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Interval

Alycia Cornelius

 
  • SP.17
  • Level: graduate
  • Discipline: Architecture
 

Broadway used to be a thriving part of the downtown community. Its shine has faded, and roughly half of the surrounding buildings are either unoccupied or under construction. Around Broadway, abandoned buildings have been repurposed, but only on the first floor. Interval seeks to invert the programs of typical mixed use building by having the most public programs on the highest floors, thus forcing the activation of the entire structure. The building has a hybrid program, serving both as a new downtown campus for the USC School of Business Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and as a community magnet for the revived theater district area. The program is divided into three sections, office administration, classrooms and collaboration areas for the school, and, finally, a public area devoted to the community. The building is carved away on the east facade to allow light to penetrate each floor plate and to allow for large balconies on the south side with space for garden/planting. Carving the floor plates causes the building to rise over its neighbors to gain access to natural light. An aluminum metal mesh skin hugs the building and partially encloses the outdoor spaces. This creates a comfortable outdoor area, even 200' above ground. This building will serve as a new headquarters for the interval of the Broadway Theater District.