Spring 2014 | Parsons School of Design
This project was chosen to be included in the Spring 2014 Parsons Archive.
This is a space designed for StoryCorps, an independent nonprofit organization which allows people to record stories or experiences they have encountered in the course of their lives. These recordings are later broadcasted on NPR and Archived at the Library of Congress. The space is located in a narrow L-shaped building half of which sits under The High Line park.
The design of the building revolves around the change that people go through after experiencing such prominent events like the events the participants in StoryCorps have experienced.
My building is divided into three parts or stages, which represent the three stages of change.
The first stage is the moment before the event occurs and the change happens. This moment can be be described as having a sense of naivety. This stage is represented in the lobby or entrance of the building through light and materials. It is large, open and unassuming with a large skylight filling the space with a mysterious luminescence.
The second stage is the moment of change. At this stage the event has occurred and the individual experiencing the event has begun to go through the different changes that come with experiencing a significant event. This stage is depicted in the 4 recording booths and universal hallway which are located in the center of the ground floor. The change is represented by small rooms which are lined with acoustical wooden blocks of different sizes which absorb and reflect sound waves while representing the irregular, unique experience associated with change.
The third and final stage is the moment after the change has taken hold. The moment after the event has occurred. The moment of realization or of "seeing the light." This stage is represented in the long, vertical glass staircase which inhabits the space where the participants exit the recording rooms and ascend to the cafe on the second floor. This space is filled with light, which comes from a large, slightly curved, frosted glass window. The cafe is included in this stage and is also effected by the curved frosted glass window as well as a by a large wall of clear glass facing an elevated park.