Thesis: Outsider Groups
Subtopic: From The Coop to The Commune (1988)
Subtopic
The chosen subtopic From The Coop to The Commune (Von der Batteriehaltung zur Wohngemeinschaft) refers to two things: 1) a critical statement of how people live isolated in their shoe boxes on top of each other, 2) a proposal for a communal environment for people who want to protect themselves from society. I was interested in reversing the idea of liberty and imprisonment: the free-thinker protects itself among kindred spirits from a lunatic society. The likes of people represented my choice of an Outsider Group (Randgruppen) and the Swiss writer René Reinhard fictionally moved in as soon as he heard about the idea. During the progress of the project he wrote a twelve-page pamphlet on the subject.
The Building
The building I chose for the project represents the International Style and sits like a fortress isolated on the riverbank of the Rhine in the No Man’s Land between the two countries of Switzerland and Germany. The unique geographical situation of this Monolith made it an ideal object for the metaphorical purpose of my idea: a Border Case (ein Grenzfall).
Concept
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-Ground Floor: designated for the interaction with the outside world: a restaurant, exhibition space, game room and a multi purpose room (meetings, theatre, movie theatre, lectures). It is also the place for the inhabitants of the commune to enjoy a meal among others and organize or participate in activities.
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-Basement: Utilities, specific work spaces (noise or pollution related).
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-First Floor: Gallery, work related activities. The studio space can be spontaneously and temporarily subdivided for the different work activities of the communal members.
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-Second/Third Floor: Thirty individual cells on two floors with a gallery towards the river Rhine. Communal laundry room.
Model: South-West Facade (river Rhine in the foreground)
Model: North-West Facade (river Rhine in the foreground)
Model: North-East Facade
Model: South-East Facade
Conversion
The goal was to leave the building as much unchanged as possible. Only the top floor (removal of part of the floor) and the roof (skylights) need some modification.
The main focos of my thesis were the two top floors with the cellblocks. Since I intended to graduate in all the three disciplines, Architecture, Interior Design and Industrial Design, I regarded the top two floors with the cellblocks as Architecture, the interior of the individual cell as Interior Design and the monolithic block inside the cell as a Product Design or Industrial Design. At the same time I also questioned the distinction between the three disciplines under particular circumstance as in this case, where - in my opinion - the monolithic block inside the cell can represent all three disciplines as well; it has an exterior, an interior and, as a monolith, it is a product.
Exhibition panel with Floor Plans and photos of the existing conditions of the building at the time of the proposal (models to the right).
Exhibition panel with detail drawings of the cells and the cellblocks. The model of the building is to the left (North Facade).
The two top floors with the cellblocks and the gallerie towards the river Rhine (West facade removed).
Skylights
Model: Roof
Model: Monolithic block inside the cell. It contains a Kitchenette with a foldable front panel and a full Bathroom (shower, sink and toilet).
Model: Monolithic block inside the cell. The ladder leads to the loft bed on top of the Bathroom/Kitchenette.
One of the interesting discoveries was the similarities between a cloister and a prison in its organizational form. Both bear cellblocks with the individual cells and communal areas such as the dining hall, the work rooms and the chapel.
Does society protect itself from criminals by isolating them in prisons so enters the monk the cloister on its own free will. In my case the individual enters a form of confinement to protect itself from society.
