Westcott House Master Plan

2009

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This graduate level studio teamed up with The Westcott House Foundation to assist them with creating a master plan for a block of property adjacent to the Westcott House. The end goal was to repurpose the existing turn of the century houses in order to create a complex to serve teaching, special events, and conference needs. Specific programmatic requirements guided the needed square footage for: student and visiting professor housing, classroom and studio space, office space, a small restaurant, a conference center, and a previously designed Kisho Kurokawa tea pavilion.

 

My plan for adaptive reuse of the historic housing stock was to accentuate the original building forms by limiting the material palette and streamlining the volumes. Maintaining this palette throughout helped relate the buildings of varying scale and design. The warm toned wood cladding and deep red metal roofs of the sleek buildings work to highlight the iconic Westcott House.

 

The area featured a steep incline that fell over 16 feet from the street to the rear of the site. Terracing the landscaping created opportunities to create both private and public zones without the necessity for fencing.

 

In addition to creating a master plan for the site, students were asked to design the space for one of the programmatic requirements to a higher level. I focused on joining the two smallest buildings to provide studio space. By attaching these buildings with a breezeway and deck, I was able to increase their usefulness and provide outdoor classroom space for summer programs.