Engine 212: An Activist Interior

Location: Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY

Type: Community

Concept: space to be shaped and rearranged people and movement. The system is formed by a collection of geometries inspired by symbols and elements of firefighting. 

Method: hand sketch, AutoCad, 3D Max, Photoshop

The project is to explore impact of interiors on civic and urban life, collaborating with activist community groups in Brooklyn to turn Williamsburg’s Engine 212, a defunct FDNY building, into a community activity space and art center.

Inspired by rules and formulas governed by geometry, I attempted to decipher the shape of Fibonacci. What makes it so beautiful and complex by simply repeating an unique pattern took shape in my concept of transforming it into spatial terms.
A Fibonacci spiral is flexible like a spring capable of expansion and contraction, which this project is based on. The entire space is activated by movement and system. For an activist group, the concept of movement represents the people, the community and the history.
Movements in this project can create different functionality through different configurations.
Everything can be easily operated by anyone, which is the purpose of a community center and where people gather.