remi/ reide mcclain

A House for Twins in Florence - Syracuse SoA, 2016

This house is about connecting two towers for twins. One for the extroverted DJ and one for the introverted manager. These two towers relate to the pre-existing tower typology in an attempt to continue the urban fabric of the site.

The DJ’s tower sinks into the ground to immerse herself further into the public realm. Her piston driven performance platform simultaneously grants her access to his secluded, soundproof underground recording studio – and even deeper to an underground dance club. The platform can access each level of gallery and their respective outdoor roof spaces to enable a multi-experiential performance venue that correlates with the program and timeline of the project spaces. The manager’s tower rises above the ground level in an attempt to escape the public realm while simultaneously granting her oversight power upon the activities below. By lifting up from the ground, the public realm is able to flow from the courtyard across the street, through the building to the river, where the DJ can perform to the public in a block party forum.

These towers interact through the attachment of shared wooden galleries which behave in reference to the medieval tower typology prevalent on the site. While the wooden attachments no longer exist in their intended form, there are clues of their previous existence through beam gaps on the façade of the tower across the street and the cemented permanence of the Vassari corridor. These galleries act as outdoor spaces, office and managerial suite, and living and kitchen area.  Prominent wooden ribs frame each gallery, while a wooden screen is punctured by rhythmic glass boxes that hold the turntables. These turntables are attached to adjustable shelves that enable them to turn up as integrated members of the façade, or rotate down perpendicularly to enable usage of the turntables. The gallery wall is an activating library for the twins’ turntables collection.