THE PHANTOM

The purpose of this project was to create a new area for residents of the Dogpatch area to congregate and explore. The program of the mediatique center is intended to provide historical information and educational classes to the community.   The program serves the BAYCAT organization which provides classes and tutors for local youth. The total building program is 45,600 sqft.  

The building site is located in an area known as Union Ironworks Historic District, which is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places for its maritime architecture and pioneering technological developments in steel shipbuilding from the late 1800s to the end of World War 2. This concept of manmade materiality juxtaposed with the natural confluence of sea life from the ocean and bay, inspired this center’s form. The intention of the project design is to create a memory of what had been before, but in a new form. As this area is in transition, it is not yet certain what the future context will be. The significance of the site and architectural concepts led me to a certain definition of the Greek word teratologia meaning “the science or study of monstrosities or abnormal formations in organisms”, or my preferred definition, “an account of marvelous things, marvelous tales, formed from the same elements but with an entirely different sense.” The goal was to create an architecture that might inspire children and take them away from their known world. In this case, the circulation and flow through the building allows the user to move continuously through inner-connected spaces and see other areas from unique viewpoints above or below. The complexity to the form-making and overlay of building shapes allows for the first glance to be completely uncertain.