A Donut
Site: Boston, Massachusetts
Individual Work  |  Summer 2019


Located at I.M.Pei’s brutalist Christian Science Center in Boston, this civic center, including a library, is devised to regain the connection between the brutalist plaza and the urban community. It creates a space for community gathering while at the same time trying to reshape the relationship between the community and the government.

While many brutalist civic halls built around the 1960s always leave an impression of authority and sincerity. The unity and transparency of government buildings are called to engage the communication between the government and the public. This civic center regroups various civic functions, including administrative offices, high-profile conference rooms, service counters and a library, into one visually symbolic composition. The triangular shape reflected from the mother church takes a donut form to accomodate the public and governmental programs.




Concept



To break from lethargic brutalism ambiance without abruptness, the glazed inner “dough” embraces the concrete outer “dough” through one continuous, undulating glass corridor in-between. While the concrete outer volume blends the library into the plaza, the glazed inner volume improves transparency and accessibility. This hierarchical “donut” layers the spaces from the brutalist plaza to still and opaque civic rooms to the animated, transparent library and finally to the open courtyard.








 

The circulation corridor ends in two entrances, one drawing people entering the library and the other leading the public officials to offices. This one continuous corridor with two separate entrances takes people to the second floor, the open gathering spaces, where public officials and visitors congregate. The boundary between the public library and private offices is gradually blurred.
 




Drawings

Models