Hearth
core II, spring 2024
In this project, I wanted to create a community center with a specific purpose. After visiting India with my family over winter break, I was inspired to design a space where artisans specializing in dhokra - the ancient art of metal casting using the “lost-wax” technique - can sit together and do their craft. I imagined the building as a series of chimneys and funnels, channeling smoke from the fire outside while pulling the daylight inside. In between these buildings, slices of grassy courtyard break up the architecture.
![Plan Making Diagram_04.27.2024 [Converted].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68af7dbe93f80f3b40a8e6ed/881d91aa-888c-4f49-9fb5-fbeeb893338e/Plan+Making+Diagram_04.27.2024+%5BConverted%5D.jpg)
I liked the idea of the artists’ sculptures, often taking the shape of animals, surrounding them while they work, as if they were an audience.
The building fits neatly into an elbow-shaped lot in a nearby New Haven neighborhood. The program of the studio flows from private-residential to public-commercial. On one end, there are apartment units for the artists who live and work at Hearth; in the middle, the studio is defined by a sunken fire pit and stepped workspaces; on the far right, a small storefront displays all of the finished products to visitors.
Instructor Annie Barrett
