifted
on pilotis to open up the view on both sides. The ground
floor will be open with retail shops at some unobstructing
locations. Activities and markets can spill out into the
plaza to activate the edge and provide for a reason for
visitors to come to the site for lunch and other purposes.
On the top floors can be offices, artist lofts and light
industries. Clubs and restaurants and special user
123 groups can occupy the towers on the piers.
The building act as apendulum of which four
piers act upon.
On the water side, the piers will penetrate the
building, span across the plaza, and take the visitor onto
four different experiences on the water:
1. On the datum level
2. Under water experience with the eye level on the
"Ihorizon"" ""
125. The bar building, the 126.Building edge. 127. Piersanddocks. 128. Highupattheedge.
four towers, and the Rotterdam. Hamburg.
piers, responding to the
viaduct arches. 129. Descending. Rotterdam 130.'Thefourpiersincontext. 131.The towers shooting
from the openings.
132. Climbing high. (Allen) 133. Hiding low. (Allen) 134. From high to 135. The paivilions at
low. the city's edge
submergedin water.

3. High-up- in-the-air experience, looking down to the

70 plaza and the other piers
4. Acontinuous pier that ramps down into the water.
Only the water level can determine the end of the
walk.
13 The movement pattern involves going down
under waterto rising up above the ground. Insection, the
four arms will form four slopes which take the form of four
progressing waves which one can see from the elevation
and the superimposed sections.
The building itself acts as an urban screen or
backdrop. The curtain wall curves inaconcave manner
133 to encompass the thrust of the sky and sweeps itto the
ground. The regularity of the plan isexchanged for the
play inthe section. The section responds to the slope of
the four ramps and thus creates a dialogue with the
context while the arms perform differently while they
stretch out to the water.
The four corresponding towers on the other
side of the pendulum are oriented with the long side
facing the sun and the short way facing the highway
134 ramp. Inaddition, people from leisure boats can also
access through the towers' side of the building and
traverse across to the water garden side, thus crossing
the line between the wet zone to the dry land zone.

At the City's Edge

Awater plaza, apavilion, and aperforming arts
theater form the edge of the city to meet the zone be ong
to the water.
136, 138. The Towers with 137. Section showing piers 139. The piers reaching out
different sections. at different levels. to the water.
 I-

140. Water above glass-top 141. Museum crossing. 142. Acad e mi a

arcade. (RVC) Bridge, Venice.

Program for the Contemporary Museum of

Art for Water
Why a Museum?
Ihave chosen the program as an educational
institute for people to appreciate the art of water and the
history of the river.
Ihave developed the program from the experi-
ential point of view; itcan facilitate my explorations inthe
following manner:
The different kinds of spaces for exhibition
140 such as volumetric galleries and walls,
The experiential movement pattern through
one space to another, and
The lighting requirements for different kinds of
exhibits such as sculpture, painting, floating sculp-
ture.

tN Entry Sequence
Entry From the Garden
Below a transparent water tray which drops
water onto the next linear pool, before concluding to the
water wall.
Lobby
Upon entering, the visitor will see the shadow
141 of water on the curved ceiling which is lowered for
compression at the entry. One will then find the open
view of the river and the outdoor deck on axis.
Museum Crossing
Entry from the Museum of Science and viaduct
side starts from the bridge over the river. One then
passes the guard house and descends from the stairs on
the side of the Museum of Art, with the water inthe pool
143. The waterwall 144. Model of a section cutting 145, 146. Sectionand model 147. Entry from the
with obstacles through the city's edge, showing showing the entry museum
imitating boulders the bar building, the towers on sequence: Descending crossing, under
on the river bed. one side, and the water garden from the land's datumlevel the pools,
turned vertical. on the others side. The museum to the water's datum level. behind the
becomes a gateway. waterwall.

143, 144
148. The four galleries. 149,150,152. Compression 151. Constricted spaces 153. Former New
andreleaseinmovement. betweenbuildingson England Glass Co.
a canal. Venice. Wharf. (Maycock)

.R intrapezoidal section seemingly rushing at his or her

direction. At the same time, asheet of water falls down
on the waterwall on the left.

SFour Galleries
Image
.The four volumetric galleries take their form
and arrangement through the imagery of cargoes com-
----- ring into the warehouse. Metaphorically they are
reminiscent of one one of floating ice cubes insection,
ordered only by the water level that joins them all inthe
intersecting plane. Through the constricted corridors
V between them, the visitors will experience the stunning
~ openness and vista of the outdoor seawall gallery.
149 150Spaces
The interiors of the galleries are controlled for
filtered light for exhibits sensitive to light.
Detail
Louvre inwindows will facilitate the casting of
d .j shadows through light bouncing off the water, establish-
14
1111 in
ing ano
rhythm on the walls
t e w rh u e
resembling
ea
ripples.
h rc ly t e r

151 152 Open Gallery

A system of walls that align with the level
.changes inthe water garden make up the open gallery,
thus making the continuity of space between the outside
the inside. Italso links the lobby to the outdoor seawall
gallery.

S Assembly Hall
The lines of level change inthe stepped sec-
tions align witthe gallerywalls undereath, and continue
154. The four balleries as 155. Chute etjetencouronne 156. East River, New York. 157.Sectionshowing thefour
conceptual ice cubes or Gesier. (Fachard) (Eckardt) galleries and the
cargoes docking into the eleveation of the
building. museum.
 158. The seawall gallery and 159. The water chamber and 160, Water on the edge 161. Waterwall. British
its reflection on water. its opening. of a building. Pavillion. Seville.
(RVC) Nicholas Grimshaw.

with the steps inthe plaza. Aglass wall allows an open

76 ~view out to the plaza and can be shaded when the room
needs to be dark.

Seawall Gallery and the Water Chamber

The curve of the seawall gallery marks the
original line of the existing seawall. Itisalso constructed
with part of the original blocks of the seawall to show a
continuity of history. Italso gives anew public facade to
the embankment which can be viewed from Boston and
from boats sailing down the river. From the gallery, one
can also enjoy along view back to the opening of the old
158 dam.
The movement formsapassagefrom an above
water deck to underground walk. The walls are high
enough to protect water from coming into the skylight-lit
gallery even inastorm. Windows diminish insize and
finally become slits with vertical dimensions that mark
the historical high and low water level of the river. The
ramp takes people down to the under-water chamber as
a special room for functions and meditation, and wraps
159 around the wall on the other side so that people can have
'..... an opposite experience ascending back to the building.
It also provides a reference and dialogue back to the
main building and the outdoor deck.

Water Wall
The waterwall serves asan important feature in
the entry sequence. Framed by the wall of the museum
from behind, i acts as agateway into the water garden
landscape. Ending the zone of the museum and begin-
ning the zone of the garden, the falling water symbolizes
162. The seawall gallery marking 163. Light and movement. 165. Perspective of moving down 167. Low tideinthe lower
the historicalsewall and giving below water inthe gallery. basin around the turn
the water's edge a new facade. 164. Void space/hinged 166. The dialogue between of the century. The
space (Steven Holl) the seawall gallery and new Cambridge
the building. seawall on the right.
(M.I.T. Museum)
168. The guard house onpier 169. The under-waterlights.
structure.

the source or generator of the wave inthe plaza. On the

other side at the city's edge, the inversion of water
movement inthe upward water fountain plaza echoes
the wall.

Outdoor Deck
The outdoor deck isthe building edge that one
sees upon entry. Itstarts the next zone of claimed water
inthe floating exhibits area.

Floating Exhibits
Certain exhibits float between the columns in
the claimed water. One senses atrace of the structural
grid of the building inthe in-bween zone of the building
and the curve of the sewall gallery.

Guard House
The guard house monitors boats coming
through the gate and provides aworkshop for children to
perform hands-on experiments with water such as get-
ting samples from the Charles River. It is an active
working place where people can obtain data on the
Charles River, something that was not earlier available
inworking on this thesis.
The lower deck floats with the fluctuation of the
water level, within the constraints of the columns.
Notes:
Bill Kleinsasser, Synthesis 9: AComprehen-
sive Theory Base For Architectural Design. Underwater Spot Lights
University of Oregon. 1991
2 Francisco Javier Biurrun, A Monument to The light intensity of the underwater spotlights
Water, varies due to refraction through the water medium. At
Plaza of Coronation, Estella, Navarra, Spain.
(Sites 25 pp.140-143)' Bill Kleinsasser, high water level, the lights will produce a hazy glow on
Synthesis 9: A Comprehensive Theory Base
For Architectural Design. University of Or- the water surface and at low water level, they will warn
egon. 1991 people incase of adraught.
I
1. Lily pond. (RVC) 3. Crossing the water's edge. 4. The edge: the in-between 5. Waterwall, British
Frombeing drytogetting zone. Splashing pool in Pavillion, Seville.
wet.Aroof-toppaddling New York. (Allen) Nicholas Grimshaw.
2. Water drop pool. (Allen)

Through the design explorations, the phenom-

enology of water has been expressed through an
. .... 4 integrated design of architecture and the urban land-
scape.
This thesis set out to explore the following
principles and objectives and this ishow the design has
demonstrated the hypothesis:
3

1. Regarding the use of the phenomenology of wa-

ter as a generator of design inthe compositional
and symbolic aspects, the project has expressed
the changing properties of water with form:
The changing edge: by creating different levels in
the water garden and awave-like edge so that water
can meet the edge at different levels. Water sculp-
tures and walls, etc. will exhibit the tidal change and
juxtapose the sinuous quality of water with the
manmade orthogonal structure of the bar building
with the four piers.
- The changing movement of water, the psychologi-
4 cal effect and the character of the spaces made:
- by providing a variety of water features
like:
- water as achanging context: thenaturally
course and level change of the river dra-
matized passively inthe water park and in
the view out the windows inthe seawall
gallery
- the containment and quiet nature of water
inthe quiet pools inthe building,
- the roaring and celebratory aspect of wa-
ter through the active design of water
6. A phenomenal window. 7. Nature in the city. The 8. Water inalobby. Dallas. 9. Layers, edges, and
National Gallery of Art. lake inGeneva. thresholds of a city.
I.M.Pei. Madonna of Chancellor
Rolin c.1435. Jan van
Eyck (Musee National
du Louvre)

shoots inthe plaza at the city's edge,

and the slow down falling of the waterwall 81
Exploring water and light: set up views incertain
parts of the project to experience the light shimmer-
ing onthewater,views underwaterinthe underwater
chamber, across water to the city, and the reflec-
tions off water, the phenomenal lens.
6
2. Designing the Water's Edge: the In-between
Zone
* Penetrate different spatial zones through avaria-
tion of experiences through the waters edge such
as a passage from an elevated plane to the under-
water chamber, theoutside-insidetransitionthrough
the space between the landscape and the building, 8
and the experiences on the four piers.
- Create athreshold - the in-between, atransition
and the penetration at the water's edge
- through the wall between the landscape and
the building;
- the passage from the open gallery to the sea-
wall curve through the four galleries, from
restriction to release, and then the passage
from the outdoor above groundtothe underwa-
ter chamber.
- Express through urban design the idea of the
threshold between the harbor and the river: by
providing recreational program of a riverfront
and the working and formal references of the
wharves and industrial structures.
10. People and water. Water 11. The inhabited edge, 12. Threshold of the site.
park. (Higuchi) above datum. (Gordon
Cullen)

3. Reclaiming the Water's Edge for People

- Continue the city fabric to meet the water in a
dynamic exchange at the edge by terminating the
axis inthe garden and opening up the view to the
water.
- Return the water to the city by bringing water to the
land.
- Provide access for people by developing the water
garden as an active open space instead of building
up the whole site.

10 - Create a narrative of historical meaning of the

working waterfront through the form of the "cargo-
like" galleries and
- the changing shoreline inthe urban infill process
through the expression of the existing seawall inthe
making of the new curved gallery.
- Invoke sensory experiences and public memory of
water by movement, materials and details.

Although this thesis proposes a scenario for

11 Boston, one can easily generalize the attributes of the
site and apply to other waterfronts. Since the site isan
infilled industrial left-over area with traces of history and
thus public memory. These site attributes are indispens-
able in bringing references and thus meaning to the
project that may otherwise become a mere formal exer-
cise.
Although I chose a site ina port city where
water is everywhere, the same principles can apply at
other scales to buildings and urban design even inarid
: .... places where water isscarce. Since one can discussthe
13. Joyin water. Aspray pool. 14. Water court. 15. Fountain in Nice 16. Water kinetics.
Tarken playground, (Steven Holl) downtown. P o mp i d o u
Philadelphia. (Allen) Center.
17. Celebratiory water.

topics of the water's edge from the scale of an ocean to

adroplet, the potential to generate design isunlimited. 83
This thesis share the same attitute indesgning for
the river's edge:

13
"The project must balance the energy of place
and its history.
The energy of architectonic space must balance
the history.
The energy of objects is inbalance with
The energy of natural space ..
The energy of the river.
The history of ......
The elements and materials
don't project because of form
because of volume
because of color
ina visual esthetic, 14

but because of the inner energy.."2

- Francisco Javier Biurrun, A Monument to

Water, Plaza of Coronation, Estella,
Navarra, Spain'

Notes:
Francisco Javier Biurrun, A Monument to Water,
Plaza of Coronation, Estella, Navarra, Spain.
Sts25 p.140-13

16 17
 1. Aerial photo of the existing site. 2.,3. Urban design plan

84
LO
0,0
Cl)l
cc 0
DIAGRAMS 1. THE LOST MILE
2. BETWEEN CAMBRIDGE, BOSTON, AND CHARLESTOWN.
3. BETWEEN THE ESPLANADE AND THE WHARVES
4. BETWEEN THE HARBOR AND THE RIVER.
5. RIVER FLOW 6. VIEWS 7. PRIMARYAXES 8. SIZCNARYAXES
9. MOVEMENT 10. ENTRY 11. STRUCTURE 12. VERTICAL CIRCULATION
13. NATURAL WATER 14. CONTAINED WATER 15. GALLERYSPACE 16.SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
17. BARGE STRUCTURE 18. PIERS 19. SEAWALL 20. FLOATING CARGO
21. CAPTURING WATER DISCIPLINING WATER INHABITING WATER
22. ORGANIZATIONAL CONCEPT OF THE URBAN DESIGN
23. ORGANIZATIONAL CONCEPT OF THE BUILDING
24. TRANSFORMATION OF THE PAVILLIONS
25. TRANSFORMATION OF THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

DI E7
rjacc
~t till>

9 10

fifo
 87

Ezzzzin
23

Fil B~LTh flu tim. [1111

dli LIII UD

24
Qe II'

Uli 1111. 11111

Hfl flU. Hil UU flU. U~
I I
1 I.
26.1993 Metropolitan District 27. "ANew Vision For
Commission plan forthe Boston." Paul R.
lower Charles River Mortensen Designs.
Basin: Charles River
Crossing.

~p~V.

~,v ~
28. Figure-ground of urban design plan.
 29. Process deches.

90

2. ------
8

0
0
 31. Urban Design Plan showing the elements:
1. The Museum of Art for Water
2. the Water Garden
3. the pendulum building
4. the pavilions
5. the fountain place
6. the performing arts center.
7. the existing Museum of Science and proposed crossing
92
32. Upper level floor plan

33. Ground level plan

93

-1- F - - -

--- r. .- -- --

_---- ~ ~~--

i fi I .
34. Elevation
35. Section through the four galleries
36. Section through the assembly space above and the gallery below.
37.- Section showing the waterwall and the museum crossing.
38. Section showing the pavillions and the performing arts center at the city's edge.

34

Lz~~ K P~-~~II

It II
I

36

37
39. Section showing the pier on the land's datum level.
40. Section showing the pier leading to an underwater observation deck.
41. Section showing the pier at an elevated level.
42. Section showing the pier extending below water.

95

39

40

41
43. Overall view of 44.Section through the 45. Section through 46. Water: the life-giver.
the project. galleries, the open entry sequence. JohnlHancockcneter and
exhibition space, the the Frog Pond at Boston
assembly hall, and the Common. (Kanda)
waterwall.
47. The urban piers. 48-49. Piers, Venice. 50.'he stairsbetweenthe building
and the water. Museum of
Literature. (Takase)
51-52. Front 53. Boat by the edge, 54. The site in winter, 55. Offshore oil rig 56. Interweave
elevational view. Venice. birds on the edge. (Colin Rowe) of spaces.

~71
T ~1

-h h-~ t-HH
rd

I.
II II II II

54j
57. The glass wall, 58. Section showing Floating. 60. Piers. San 61. Venice.
thedeckandthe assemblyspace Nagasaki Francisco Ferry
fl o at i n g and gallery. (Eaux) Building.
exhibits. (KentWatson).

60 61
 62. Water garden 63. Section of Pier 64.Sculptureprogresses 65. Existing Pier at 66. Piers and
connecting to the and activites in from land to water. the site. boats in
Museum of the water garden Venice.
Science. and tower.

100
67. Model showing 68. Section of water 69. Alone. At 70-71. The towers
north elevation. garden. Pieratthe Museum
highest levwl Science near
while the tower site.
section goes
down.

101

70 71
 72. At the city's 73. Elevationshowing 74. The Richards .75. Detail of 76.Entry of temple.
edge. thepavillions,the Me d i c a l fountain in Japan. (Eaux Et
water shoots, and Research court. Salk Fontais)
the performing Building. Institue of
arts center. Technology,

102
77. Perspective of 78. Studies of the 79. Conceptof the 80. Types of water 81. Types of waterwalls
walking between entry sequence. w a v e forms.
water: the waterwall washingupth
to the side and the city's edge.
pools on top.

103

I I

II i---'
 Diagrams
82. The center to the edge
83. Water as a divider, a seam, weaving two communities together
84. Linearity of the waterfront and duality of 2 sides.
85. Center-edge
86. Crossing, Transformation from side A to side B
87. Claimed water versus an exposed edge.
- 88. Threshold, crossing, public space with water
89. Linearity and termination points.
104 90. Movement system to the edge.
91. Multiple entry/thresholds

83 84
92. Rivers inthe City (Ron Mann) 1973.

105

06 wutt,
MM&~~PMM
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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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