Cornell University * Fall 2020 * Option Studio
Crawl Space

This proposal is an inquiry into how the formalized confluence of simultaneous narratives presented in the illegal architecture in Taipei can incite participatory reactions from the surrounding context and occupants. The intention is to reinterpret shared spaces between the alleyway fissures that punctuate the urban street-scape as a device to burgeon uncanny misreadings of cohabitation. Simultaneous narratives, when used as a medium, creates a relationship and dialogue between two seemingly disconnected points of time to present new conditions onto the site.

The proposed structure allows a framework for multiple narratives to unfold onto a single plane, creating a palimpsest condition of commingling stories. The formal confusion experiments with temporal sequence to invite participation from the reader.

The push and pull of the illegal, barnacle-like additions on the facades of the alleyways forge unique contours that, when in dialogue with an opposing alleyway facade, gives the negative space in between a unique silhouette. The identity of the silhouette embodies the uncanny and its ability to propagate a new identity that is both distinct to a specific point in time and is also read through a cross-pollinated lens of history.
The negative spaces in the alleyways are abstracted into positives. The resulting stairwell encourages existing communal spaces and, when transplanted onto the roof or vacant spaces of other buildings, can becoming an uncanny object which suggests a starting point for further construction.