04 · Artist Residency

MOUNTAIN

MOUNTAIN proposes an artist residency in Dorchester, Boston, drawing from the familiar triple-decker housing typology of the surrounding neighborhood. Inspired by bell hooks' reflections on beauty as an act of resistance, the project explores how artistic production and collective exchange can become part of everyday domestic life.

Three residential volumes are connected through a continuous circulation system that incorporates galleries, shared spaces, and opportunities for informal encounters. By reinterpreting ordinary domestic elements—porches, stairways, corridors, and balconies—the project creates a dialogue between private living and public cultural activity, where art is not merely exhibited, but lived.

MOUNTAIN — Street View
MOUNTAIN — Street View
Location
91 Topliff St, Dorchester, MA
Year
Fall 2023
Role
Individual Work
Instructor
Carl D'Apolito-Dworkin, Harvard GSD

Ground Condition & Collective Landscape

The project reimagines the narrow spaces between Dorchester's closely spaced residential buildings as a shared landscape for artistic and social exchange.

  • Permeable Thresholds: Traditional residential boundaries are reinterpreted through shared porches and transitional spaces, creating opportunities for interaction between residents, artists, and the surrounding neighborhood.
  • Interconnected Grounds: Outdoor spaces between the three residential volumes become part of a continuous circulation network, connecting individual buildings through a shared ground.
  • Collective Landscape: Previously separated outdoor areas are brought together to accommodate gathering, gardening, informal exhibitions, and artistic 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"

Collective Living & Circulatory Galleries

- The three interconnected residential volumes establish a gradual shift between domestic and artistic programs, exploring different degrees of privacy, collective living, and public cultural engagement.

  • Programmatic Gradient: The ratio of residential to artistic programs shifts across the three buildings (1:2 → 2:1 → 3:0), establishing distinct relationships between living, creative production, and exhibition.
  • Movement as Gallery: Corridors, stairways, and enlarged landings become spaces for exhibition and encounter, integrating artistic experiences into everyday circulation.
Circulation Section
Circulation Section
Circulation Section
Circulation Section

Sectional Connections & Shared Authorship

A continuous circulation route rises through the three residential volumes, connecting galleries, shared platforms, and domestic spaces across different levels.

External balconies and lateral bridges extend this network between buildings, creating a sequence of spaces that move between private living and collective cultural activity. Rather than concentrating art within a dedicated exhibition space, the architecture allows artistic practice to unfold throughout the residency, encouraging moments of discovery, exchange, and shared participation.

Façade as functional interface
Façade as functional interface
Rooftop View
Rooftop View
Interior Gallery
Interior Gallery

Here, art is not merely exhibited; it is lived.

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