"Occupy" by Nitya Charugundla

Architecture Senior Theses

Title

Occupy

Author(s)/Creator(s)

Nitya Charugundla

Document Type

Thesis, Senior

Degree

B. ARCH

Date

Spring 2020

Keywords

Union Square, Public, Architecture, Space, Occupy

Language

English

Disciplines

Architecture | Other Architecture

Description/Abstract

Union Square, originally called “Union Place,” was a former site for public forum, parades, public addresses and much more. However, the newest design of the park that can be seen today has attempted to make a space that is far less conducive to public forum and assembly than it once was. This thesis seeks to change that and allow for Union Square, as well as a news media center, to be a vehicle for public forum once again. The public space will be used as a vehicle for different types of forums, protests, and even public address in conjunction with the newly re-modeled public space, Union Square. While space for public forum is hard to find in 2020, unbiased news is also non-existent and clear, factual information is inaccessible to the public. This project aims to counteract and contradict the current news avail-able to the public. This idea spawned a new building ty-pology that has a clear focus on spreading factual informa-tion and unbiased news, as well as making a space for the public to convene. A news media center that incorporates and supports the public, and is held accountable by the public, is vital in modern society. This thesis project encourages transparency, dis-tributes news through different mediums, and places importance on making the public feel welcomed into a contemporary take on a news media center. The main elements this thesis deals with are ideas of assembly and disbursement of information. It proposes a news media center that will encourage transparency and assembly, through an additional program that seamlessly weaves in public space, blurring the threshold between news and the public.