Hinge is a land intervention and an architectural intervention hybridized using two complementary gestures at the ground level. These two gestures work to build upon the goals set by initial site explorations, using the land to control circulation and the architecture to control views.
The first of these gestures is the sloped greenscape, joining all of these elements together as one. This hill works east-to-west across the site and is created from an excavation of the existing topography, allowing it to meet the levels of the surrounding streets. The base of the hill continues into the facade of the on-site community center until it meets the second gesture: the Line.
The Line is an eight-story building that serves community, coworking, commercial, and residential functions. Its rigidity against the greenscape's sweeping motion establishes a duality between building and land that is a rarity in Rome's San Lorenzo neighborhood.
The building parti: a Point and a Line (Above)
Exploded Axonometric Section featuring the Line and the accessory tower of the Community Center (Below)
Transverse Site Section (Above)
Longitudinal Site Section (Below)
Ground Floor Plan (Above)
Third Floor Plan (Below)
The accessory tower is an extension of the Community Center below and its design is inspired by the Gazometro: the industrial remains of Rome's Garbatella neighborhood. The tower is placed on what can be called the site's hinge point, meaning the point at which the circulation of the rest of the neighborhood meets the circulation of the project site. It serves as a beacon for the new development and marks the completion of a re-imagined San Lorenzo.
ARCH 4020 Studio | Instructors: Consuelo Nùñez Ciuffa, Matilde Mellini, and Lavinia Minciacchi | Collaborators: Braeden Green and Zoë Stenseth