Taking into account some of the implications of the masterplan, I dove straight into re-purposing the existing structure. There were a couple of ideas for the school element that have stuck with me throughout the term:

The idea of the “Learning Street” which connects all areas of learning activity and in this case would serve as the element that would draw the public in to learn from the school as well.

Also, the idea that the classrooms should be organized in “clusters” so that they could be flexbile in sharing space and study topics with collaboration areas and break out spaces.

I also wanted to some kind of architectural/sculptural element that was a not so subtle throwback/homage to the barge making history of site and structure. That element turned into the literal usage of an old barge hull to house an auditorium that would situated above the library to give it a “floating” or “hovering feel.” I began to organize the programmatic elements to explore the relationship the learning street had tying all the spaces together. Considerations were given in section about the barge auditorium element and the possible of having a rooftop garden all along the southern edge of the structure.

After placing all these elements nearly identical to the diagrams with considerations to public and private organization, I ended up having to omit two of the proposed streets in the masterplan.

I then proceeded to explore the possibilities of the surrounding area and slip in regards to landscaping and access points.

The final product for my first iteration turned out like this:

In my opinion, there was something missing with this attempt. It seemed to obvious in some ways and seemed to lose the “mixed” use feel I was originally striving for. It felt like just an ordinary high school set in the existing framework with some arbitrary changes. Before I had even presented this first pass, I had another idea in mind, and after hearing the feedback from reviewers, I decided to pursue another direction while keeping the core ideas intact. Reviewers appreciated the spacial qualities and relationships I intended to create but suggested incorporating them in a more meaningful way.

At this point, I was eager to create a new iteration exploring my concepts.