Abstract:
What are the issues in issues of live/work and the thresholds that define that in-between space? It is the parts of the whole that start to create a process of movement that defines the idea of threshold; the steps one takes from one to another. By breaking down the standard use ofa material and starting to look at it in more of the pieces and how we arrange them, new ways of looking and understanding materials could be brought about. This rearranging or reuse could also be viewed in terms of how can we [re] look at Detroit and the vast possibilities of vacant land and abandon buildings. For this investigation I have chosen a live/work/learn situation that involves an auto garage for customization. The idea behind the auto garage is to be able to take a standard element and start to transform it into an expression of a particular person or style, to build on the hot rods of today. The live part of the site is for the students to have more of an interaction with the craft which they have a passion about, to build on the love of the car. The garage is one that teaches custom fabrication of parts and customization for automobiles to be a useful learning experience in the growing area ofT mport automobile modifications. This type of mechanic is one that is involved in the profession due to their interest in this style of life, the love for the car and making it more of an individual statement. For the mechanics the in-between step of going from work to home maybe more of a purification process, getting dirty from work and then cleansing before returning to home. The site becomes a major part of this separation; it 's not just the left over space but spaces that can influence the way we perceive working at home.