The design of the Westside Media Center located in the west ward of Newark was asked to accomplish many things that spanned further than the library as a traditional information database. Not only did it require a system to fit the contemporary age of information and technology, the new Westside Media Center was given the task to serve as a beacon for the district with incredible potential for expansion and growth.
The concept of “community” was interpreted as a progressively growing body of people that influence—either currently or potentially—the societal growth of an environment. Therefore, the maturation of the Newark resident, specifically the student youth, mirrored that of the community, creating a sequential network of relationships. Therefore, library and community center were not seen as separate, but rather interlinked.
Where light, vision and scale all play a vital role in one’s perception of space, the perforated skin system sought to generate various different moments along a continuous plane. Points were extracted from the programmatic spaces and the age specific users catered to by those spaces. A network was created through the various spaces and their relationships with each other and their inhabitants. Vision and light are then distorted or enhanced through the varying facets and perforation size/density throughout the skin system, creating variation in perception as one traverses through the main programs of the library.
Taking it a step further, the branding and following launch campaign broke down the prenotions of a “library”. Instead, the accepted rules were purposefully cast aside in favor of noise, music and interaction. The visuals draw inspiration from both the architectural facade as well as the energy of the space it is meant to contain.
Architecture, branding, and advertising launch campaign.
Conceptual thesis project for Comprehensive Studio.