Manifold Masses
UCLA Department of Architecture + Urban Design 2010
Professor: Georgina Huljich
Partner: Sontaya Bluangtook
Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kaohsiung Port Terminal
The Kaohsiung Port Terminal attempts to create a socially communicative atmosphere by re-envisioning typical programmatic organizations. With any major public transportation facility comes the responsibility of creating large public venues while securing portions of the building for security concerns. The interior/exterior boundary generally signifies the divide between passengers and visitors, however in this proposal the exterior becomes an internalized void allowing visual interaction between different programmatic elements.
The site for the Kaohsiung Port Terminal sits at the termination of two major roads, making the extension of public thoroughfares to the waterfront an important factor. The massing of the terminal centers around two internal voids serving as departure and arrival cores with retail, restaurant and office program interspersed between. These voids, based on the aggregated logic of the saddle polyhedra, develop into double-cone or vortex like vertical canyons allowing visual and social interaction between multiple levels and security zones. Patrons arriving on the ground floor can either cut through to the waterfront or ascend to the upper floors to access secure ticketing and baggage. The vertical gradient allows the port terminal to function as a public amenity on the lower levels and as a secured terminal and office space on the upper levels.
