Fractured Field

Instructor: Troy Schaum

The building is a cultural center for Bogota, Colombia. The project starts with a matrix of operated cubes where 4 cubes form a object with sunken center, and 4 of these objects form a larger object with open center. The final form is the aggregation of 32 cubes, therefore can be read as having 8 or 2 centers, depending on whether 4 or 16 basic cubes are viewed as one group. A continuous roof weaves the groups into an inseparable whole.

The building sits on open walls so that the first floor can be a shaded plaza for exhibitions and events. An

amphitheater bridges the open space with the an existing park 11 feet above. The afforested sunken centers

now become the domes on the first floor and the protruded diamonds on the second floor, around which

programs are organized. The two open centers of the 16-cube groups serve as light wells, registering the

exhibition-focused half and the scholar/administration focused half of the building.