Esther Akintoye

The self-creation of Black spaces in America has been a form of resistance and reclamation, as well as a way to forge an identity and make room for community. This thesis argues for a use of improvisational African American music as a tool to create space. 

Fluid and improvisational techniques found in Black musical styles and  genres such as jazz set the foundation for this thesis, which readapts into a contemporary setting the site of a historic jazz bar in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania formerly called the Aqua Lounge. Restoration and adaptation are employed as intervention strategies within the site. Portions of the site’s cultural heritage survive as it programmatically becomes a space informed by and for music, with improvisation employed as a design strategy  to create flexible architectural frameworks. The design intervention uses overlapping programs to create spaces that create a dialogue within the interior of the building and also between the interior and exterior of the site. Reworking functions of existing materials, architectural programs and features—such as rehinging a doors—creates an adaptable space open to new interpretation to the future users. 

 

Noise, sound and rhythm inspire fluid and less rigid architecture, creating spaces that support the people and communities who contribute to Black cultural expression. The expression of jazz as improvisational leads to new forms of unplanned expression within the site.

There exists three main user groups of my site:

Local Community: 

West Philadelphia is a large neighborhood spanning from University City on the east, Overbrook Park on the northwest and runs north up to Fairmount Park. My site is located towards the southern part of this area and the targeted user group includes residents that live around the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia. South 52nd Street is a business district with residential homes on the perpendicular streets making children, youth, young to mid-age adults (18-50) and families a part of my user group. This site is situated in a predominately African American neighborhood which will be part of my user group demographic.

Tourists & Visitors: 

The site is accessible off the 52nd Street Market-Frankford train line making the site very accessible by train and public transportation. Based on research of music venues in Philadelphia, the Center City district (located east of West Philadelphia) has a higher concentration of music venues and programs that relate to this type of entertainment. Philadelphia is known as the "City of Murals" due its the vast number of murals throughout the city. Tourists and visitors who are already inclined to mural walks around the city—both independently and through the Mural Arts Philadelphia organization—will benefit as a user group.

Historians & Musicians: 

The reactivation of the Aqua Lounge as a former music venue program is important. Therefore an understanding of the past will need to be apparent. It will be necessary for those who visit the site to be aware of the site’s history therefore historians and music aficionados are also a targeted user group of this site.

Understanding the importance of sound and "noise" the design approach begins with the exterior of the site, understanding how it can dialogue with the interior and also deciding what areas should be kept or become intervened upon. The goal of the design is not to change the appearance of the exterior of the site so much that it becomes foreign to the neighborhood. Using existing materials and simple design strategies will allow for the success of this design intervention.

In order to mediate an exchange between the exterior and the interior of the site the ground  floor will be intervened upon and incorporate more exposed entry ways. The interior will have a new and overlapping program inserted into it continuing dialogue that can even lead to unplanned activities.