Space of Anticipation

DESIGNER, FABRICATOR

2025

SCI-ARC

FOAM, RHINO, CNC

The project began as an investigation into the Kellogg Doolittle House in Joshua Tree, analyzing how its sharp, skeletal forms achieve a precision that feels simultaneously ancient and industrial. Translating this attitude into a tangible architectural fragment, the design synthesizes principles from the Arts and Crafts movement, balancing strict utility with deliberate ornament. The tread is designed to evoke the harsh, anti-human character of the desert landscape. Structurally, the form thrives on asymmetry and intentional instability: one side of the tread appears more heavily supported than the other to introduce a subtle physical tension, while the vertical rods imply that the entire assembly is suspended from above. A shortened base further heightens this sensation of lift.

Because a stairway is inherently a zone of transition and anticipation, it serves as the ideal typological site to demonstrate how disconnected architectural fragments can be recombined into a new narrative.