The zone designated as the Gateway includes an outdoors ‘collector’ space at the corner of Boylston and Dartmouth; and an internet café’, with out door seating near the northwest corner of the ground level. Also included in this zone is a restaurant in the second and third floors. I wanted to study the triple height volume, which includes a sculptural stair, which is centered in the digital store. 
This site section shows the triple height volume facing the store entry, and the restaurant, which includes seating, which overlooks the digital store showroom. From comments I received from the study model, I explored breaking up the Boylston façade by introducing a setback between the gateway and the smart glass panel system. This setback visually marks the entrance to the digital store, and provides opportunity for exterior decks facing Copley Square. These exterior decks are accessible from the restaurant area.
This section shows the undulating glass wall at ground level and the sculptural stair, which links the triple height volume with the single height spaces near the rear of the digital store.
The wall sections simply illustrate materials. Panels made of Puddingstone, and Smart glass.
3 comments:
Angelo,
The building section start to work and I like how you included the trees across the street to make you point about the high lobby space. You even show some balconies that go beyond the facade. Unfortunately, your facade sections don't show this move and remain rather mute in terms of what happens inside and outside the building. Once you include that level of thought, it might shape the facde differently and away from a stone wall with punched opening (,which I doubt will work well) and a flat glass facade.
You can start by taking advantage of the high volume across from the church(gateway)and how it informs the interior: it might receive or project light. Look into Le Corbusier's churches: la tourette, Ronchamps, for ideas.
Take it further by giving the facade depth (both glass and stone) to integrate sitting areas, niches, framing views, etc. Maybe at some points the materials warp inside. Think about what program pieces can be related to that.
Overall, you have a solid concept, but it needs refinement. Think about the 'gateway to future" a little more and how ideas for this might relate to the issues above.
Your sections give a much better idea of the entrance than what your model portrayed. I like the addition of sitting areas and restaurants to view Copley Square and the technology store. Your idea of collector space is much clearer. You could possibly break up the facade on the Boylston side by helping it reinforce the idea of gateway, maybe stepping up or changing of materials to elevate your eye and make you more aware of the gateway. I am still curious of how the other facade is being addressed. Is the material solid puddingstone or is it broken up at all? Does it reinforce the idea of gateway for those heading towards downtown? I enjoy your progress this week and look forward to what you will be able to show in plan later this week.
It would be nice to be able to up on the tower and maybe have observation deck up there overlooking Copley SQ. I have to agree with Enno when he mentions the balconies you show. They are shown in the overall sections but not on the blow-up wall sections. I like how they articulate the elevation, it intruduces a new dynamic element to contrast and complement the tower. It seems to me that the tower feel isolated and not belonging to the building. I think it should connect all floors and maybe create a light shaft all the way to the ground floor. Good Luck
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