URBAN INLAY Studio 2023

For this year’s course, we identified seven sites in the historic fabric of Boston’s North End to explore the idea on an of an URBAN INLAY. The sites are quirky residual gaps in the well-established urban fabric of the North End that have been formed over time. By filling these gaps with a precise inlay, the fabric is restored; however, due to the odd shape of the parcels, architectural invention, particularly in section, is a necessity to reconcile sites that are both long and thin with just barely enough space to insert a sliver of a building.

Because of the unusual nature of the seven sites chosen for the studio, the idea of a Sliver Building, which is extremely long and thin and much taller than it is wide, becomes a fascinating typology to explore. Sliver Buildings challenge conventions of existing prototypes due to the pecular conditions of each site and their funky proportions. Every element – a stair, door, hallway, or a window – holds an elevated level of importance and challenges typical architectural conventions of proportion and composition to gain access to natural light. The section becomes the key driver in organizing the space in between the front and back walls, with sidewalls that are often opaque. These are often buildings without corridors, but rather nested geometries of stairs and a series of contingent spaces that spill both horizontally and vertically through the void in the urban form to harness natural light.

GOSSAMER RE-VEIL
Students: Ashley Broyles, Elena Ahwee-Marrah

The design of this community library uses the bookshelves–a vital aspect of any library–to create a modular solution to the design of the interior. Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) brings a natural warmth and comforting feeling from the exposed material while providing strength to the building. Utilizing the existing brick gate that frames the front façade, the glass brick that rests above recontextualizes the heavy brick surroundings to create a veil-like, translucent window into the interior. Clear glass is introduced on the exterior at alleyway view corridors so passerby can easily look within. These clear views invite people to discover the cohesive and collaborative space created inside which encourages greater engagement with all patrons of the new library.

“The team at PAYETTE has pushed each of us to challenge our way of design thinking and find confidence in our own work while excelling our skills. This experience has given me a true understanding of what collaborative design means.”

TIMELESS PATH
Students: Jake Traynor, Yuxuan Sun

A place where old meets new in a celebration of cultural differences. Where the movement of the environment comes to shape a place of gathering. Duality of entrance breaks the bounds of arrival to entice its occupants to enter from all walks of life. Community provides a path for individuals to find lost memories.

SEAM
Students: Noah Freedman, Stella Shin

Amidst the North End, where immigrants did roam, A different spirit found a humble home. The Madonna made of fabric, light and strong, A sacred protector, where they all belong. Two streets they walked, the formal and profane, A harmony of life, a complex, varied chain. Locutorio, whispers of the everyday, A hall, a space where dreams and hopes hold sway.

Yet, at the shrine, the heart of it all, A place where spirits rise and barriers fall. Feasts and gatherings, they rally near and far, Underneath the shining, sacred, guiding star. A seam, a thread, divides, and yet unites, Stitched by hands that weave through days and nights. It lets the shrine shine brighter than the sun, A testament to all the lives that have been spun. In Sicily’s building, stories intertwined, A sacred place where diverse souls have signed. Their names upon the tapestry of life, A testament to unity, through joy and strife.

“The OpenLAB experience was truly the highlight of my architecture education, where I developed a wide range of skills that continued to shape my academic and professional journey. As a student, I not only gained tools that were essential in advancing through my B.Arch degree, but also learned professional skills, new ways of thinking, lifelong lessons, and most importantly, built lasting invaluable connections. Today, as a designer at PAYETTE, I have the privilege of working with the same team of mentors who have guided me two years ago during my time at OpenLAB. It has been an absolute joy, and a wonderful opportunity to watch the program continue to evolve each year, and engaging with the current students now has been deeply rewarding and exciting.”

SHIFT
Students: Berk Oral, Tamia Barnes

In the heart of North End’s embrace, where cobbled streets and stories trace, a haven hides in forms aglow, a dwelling shared, a vibrant show. Through shifting realms and thresholds passed, a secret core, where sunlight’s cast, cafés, shops, and laughter blend, a gift to all, our spirits mend.

Façade may hint, but does not speak, of realms unique that lie unseen, thresholds crossed with knowing eyes, reveal the core, where beauty lies. At Hanover’s cross, where paths converge, a dance of forms, a subtle urge, to wander through the shared delight, discovering realms bathed in light. For those who live, breathe and dream, this dwelling holds a sacred gleam, a tapestry of life entwined, in shift, community defined.

HIDDEN OASIS
Students: Andrew Vitaliti, Calla Adams

Our project services the North End neighborhood of Boston and seeks to preserve the unique urban green space that has naturally grown on the site and invites people to reach this oasis by preserving and improving upon the current transition to encourage people to flow through the site to discover the oasis. The ground floor consists of a gallery space dedicated to the history of the North End, while the upper floors are residential units that take advantage of the site’s advantageous conditions of being an Urban Sliver in the Heart of Boston’s North End.

sprout
Students: Kafong Kou, Phillip Becher

Sprout combines function and sustainability within the urban landscape of Boston’s North End. A coupling of a neighborhood market of its base and a vertical farm above, it operates as a self-sustaining machine for good of the community. A contrast of the vernacular to the neighborhood of brick, the greenhouse towers as a new, breathing landmark to the city.

Sprout has the ability to offer a growth of green rooftop community gardens, bridging neighbors from rooftop to rooftop as a space above the cityscape.

The living infrastructure provides fresh produce and cultivates a communal identity, inviting participation in nurturing a shared, sustainable future.

sunday dinner
Students: Cholena Walker, Savannah Paap

From the courtyard, I see my grandma in the window waving me into her apartment. The aroma of a hot pot of gravy hits me before the vision of my grandmother hunched over it does. “Check and see if your aunt has any more salt in her pantry,” she tells me. I nod.

Up and up and up the stairs. I pass my uncles shooting pool, hearing the clack of a cue ball striking stripes.

Up and up and up the stairs. Older cousins peer through the climbing net, trying to listen in on my aunties’ adult gossip- not that we ever understand anyways.

Up and up and up the stairs. I round the corner and peer through a pane of glass into my aunt’s pantry, a big bag of salt staring back at me. I turn to my left and knock on her door, which she opens before smiling down at me. “Grandma needs salt for Sunday Dinner.” I tell her. She nods and brings me inside.