Off Grid

In an ever evolving city, with a vast variety of types and groups of people, there seems to be an endless stream of programs and accessibility to the community. The community and governmental construct have created an invisible grid that does not encompass all who lie on it. Those who do not fit into this grid, slip through the cracks and find themselves in a fruitless cycle. From a series of policy and administrative shifts, Ithaca has taken a reactive approach to societal needs. What happens when you don't lie on the grid but somewhere in between the fabric of society? How can an architectural intervention return agency to those who want it? The answer is not solely one intervention but rather a multifaceted proactive approach that begins to modify preexisting systems.

This begins to touch on the understanding of architecture as a catalyst, an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action. The goal is to understand the obvious as well as the hidden influences. However involved with its constituents, Ithaca cannot handle its unsustainable growth. The gaps in society are growing and deepening the barriers between differing residents. The need for an intervention in infrastructural and social systems is apparent. This thesis challenges how this grid has been created and where the cracks lie. How can the cracks be mended through an architectural approach? How does the design of the approach lead to a more holistic understanding and more effective architecture?

Economically and Residentially Instable

• Homelessness
• Drug Dependent
• Mental Health + Health Impaired

highlight key formative moments above

Data shows that the existing framework of community based program in Ithaca is not sufficient in keeping the city under state levels of poverty and at par with state income averages.

Transportation Systems

Housing Systems

Healthcare Systems

Food Systems

Example:

• Hospital
• Urgent Care
• Physicians
• Drug Related Resources

Implimenation:

• Health Clinic
• Casual Clinic
• Preventative Clinic

Example:

• Grocery Stores
• Food Assistance
• Monetary Restraints

Implimentation:

• Kitchen
• Food Hub
• Distribution Center

Example:

• Bus Routes
• Accessibility
• Monetary Restraints

Implimentation:

• Express Bus Route

Example:

• Shelters
• Government Assistant Housing
• Affordable Housing

Implimentation:

• Undetermined