MANHATTAN STRATIGRAPHY MUSEUM
work with Gracie Ya Wen
“Architecture is the materialization of concept.” The Bernard Tschumi studio’s topic in this year is concept and interaction. Six programs (library, science museum, labs, auditorium, amusement arcade, love hotel) are allocated to pairs of students, and arranged in a typical Manhattan block.
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology which studies rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). On the one hand, stratigraphy is just under our Manhattan ground and need to be presented. On the other hand, the layering idea can be translated into architectural language in an interesting way, which also looks into the studio’s theme about movement and architecture.
After studying those local stratigraphy documents, there are two things we use in stratigraphy to make our space. First is that the layers are in chronological order. Our reaction is to make those layers perpendicular to ground. So people can go through layers, meanwhile getting knowledge in time order and also with a better view.
Another thing is those natural forces under the earth. It is imp because it shows the interaction or interference between layers. It is just like the moment people enter those layers and the movement violate the original space. People move back and force in those layers to experience the space between layers. This is the beginning of our design.