THRESHOLD
Exploring the Threshold | University of Oregon’s 2024 Bruton Design Intensive
A two weeks community designbuild project in partnership with Everyone Village
The threshold is not only part of a building - it is a space the body crosses to enter, or leave, that filters the private from the public, that defines the admitted from the denied. It allows a transition between spatial spheres as well as social, economic, cultural including biographic dimensions. It can be clear, visible, and physically tangible, as well as blur, emotional and atmospheric.
The 2024 Bruton Design Intensive focused on working with Everyone Village – a non-profit organization based in Eugene that provides transitional shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness. The Village is located on a 3.5-acre property in West Eugene, and it currently serves about 70 people. During the two-week intensive, students engaged in meaningful conversations and translated community's needs into design solutions. A threshold as tangible space was designed and built, with both functional implications and aesthetic-spatial qualities in mind.
Everyone Village is more than a standard “transitional housing program” or “homeless camp”. It is an innovative site and program where people experiencing homelessness from Eugene, Oregon come together to experience community, heal, rehabilitate, and prepare to successfully transition into the next chapter in their story.
The Village's Welcome Center, an industrial warehouse, is the first point of contact for those seeking help, as well as for neighbors and people providing support. its appearance, more off-putting than appealing, should be changed.
A covered veranda creates a rain- and sun-protected space as an extension of the room, which is used for meetings, training sessions and as a dining room. The large roller shutter connects the two rooms when it is open. The new veranda offers benches, shelves, and tables. A smaller roof covers the entrance and provides seating.
Images and Plans
Technical Description
The entire structure was built in layers of two-by-four-inch standard timbers. The structure was erected on steel L-sections and anchored to the ground with post bases. Each layer of 2 x 4 has diagonal bracing and is bolted to the previous layer. Windows, shelves and small wooden "connectors" are distributed across the walls. These connectors were needed to stabilize and support the wall and are positioned to cast shadows like leaves on a tree. At the bottom line, they form a composite beam together with the 2 x 4 slats. All benches, tables and windows play with both the limitations and the aesthetics of this slat construction.
