What does a school require? This project proposes a different
approach to how a school is conceptualized. Located on the
Cal Poly Pomona campus, this new school of architecture
challenges the facade of large institutions and literally begins
to break it apart. The project takes the site into consideration
and begins to break it apart into building blocks. These
building blocks are shifted and pulled in various directions
to create a new “in-between’ spaces within the plinth. In the
plinth, the in-between space results in courtyards providing a
place of refuge for students between classes. The shifting and
creation of the courtyard spaces are bounded by a singular
module. Differences in exterior facade treatment distinguish
the walls that have been separated from each other.
The courtyards help dissolve the overpowering diamond
shaped boundary of the site, allowing the project to blend
with the fabric of the rest of campus.
The tower of the project follows a similar system of shifting
building blocks. Program blocks are pulled apart from the
main tower massing, forming spaces in between that have
inherent connections to the program adjacent. The inbetween
spaces become opportunities for outdoor learning,
public galleries, and places to reconnect with the larger
campus. The facade of the tower is cloaked in a metal mesh
that widens and shrinks according to programmatic concerns
and the transformation of the building blocks.
