The bakehouse art complex is an old brad bakery in Wynwood Miami. In 1985 it was bought by artists in the area to create affordable studio space for artists in Miami. the bakehouse has several studios and an exhibition space to display the artists work. while visiting the bakehouse i learned about their plans for future expansion. they wish to have their zoning designation changed to facilitate affordable housing on site for artists in the community. their mission, as they put it, is to "Redevelop the Bakehouse site, maximizing the opportunity to provide affordable live, livework, and work spaces for artists and generating resources for the long-term growth and sustainability of the organization."
In this project i was tasked with designing a wall that could accommodate and apartment (suggested for an artist), a cafe, a library/ bookstore, a museum, and a studio for an artist. I used the Signal Box project designed by Herzog and Demuron as a precedent study to draw inspiration for this project. what i came up with is one social module with the cafe, bookstore, and gallery creating a space that allows for a smooth transition between an entrance and an exhibition. then on what i viewed as the private axis of the project i placed the residence. finally the studio space was placed at the intersection of the public and private axis. this would allow the artist to enter the studio and the pedestrians passing by to see the artist at work the way they can in the bakehouse. after the placement of structure was complete i wrapped all of them in a single unifying skin that would act like a screen that would bend and deform to provide glimpses into the project and the buildings. the skin would also bend to allow benches and tables for the coffee shop and the amphitheaters of the landscape.
The last aspect of the project was the landscape, i used a topographic view of the bending of the skin. i shifted parts of the ground plane up to form benches that would section off two isolated amphitheaters in the project. these benches would taper off into the ground and get lower as they moved toward the center of their respective amphitheaters, therefor creating the bending effect of the skin.
