University of California, Berkeley
THEATRE FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE
Fall Studio 1997

Concept Berkeley was as left of field as I expected and I greatly enjoyed this project despite the dark background reading. Having read harrowing descriptions of abuse and then being inspired by the ability of the human spirit to recover and move on, I sought a building which both embraced and protected the spirit. The Theatre had a series of layers with varying degrees of opacity and transparency, to allow the occupants to control the degree with which they made their theatre public. The lower theatre space was the more public of the two theatres (placed to overlock, one on top of the other) while the upper level theatre was a cocoon of soft furnishings and gentle lighting. The process by which you moved between the two spaces represented the process of recovery. The external bright pink metal cladding represented our collective social conscience and the inspiration that strength of spirit inspires.

Final Model This was my final studio during my exchange year at Berkeley and probably the most influential of my University career. I discovered that randomness can lead to order, that passion can be translated into form and that sometimes the most important lessons are learned from that which we most fear.