IPCC Secretariat – Multipurpose Auditorium, East River, New York, 2018
Conceptual Design Phase
ATTRACTION + REPULSION
This is a proposed governmental administrative office for New York City; a multi-purpose space for the public to walk through and witness the city’s official, bureaucratic representatives and employees at work.
A Triakis Tetrahedron-based design (put simply, a 12-sided geometric shape) was chosen for the building itself (hence its novel shape) and was set on an incline with some free space underneath (towards the point).
Passages that cut through the building, with entrances/exits on either side, intersect within its centre. The main, longitudinal passage (the only one open to the public) feeds its way from the through the building. Curved surfaces form the structure’s exterior and create an added sense of fluidity and dynamism (one can imagine the wind whispering and spiralling its way around the building’s contours).
The ‘IPCC Secretariat’ design contains several different floors. Given the lack of horizontal building space in an urban sprawl like New York, this was necessary to house the numerous functionaries and civil servants working for the city’s administration.
A Novel Sight:
Finally, the unusual design serves as a visitor and tourist attraction (it sits beside one main road and major pedestrian routes) and also presents an image that is more intriguing (and perhaps more approachable) than that offered by the officious, dour exteriors that many governmental buildings possess.
With the city’s high-rises as its backdrop, the IPCC Secretariat complex contrasts with these to really stand out.
