My final thesis project was an architectural proposal to investigate both the key tectonic components and the accompanying geometries of Eero Saarinen's iconic TWA terminal as a generator for a new stair/circulation system.

Ultimately I produced a stair that exploited the tectonic strategies used in Saarinen's TWA terminal into a new structural expression encapsulated in the merging of 3 tectonic systems: the monolithic, a light frame/welded steel tube construction, and hybrid of the two.

I began by extracting some specific geometries that could be used as different building elements.  These elements, all taken from moments surrounding Saarinen's interior stair, were the result of taking slices out of the building. These four primitives were then reconfigured in various sizes and scales from elements such as wall and roof to smaller elements such as stair handrails and treads.

These configurations had sectional qualities that were very different from the TWA terminal, yet still retained the formal qualities of the original. These elements essentially became a kind of hypothetical site for my later investigation. They became an interior condition in search of a circulation system.

-EJL