SS / RICHARD SERRA
LABYRINTH
One of Richard Serra’s pursuits was using verbs to manipulate materials in new and fascinating ways. He uses planes and sheet materials to sculpt varied spatial experiences that differ in volume. Serra regarded this sculpture, “Torqued Ellipse”, as one of his most successful pieces. Whilst experiencing the space, one would take note of the tremendous scale and how walking along the sculpture detaches one from their surroundings. Moreover, it makes them lose their bearings and encourages exploration.
The threshold of Serra’s work is not flushed, they are often layered or offset in a way that invokes curiosity. I took inspiration and conceptualized my design through the use of five primary wall elements, the action that this evoked was “to slice”. This creates natural partitions and sets the conditions for the horizontal boundaries with the opportunity to explore the vertical boundaries. The opportunities that I realized were puncturing or lifting different planes create these pockets of visibility, which in turn act as breadcrumbs from one space to another thus encouraging inquiries.
The program for the first floor includes a double-height gallery adjacent to Northlake Place. Also, adjacent to Northlake Way houses a double-height parking/large scale primary workspace for the artist. The second-floor acts as an intermediate bridge to view spaces from another perspective. The third floor opens up to a secondary gallery in a garden before arriving at the dwelling. Finally, the fourth floor is a social and sight-seeing spot overlooking Lake Union.