MARGAUX YOUNG

Spring 2013

Critic: Amale Andraos

ReWall reimagines the existing American Embassy site in Amman, Jordan. The existing embassy has failed as a functional addition to Jordan. The Embassy has never ceased to be an entirely foreign entity. This failure and many of its related problems stem from the embassy’s perimeter wall. 

The perimeter wall, as it stands now, is a symbol of American isolation. The wall separates the Americans on the inside from the visiting Jordanians and the surrounding community. The wall as a single entity defines the embassy staff as “local” and Jordanian’s as “foreign.” The surrounding security as well as the visibility of the embassy above the wall serve to reinforce the perimeter as a symbol of American separation. 

To break this symbol, ReWall exaggerates the wall, exhausts it’s symbolism, and redefines the perimeter wall. 

Spring 2014

Critic: Mark Wasiuta

The Jar Saleh Technology Center is located outside of Qatar’s capital and largest city of Doha at the Al Udeid Air Force Base. While the base is Qatari owned it is occupied largely by coalition forces. Jar Saleh means “good neighbor” in Arabic. This is the position of the coalition forces stationed at Al Udeid Air Force Base. The Jar Saleh Technology Center was formed in order to foster these positive public relations between the coalition service men and women and the local population. 

Through the controlled disclosure of the mechanisms of information collection used by coalition forces, the Al Udeid base and it’s residents can form a closer tie to their Qatari neighbors, through educating visitors on the military’s technological advancements in aviation. The public center is nested within an active air force complex  where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are the primary focus. The building is a technological achievement in itself in that it launches and received UAVs within it’s structure. Visitors are surrounded by technology in spaces designed to reveal and educate on the coalition’s technological strides in the field of aerial data collection.

Fall 2012

Critic: Lindy Roy

Max/Min critiques Bloomberg’s micro-unit for the redundancy and isolation that is generated through repeating the same plan over and over. Bloomberg’s plan lacks long-term vision for how spaces can adapt to fit the needs of future residents. These limitations are combatted through a redefinition of the unit as what is primary to the occupant. This allows for a reallocating of spaces which can be shared between multiple residents. This process allows the residents to define private and shared space, alloying the unit the ability to shift and age with its residents. Specific areas of temporal transition are provided when unit clusters and resident groups overlap, aiding in the life-cycle shift of both building and residents. 

Ten different two-three unit apartment types are nest to form apartment two clusters. These two base clusters are doubled and combined to form larger clusters with four entry points and a 50’ x 50’central courtyard. These larger clusters define a variety of neighbor groups around a central courtyard.

The knotted units allow for greater exchange between residents and apartments. Exterior space is shared between apartments, units, and residents. Unlike typical apartment buildings which stack units directly on top of one another, the knotted clusters allow for the rearrangement of units in a more selective way. If a family wishes to expand their apartment, they could purchase a portion or unit of a neighboring apartment. 

This project was developed in collaboration with Anna Vander Zwaag.