ENDING THE HIGHLINE
The New York Highline has been decades in the making, but the terminal point meets the street level unceremoniously. Me and a team of four others devised 'Footprint', a fantasy architectural concept and form design aimed at solving this issue through use of transitional spaces, solid-void theory, and revolving circulation.
STARTING THE LINES
A primary focus for our ideation process was the idea of weight, or imprint. We developed forms which felt planted - bracing into a direction. This feeling has the benefit of implying the structure is pushing against a force, which we felt was appropriate since the Highline is in fact a railroad, repurposed for pedestrian use.
Compilation of sketches from weeks 1 and 2.
FORM DESIGN
Central to our form design is a subtracted volume between two cuboids.
Green area is subtracted
This compound shape is then imprinted on a sloped foundation of concrete. This sloped foundation serves as the path onto the Highline.
This imprint creates an area below for dwelling.
Sideview, excluding exterior shell.
A steel shell suspends the boot of the building above the courtyard.
All three elements.
The negative volume extends through the shell, focusing light down into the courtyard.
CORE IDEAS
Pictured below, the right side of the building is an art gallery with the steel frame exposed inside. The left-hand of the building was designed as a workshop for in-house artists. Pedestrians enter from the Highline level on a spiralling glass walkway, designed to be a reversal of Olsun Kundig's Delta Shelter. This walkway then enters into the negative volume and quickly leads inside, where visitors spiral the negative volume within the gallery exhibit. Olson Kundig's influence also manifests in the exposed nature of the materials within the gallery, and with the glass interior of the negative volume.
Our completed form, seen from the end of the Highline.
The supporting shell acts as a visual funnel to encourage movement onto and off of the Highline, while also drawing attention to the floating art gallery and the entrance below.
Seen from the street-level.
RENDERING & COMPOSITING
I spearheaded rendering and compositing for our developed form, beginning from the 3D model.
Early iteration, before slope was added.
The model used for our final renders.
From here I took renders and manually composited textures, lighting, and other visual polish.
