observation plaza

In this studio course each student was assigned a Hollywood film to use as the basis for their design project. The process was developed through a transfiguration of the world of the film to a generic site on College Street, west of Spadina Avenue. Characters and rivalries, idiosyncracies and desires drive the generic building organization into new and previously unexplored design territory. 

This project draws inspiration from David Fincher's movie The Social Network and from the digital social media platform itself. The idea is to mimic the virtual space by creating an unusual design where people will go both to see others and to be seen. The architecture that resulted is comprised of many cubic modules that are covered by mirrors, glass, and distorted glass. As users explore the highly-reflective rooms, they can see their image and the image of others, faithfully represented, distorted or dislocated due to the numerous reflections. 

Furthermore, each room has a camera that records the activity of exploration. These recordings are reproduced on a large screen in the central boulevard, where the entrance is located. The idea behind this project is to maximize the extreme of visibility and the inevitable distortions put forth by the digital platform.