This tunnel book was a further exploration of the intersection between book and model, using the process of creating “Mending Walls” and the integration of the site as a form generator.

The design process began with two-dimensional studies using a series of abstract sketches to explore key concepts relevant to the project. These sketches eventually became a meditation on the relationship between these concepts and a simple line, representing a border or filter. It was of utmost importance in “Mending Walls” to resist any expression of imbalance or inequality, and not make value judgments in favor of either side. However, any reference to absolute symmetry should also be avoided, since it denotes a mirrored equality, which is far from the situation on the DMZ. This project would need to be a study in “asymmetrical symmetry” perhaps better worded as “balanced asymmetry”.

The process continued with a series of models which developed the concepts explored in the previous sketches and models by incorporating the site and the program. For the most part, the program lends itself to a linear parti. I began with this parti and explored ways in which the border and spatial sequences could be expressed architecturally through language, form, direction, and scale. The primary driving concepts of balanced asymmetry, shifting, and mending were infused throughout. In addition, by introducing topography, I was able to develop sectional concepts and address the ground plane as another type of border.  The tunnel book became an expression of these parti exercises in relationship to the topography, a self-contained exploded concept model.