Poker Table

Physical Model Section C-C' Section A-A' Ground Plan 32 OTHER ACADEMIC WORKS | POKER TABLE Core II P02 | Harvard GSD | Spring 2024 Instructor: Nancy Nichols Located at the rupture between Chinatown and the Leather District, the project translates intersecting urban grains into a civic architecture organized around diff erent degrees of participation. Inspired by Chinese grandpas gathering around a poker table, the design centers on a shared banquet hall where people can engage directly, observe, enter, or leave freely. The massing brings together two systems: a fi eld of barrel-vaulted bays defi ning classrooms, and a rotated central fi gure that interrupts the fi eld and unifi es the banquet hall beneath a saw-tooth canopy. North and south wings operate independently but can extend into the central hall, allowing fl exible use. A visually connected mezzanine and transitions between enclosed and open areas reinforce gradients between private and public, formal and spontaneous activity. Below, parking, recreation, storage, and classrooms can convert into temporary disaster shelter during climate emergencies for surrounding communities when needed.