from [store]front to [street]front

Rotch Scholar Competition Entry | 2024 |

Finalist [Second Place]

In Response to the Boston Society of Architect’s Final Prompt Titled “Pardon Our Appearance”

As our cities continue to change rapidly, it has exposed the unhealthy architectural life cycles of our turbulent retail leases and their tethered three-dimensional architectural realizations. The paradox between ephemeral tenancies and their permanent storefront and interior fit-outs is not only economically and environmentally irresponsible but leaves behind vacant shells that diminish the life on our streets. By rethinking this typology and its associated storefront, a new tenancy model is imagined, one that embraces change and creates an urban spectacle and energy in its shifting. In the repositioning from storefront to streetfront urban street life is prioritized, promoting healthy and vibrant communities regardless of the overturn of their adjacent interior spaces. What was once a two-dimensional threshold for access becomes an avenue for equitable opportunity and a plaza for tactical urbanism.

Current Proposal

Opportunity for Neighborhood Scale Implementation

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[Re]Framed Landscapes