exterior perspective
site - 526 e Amite St. Jackson, Mississippi
aerial view
isometric massing of the Amite St. corridor
This “Social Façade” is a continuation of group work spent analyzing the Amite Street corridor of Jackson, Mississippi. In this phase of the assignment, “Designing the Street,” we were to select a massing from the many we had proposed as a team in the previous phase of the project. The assignment reduced the scope to develop the building as an object within its larger context, as only the most outer layer of it was to be designed. From 5' within the building to the curb or centerline of the street. The primary focus was the street-facing façade. We were to ignore the complications and limitations of otherwise important considerations like program type. The larger context, in this case, was the Amite Street corridor and the vision for it that was produced by the previous group work.
vicinity map
elevation - Amite St.
the facade in plan - levels 1 - 11
section - AA
interior perspective - level 2
This project’s outward projection and interior conditions are directly linked. The interior conditions on the lowest floors are much more outward facing in nature. They are dominated by the prominence of the space in front of each window, and the access to the exterior is maximized when occupying these spaces, as the sill heights are also lower. As you ascend floors, those spaces lose their depth and the rest of the floor as a result becomes much less segmented. In addition, as the sill heights increase, the visual access to the outside is reduced somewhat. This results in upper floors that are spatially uninterrupted and are a bit more inwardly focused.
interior perspective - level 7
detail section - level 7
The building is expressed primarily in form. A form defined by an incremental rate of subtraction as it ascends. The rate is determined through the combination of a change in window sill height, and an angle (that occupies this changing height) continuing to setback each succeeding floor more and more. The setbacks give the tower an exaggerated entasis. The rising sills combine with this illusion to exaggerate the perception of the tower from the worm's eye view even more.
elevation diagram - floor to sill heights + effect on setbacks of each floor
While the sill heights are a fixed rate of change (3" per floor), window widths were altered more freely, as exceptions to an otherwise regular grid. The first exception was made to acknowledge the building entrance, since (the windows toward the west side of the Amite St. elevation become narrow as they approach the ground level.) The second deviation was to help ensure a harmonious transition from heavy to light of the massing, with (some variations occurring on the top three floors).
elevation diagram - grid deviation
