Catharsis of Will

The Catharsis of Will

How can an interior space allow people to release their hidden emotions oppressed by social prejudice?

Stereotyped manners and social rules prevent seniors from pursuing love later in life. A rendezvous that prioritizes seniors is created for them to mingle and overcome the prejudices forced on them. Exploring the ostensible spaces and sequencing through the gradual unveiling thresholds, this project provides the elderly the opportunity of an easeful self-revealing.

Experiential Sequence

The design strategy is to create layers of vailed thresholds that are sequencing layers of spaces, to let the space be gradually unveiled, it also resembles the process of reveling oneself to the other.

Self-disclosure Diagrams

Breadth and Depth

Social Distance Diagram

The experiential seqeuence and programs explore the answer of self-disclosure in different content and scenarios, from everyday life to ceremonial event, from mingling of large social radius to private intimate distance.

Site: Pier A Harbour House

This project only occupied partially the rst oor, in order to be fully accessible for the elderly and to respect the upper oor existing event venues. Co-operating with the existing, all-age accessible restaurants and bar, my project has three main programs that are either senior-prioritized or senior-exclusive.

Site Map

Battery park as the exterior threshold that prepared the mood of the visitors before they arrive at the pier

Plan Shifting from Day to Night

Gradual revealing of hidden spaces through time, light, users’ inclination and intuitions.

Day time Plan

Ceremonial Venue -Day Time

Ceremonial Venue/Dancing Club
• Occupancy: 32 - 50
• Square footage: 2800 sqf
• Spatial adjacency: restrooms, collaborative kitchen, exterior deck
• Facility: collapsable bench seatings, reception desk/bar counter, transitional hallway
threshold pod spaces, ceremony stage/dance oor, euipment and preperation room.
• Main activities: sitting, event holding, dancing, chatting, drinking
• All-age accessible, senior prioritized
• Type of self-disclosure and interpersoanl connection:
Formal event to everyday activity, large radius of social

Ceremonial Venue

Day time main section

View of ceremonial venue main entrance

When a ceremonial event is held during the day time, the strutures on two sides of the hallway are used for gathering and re-directing the natural light.

View of ceremonial venue stage

Extendable seatings are fully stretched out for larger occupancy

Collaborative Kithcen -Day Time

Collaborative Kitchen
• Occupancy: 10
• Square footage: 1200 sqf
• Spatial adjacency: existing restaurant, restroomsexisting kitchen, ceremonial space,
exterior deck
• Facility: seatings, kitchen counter, cooking equipments, threshold partition, waiting space and
seats, exterior handrail
• Main activities: sitting, eating, chatting, waiting to be seated
• Guest to be invited
• Type of self-disclosure and interpersoanl connection:
informal event, larger radius of social

Collabotative Kitchen

Day time main section

View of collaborative kithen entrance

Handrails develope into the veiling partitions that gradually blurs the exterior deck into the entrance of the collaborative kitchen

View of collaborative kithcen counter table

Winged-back chair provides the simi-enclosed personal space that allows the user to lean back for hiding or lean forward for exposing

Library Bar - Day Time

Library Bar
• Occupancy: 40 - 50
• Square footage: 3200 sqf
• Spatial adjacency: existing bar, main entrance hallway, exterior deck
• Facility: seatings for reading, reading lights, curtain partitions, book shelves
reception desk/book return, bar counter, bar seatings
• Main activities: reading, drinking, chatting, waiting to be disturbed
• Senior exclusive
• Type of self-disclosure and interpersoanl connection:
everyday activity, small radius of social, informal activity

Library Bar

Day time main section

View of Library Bar Exterior

Exterior windows are installed with sheer fabric laminated glazing in order to achive a translucent effect. Book shelves that are closer to the glazing are legible while the spaces inside are blurred and faded. Thus, the library bar appears to be a reading space for the passby.

View of the Library Bar

The seatings in the library bar consist of four niches devided by resin beads curtain. Allowing the users sitting next to each other to remain privacy or to easefully begin a conversation without seeing each other directly into the eyes.

Night Time Plan

Dance Club

Night time main section

View of the Dance Floor

Hidden bar counter is revealed from the back of the ceremonial venue stage. The structures on two sides of the main hallway become pocket spaces that provides privacy for un-ready guests or intimate couples.

View inside of the Pocket Space

The slits on the eye-level height of the pocket space allow the users the observe the dance floor. Also, the dim lighting inside of the pocket space prevents the users inside to be seen by people outside.