Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Thesis. 1972. M.Arch.MICROFICHE COPY ALSO AVAILABLE IN ROTCH LIBRARY.M.Arch

King, Isabel

Thesis: M. Arch., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 1972M. Arch.M. Arch. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architectur

King, Isabel.

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BOURGEOIS COMMUNITYbyISABEL KINGB.A. BARNARD COLLEGE OFCOLUMBIA UNIVERSITY(1970)SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THEREQUIREMENTS FOR THEDEGREE OF MASTERS OFARCHITECTUREat theMASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OFTECHNOLOGYMay 1972Signature of AuthorDepartment of Archite tureMay 12, 1972'Thesis AdvisorCertified byAccepted byArchives( L 7s's*Chairian,-epTiftmental Committeeon Graduate StudentsBourgeois CommuneIsabel KingSubmitted to the Department of Architecture ofMassachusetts Institute of Technology in partialfulfillment of the requirements for the degree ofMaster of ArchitectureThis thesis documents an attempt to design newresidential buildings on Sargents Wharf in Bostonwhich are organized in such a way that shared childcare and other shared activities are facilitated.Thesis Supervisor: Imre Halasz,Visiting Professor of ArchitectureI .PROGRAM:The site for this project is part of the Boston RedevelopementAuthority "Downtown Waterfront - Faneuil Hall Renewal Plan".That plan proposes as one of its '"Basic Planning Objectives""To create opportunities for developement of a downtownresidential community offering a range of housing types andrentals." This project will provide for the inclusion ofnew housing arranged in co-operative clusters to fit into thisnew community.The principle reason for developing this new housiig typeis to facilitate child care and child rearing in the cityso that both parents and children can live practically andeconomically while enjoying the benifits of an intenselyurban existance! These benifits include, mixed use, densepublic transportation, as well as the convenience of minimaldistances which allow for walking. The last two advantagestend to free urban residents from dependence on automobilesand in many cases cause them not to feel any necessity toown a private car.Since the nature of urban life depends so heavily on thelarger environment several more of the B.R.A. PlanningObjectives should be stated because they are specifically2.relevant to the overall development of this parcel.To encourage productive and intensive use of land.To provide sites suitable for the construction ofefficient, economical buildings.To promote the preservation and enhancement ofbuildings in the Project Area which have architecturaland historical significance.To create an area with a mixture of land usescompatible with living, working and recreationalopportunities.To create an area for the developement of marine ormarine-oriented activities designed to stimulatetourism and symbolize the importance of Boston'shistoric relationship to the sea.To provide for the efficient flow of trafficwithin and through the area.To improve streets and utilities and the' landscapingof public areas.To provide public ways, parks, and plazas whichencourage the pedestrian to enjoy the harborand its activities.To develope the area in such a way as to stimulateimprovements in adjacent areas.The building requirements imposed by the B.R.A. are as follows:Permitted Uses: Residential and General BusinessMaximum Building Height: Not to exceed the heightwhich exists for buildingsto be disposed of for rehab.adjoining or existing onthe site.Maximum Floor Area Ratio: 2Minimum Parking Spaces: One for each dwelling unitLand Use will be maximized as follows:Total buildable area of site 213,250 sq. ft.Gross buildable area 426,500 sq. ft.- plus garageExisting building onsite to be renovated 25,000 sq. ft.General business 35,000 sq. ft*General office 115,000 sq. ft.*B.R.A. requires 2 loading bays200 family units@1,000 sq. ft. 200,000 sq. ft.****B.R.A. requires parking spaces for 200 carsCommon space in40 cluster units 76,000 sq. ft.The complex of 40 clusters will be made up of 200 families averaging3.2 persons per family. The family sizes break down as follows:A. 50 single people or couples without childrenB. 70 couples with one childC. 70 couples with two childrenD. 10 couples with three childrenThe housing will be arranged in clusters for groups which include5 or 6 children. The internal organization of the clusters which willprimarily facilitate equal sharing of child care responsibilitieswill also provide space for some shared adult activities. Childlesscouples have been included because it is assumed that some coupleswho elect not to have children will want to live in groups withtheir adult friends who do have children.4i.4 clusters AABCD21 clusters AABBCC9 clusters BBCC6 clusters BCD40 clusters totalThis housing will be designed with relatively high incomeprofessionals in mind. It is also tacitly assumed that mostcouples will have two incomes since the main motive for thishousing type is to free women to work full time while their childrenare young. Therefore economy will only be a relativeconcern.It is assumed that within every cluster each family willbe relatively autonomous. Because of this assumption "familyprivacy boundries" should be created within each cluster.Each family should have:1., aan adult bedroom 12x162. family living area 16x243. (optional) study 8x124. provisions for a full range of kitchen appliances5. one full bath6. one additional adjoining room for each child 8x12Privacy boundaries will be organized so that neither the£6children being cared for or the adult caretakers would bedislocated from their own territory. This would mean that a childfrom one family could be pu to bed in his own bed and an adultfrom another family in the cluster could be responsiblehim and perhaps several other children too without havingto leave the meeting he is holding in his own rooms. Thisassumes that while six children may need an adult constantlyon call they do not need the full time attention of thatadult.Each cluster will include a controled exterior space and1800 square feet of common space which should include:Provisions for a kitchen and a dinningroom largeenough to serve all of the people in the clusterCommon living space part of which is accousticallyisolatedAn entrance from the outside which gives convenientaccess to each family unit1.tThe aim of developing a housing type to facilitate childcare is not simply to give adults independence. It is toprovide for children in such a constructive way that theybenefit ftbm theiriparetitsahfieedom.-nIt is assumed that the person taking care of the childreneach day will be interested in spending some time with thechildren, at least partially because he has children ofhis own in in the group. Still the children do not need tocompletely fill the caretaker's day.Hopefully the situations in the clusters will closelyresemble the situation of a large family cared for by amother who is also managing a suburban household. Childrenin that sort of sitiuation learn to rely on themselvesbecauseo'ftenno one has time to help them and to co-operatewith others because they are often in groups.The major change from a nuclear family is that "mother" becomesa rotating job. The people rotating into the job are notstrangers but a group of people who are generally familiarto the children and who areaatiually around for dinner.These alternative mothers are also friends of the child'snatural parents and could be expected to have somewhatsimilar convictions. They are at least all committed tothe sort of communal sharing which involves child careresponsibilities. This means that parents can have somenotion that the values and ideas which are being communicatedto their children are roughly in accord with their own.As children get older they can be given greater freedom in anextended family situation than they would have in an stinstitutional framework. They could be allded to determinetheir own schedules and obligations with the help of theirparents and their parent's friends - who incedently arealso the parents of thier friends. These clusters are purposelysmall enough to make special attention the rule ratherthan the exception. Six children going to music lessons,dentist appointments, or just visiting school friends wholive elsewhere,could easily be kept track of by oneperson.The idea is to give children a strong feeling that theyare cared for - providing help and assistance to themwhenever they might want or need it. Allowing them toidentify their parent's home and their immediate neighbor'shomes as places where they are welcome and secure. Andat the same time allowing them to be responsible fortheir own lives within and outside of this secure framework.2. The State of California Department of Social Welfareissues licences for day care centers in private homes. Thestipulations for these licences state that one person maycare for 6 children aged 3 to 16 years or 5 children ifone or more is under 3 years of age. These numbers includethe person's own children. That is if the women has twochildren between 3 and 16 she would be allowed to care for 4mordphildren aged 3 to 16 or three additional children ifone of them is under 3 years.37--- - --U& Uum COMMERCIAL STREET dim -22623i/2~N_____Process:There were changes made in the original program which soughtto maximize the B.R.A. regulations. These changes resultedprimarily from the difficulty of reconciling a 60 foot heightrestriction with a maximized FAR of 2.The building on the site at 52-58 Eastern Avenue is to berehabilitated and according to the B.R.A. Waterfront RenewalPlan is therefore to set the height restrictions for therest of the parcel. This building is only 60 feet high.Keeping the same amount of commercial space that was specifiedin the original program a maximized FAR of 2 presumes 200family units, 40 clusters, and 200 parking spaces. Parkingfor 200 cars can be accommedated on that portion of thesite designated for housing by covering that entire areawith parking. However, any scheme to build 200 units ofhousing is impossible within the roughly 50 feet abovethe parking.In trying to establish a new workable program several schemeswere investigated.M*'~# INc~r~ .vAqAd x I cauj\:Qr-Q04 5' COoDW4, on-i--&f o' mkV5I 1~~1ORlC c>x.LI10.c5wri5 6fl.-I~,0H.-A4 Hj k-1(a)6vov-2)1'5'U Li34 -- -I..I,,-..'24LT-C> %Iy.cLWe% r>-Qy; -Ox i c q14'VIIts a* eitCIA er:515 Olc, OsUnder-utilized or vacant commercial waterfront buildings andthe elevated Fitzgerald Expressway have for the last fewdecades formed a barrier between the city of Boston andBoston Harbor. Helping to break down this barrier and tryingto give people direct access to the harbor has been one of themajor goals of the site plan.The Sargents Wharf parcel isiparticularly crucial place to tryto restore this connection because it is the closest point onthe waterfront to the activity of the North End focused aroundPaul Revere Mall. The view down Clark Street from Hanover Streetwill lead directly to the waters edge after the scheduleddemolition of the Qunicy Cold Storage Warehouse. The planattempts to strengthen and realize the connection down ClarkStreet by extending the street across Atlantic Avenue out alongthe entire length of Sargents Wharf.A Nineteenth Century granite bulkhead roughly defines theEastern half of the site along its Southern and Western edges.It has been used to divide the activities on the site. The150,000 square feet of commercial space has been placed on thebulkhead-enclosed, filled land and the residential buildingsare further out into the harbor on new pile foundations. Thecommercial spaces, which are largely professional offices, willcreate activity at the interface between the city and the edgeof the site. The housing, on the other hand, is purposelymore remote from the street activity in the hope that this willcreate a calm and. residential situation. Public access to theextreme eastern .edge of the built site has been provided sothat other residents of the city have access to a look outpoint in the harbor.The prQblems involved in organizing the patterns for a new lifestyle were complex. All of the following concerns had to beconsidered:1. to provide conventional individual privacy withina family arrangement;2. to provide family privacy within the cluster(eachfamily ended up with a seperate apartment);3. to try to facilitate communication and sharing asdescribed in the original program;4. to provide amenities such as sunlight and plumbing toany diagramatic organization of concerns 1 through 3.The difficulties involved in trying to even represent-i-theserelationships in diagramatic form lead to designing this buildingcluster by cluster in a totally irregular way and to designingonly one of the two residential buildings shown on the site plan.13.It was designed using 20 ft. square bays with 16 inch squarecolumns and an 8 inch flat slab. This structural system wastreated as an existing three-dimensional grid into which anysort of infill could be placed as long as certain structuralconstrailts were obeyed.The distribution of families described in the original programhad to be changed when the new schemes were investigated. Inthis building there are five clusters:Cluster one:1 - one bedroom apartment2 - two bedroom apartments2 - three bedroom apartmentsCluster two:1 - one bedroom apartment2 - two bedroom apartments2 - three bedroom 4partmentsCluster three:5 - two bedroom apartmentsCluster four:3 - two bedroom aaprtments2 - three bedroom apartments1 - three or four bedroom apartmentCluster five:2 - two bedroom apartments2 - three bedroom apartments2 - three or four bedroom apartmentsThe space allocations were carried over from the original program.Because each of the clusters was individually designed they arenot only all different but they tend to have even a richer variety14'.of relationships. There is one roof area which is accessibleto three clusters. One cluster has a totally private roofdeck off its lounge. There are odd advantages to or deficienciesin one apartment or another. In general, this approach meantthat the design never reached an overall level of completion.It does, however, seem to have produced a more varied environment.15.I*TL*SCI1 7- [- ]I--nI ] T* ~I -l II --- MT' AN WES*BO-uE S-COMU-U-~li ICll IDDD ITn Clal 4-OOR BOU RGEOISiU- q40.I kD FLOOR BOURGEOSCOMNU46H FLOOR BOURGES C70m -kSection A - ASectoi-- --- -1 0TYPICAL CLUSTER COU2GE7CISOMUNL --smeu.i-C0ca

Bourgeois community.

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Bourgeois community.

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