Humaira Shaikh, Von Smith, Yang Wang, Verda Wu

IN THIS FINAL COMBINATORIAL PROJECT, THE SPATIAL LOGIC OF WEDGE-SHAPED BLOCKS AND THE LINEAR CLARITY OF OPEN FRAMES ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER THROUGH A STRUCTURAL SYSTEM THAT MERGES FRAMES, BLOCKS, AND TRUSSES INTO A UNIFIED VERTICAL ASSEMBLY. THE EARLIER SOLID MASSES AND THE SUBSEQUENT SKELETAL FRAMES ARE NOW RECONSTITUTED AS INTERLOCKING ELEMENTS: WEDGE-BLOCKS BECOME NODES OF DENSITY, TRUSSES NEGOTIATE THEIR ANGLED GEOMETRIES, AND THE FRAMES PROVIDE A VISIBLE ORDER THAT BINDS THE WHOLE. WITHIN THIS HYBRID STRUCTURE, THE OPEN FRAMES BEGIN TO SUGGEST ARCHITECTURAL CONDITIONS OF PASSAGE, OVERLOOKING, AND POROSITY, WHILE THE SOLID BLOCKS INTRODUCE MOMENTS OF ENCLOSURE AND SUPPORT THAT RECALL ROOMS, CORES, OR SERVICE MASSES IN A BUILDING. THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THESE TRANSPARENT AND OPAQUE ELEMENTS CREATES A GRADIENT OF SPACES—FROM FILTERED, LIGHT-FILLED ZONES TO MORE GROUNDED, WEIGHTED VOLUMES—EVOKING HOW REAL ARCHITECTURE NEGOTIATES BETWEEN STRUCTURE, PROGRAM, AND CIRCULATION. AS THE COMPONENTS STACK AND BRACE ONE ANOTHER, THEY SUGGEST A SYSTEM CAPABLE OF EXPANSION: A FRAMEWORK THAT COULD BE INFILLED, EXTENDED, OR ADAPTED INTO A LARGER BUILDING LOGIC. IN ITS FINAL FORM, THE MODEL EXPRESSES A VERTICAL SEQUENCE OF SPATIAL TYPES, SUGGESTING FLOOR-BY-FLOOR DEVELOPMENT WITHIN A COHERENT STRUCTURAL SYSTEM.