04 · Artist Residency

Mountain

Inspired by bell hooks' reflections on beauty as a quiet act of resistance, "Mountain" is an artist residency embedded within the triple-decker fabric of Dorchester. The project challenges the isolation of the art studio by folding creative exchange into everyday domestic thresholds—corridors, stairwells, and porches. Through subtle interventions in traditional housing formats, art becomes a connective tissue that reshapes how neighbors encounter their homes and each other. Here, art is not merely exhibited; it is lived.

Mountain — street view render
Mountain — street view render
Location
91 Topliff St, Dorchester, MA
Year
Fall 2023
Role
Individual Work
Instructor
Carl D'Apolito-Dworkin, Harvard GSD

Ground Condition & Collective Landscape

  • Permeable Thresholds: Reimagines the traditional fence as a series of shared porches, inviting the neighborhood into the creative process.
  • Topographical Infill: The timber scaffold emerges from the grade, creating a stepped interior "mountain" that mirrors the urban slope.
  • Collective Surface: Merges isolated backyards into a unified landscape of art-making, gardens, and social exchange.
First floor plan 3/32" = 1'-0"
First floor plan 3/32" = 1'-0"
Second floor plan 3/32" = 1'-0"
Second floor plan 3/32" = 1'-0"
Third floor plan 3/32" = 1'-0"
Third floor plan 3/32" = 1'-0"

Occupancy & Circulatory Galleries

  • Shifting occupancy: three units transition from family-oriented to fully artist-occupied (ratio 1:2 → 2:1 → 3:0), embedding the residency within the existing social fabric.
  • Movement as gallery: corridors and stairways are widened and reimagined as linear galleries; stairwells open onto enlarged landings that serve as exhibition platforms.
Circulation section
Circulation section
Circulation section
Circulation section

Choreographed Discovery & Shared Authorship

  • A choreographed path links the three houses from the southernmost entrance to the final rooftop terrace, blurring the boundaries between public art and private living.
  • Lateral bridges use external balconies to facilitate seamless movement across the three-house typology; the façade becomes a programmable canvas for community display.
Façade as functional interface
Façade as functional interface
Rooftop view
Rooftop view
Interior gallery
Interior gallery

"Mountain" reimagines the triple-decker as a connective tissue for art and community—transforming the ordinary home into a quietly radical platform for social activism. Here, architecture is not just shelter; it is a shared witness to the beauty of lived experience as an act of resistance.

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