6:45 am : Courtyard
[0.2 Acres : Boston, MA]

At 6:45 am, the April morning light rakes across the tall grass from east to west along the south side of a courtyard. Minutes later, it slowly enters the courtyard like a clock’s minute hand. 

Given a hypothetical courtyard in Boston, MA, a specific time of day [6:45 am], a month [April], and a material [steel], I proposed a countersubject [meadow], to explore the dynamics of tension that any hypothetical landscape can address. Being the first project of the first semester there was no given program for this site other than the landscape itself. I proposed a steel grate that is accessible from all three given access points into the courtyard. In the center of the grate is a split through which tall grasses grow. The grasses blur the edges of the grate and extend toward the outer limits of the courtyard, replacing the inaccessibility that a fourth wall would otherwise do. The grate does not connect all access points to each other, meaning that whoever visits this space would intend to stay for some time, and not simply enter to quickly pass from one side to the other. It is meant to be a space where people come to pause and enjoy the subtlety of a space made by contrasting materials, steel and meadow. On the façades of the courtyard, are three textured rain or ice grabbing channels that lead water down into the  meadow and bring a sonic element and an element of movement into the courtyard.

Project featured in exhibition: PAFA Museum Wharton Esherick: An Artistic Legacy Through Necessity

Harvard University GSD: Landscape Architecture Core Studio I

Instructor: Danielle Choi