Yannapa Wongsakulyanon
Transformer Town
From first-year undergraduate studio Half Mile.
Faculty: Judith De Jong (coordinator), Sarah Blankenbaker, David Brown, Andrew Jennings, Clare Lyster, Meghan Quigley, Juan Suarez, Julia Turner
About the studio:
What is interesting about the American landscape—urban, suburban, or rural—is that it is organized the same way: as a grid. The Survey Grid in particular is pervasive and universal, but what falls within each half- or quarter-mile “section” differs greatly; the grid readily sponsors multiple densities, building types, programs, and infrastructures. This studio looked to cities around the world, learned from them, and brought that research back to the American grid, leveraging its flexibility to project new possible architectures and urbanisms that would support new ways to live in the American city.
About the project:
What if? The plan of Barcelona was combined with the section of Hong Kong?
Then: Transformer Town proposes new forms of density and network in the American Midwest. Staked and stretched blocks created new vertical courtyards in the sky, more open space on the ground, and new transit connections underground, while elevated roads provide a new point of view. The result is a new atmosphere to the town.
Winner of the 2022 Timothy Bruce Award for an outstanding first-year undergraduate project