suk lee proposes flexible public space for MIT community and city of boston

suk lee proposes flexible public space for MIT community and city of boston
(above) view of the sunken platform from the harvard bridge
all images courtesy of suk lee

despite the various opinions on the future MIT campus in cambridge, the value of physical social interaction remains the primary method of incubating ideas. proposed as the architecture thesis project by suk lee, MIT i2 ‘sunken platform’ is an architectural solution to this issue, and is situated on the charles river along the harvard bridge, the point of greatest pedestrian activity compared to the other parts of the waterfront. this project ultimately changes the river from a barrier to a new urban destination where various social and intellectual activities can occur. two radical interventions address completely different relationships with the water: spaces above and below the water.

aerial view of MIT idea incubator: future learning platform

form, structure, and materials are designed in consideration to both the physical and aesthetic meaning of ‘floating’ for typologies above the water. the platform, which makes a contact with the large surface area of the river, provides stability for both pavilion and island interventions. the typical dock structure with de-icers allows two feet vertical movement for the tidal difference and maintain the water fluid during the extreme winter weather of massachusetts.

view inside the ‘floating platform’

the platform is composed of EPS foam blocks and light steel frame structure in order to keep the weight of pavilion minimum. the lightness in material continues throughout the rest of pavilion to aesthetically express the lightness. in contrast to structures above the water, sunken platform interventions are completely grounded on the basin of the river, creating the inhabitable platforms under the water level. unlike the wide form of floating planes, these interventions are relatively narrow and the actual width of the structures are constrained by the existing foundation of the harvard bridge.

concrete walls and beams are designed in mega-scale in order to provide all necessary infrastructure including mechanics, circulation and etc. the global form of the structure follows the principle of bathtub structure not only to resist the water pressure but also to keep the space watertight. these typologies create different spatial experiences for different programs but remain flexible for the unknown.

regional analysis of the vicinity of harvard bridge and charles river in massachusetts

site plan: platform arrangement along the harvard bridge 

axonometric typology diagram: floating platform and sunken platform

floating platform model picture 1: complexity layers for lightness of structure

floating platform model picture 2: flexible spatial organization partition system 

sunken platform model picture 1: grounded megastructure 

sunken platform model picture 2: change in horizon

plan and section of floating platform

plan and section of sunken platform

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom