THRESHOLD
A CIVIC INTERFACE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH THAT REIMAGINES THE SALK INSTITUTE’S PUBLIC FACE FROM ACROSS TORREY PINES SCENIC DRIVE.
PROJECT BRIEF
"PLAYING WITH FIRE while RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, ETC"
WHAT DO ARCHITECTS, WORKING IN THE 2026 HERE AND NOW, OWE THE PAST? HOW DO WE NAVIGATE THE GAP BETWEEN RE-PURPOSING WHAT'S ALREADY THERE AND THE OBSESSIVE DESIRE FOR THE 'NEW'? AND WHAT IF THE 'ALREADY THERE' IS AN ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE?
LOU KAHN'S 1963 SALK INSTITUTE IS INARGUABLY ONE OF, IF NOT THE, MOST SIGNIFICANT BUILDINGS FROM THE 20TH CENTURY. THE VIEW FROM ATOP THE TORREY PINES MESA ACROSS THE OPEN PLAZA OUT TO THE DISTURBINGLY BLUE PACIFIC IS UNPARALLELED IN OUR ARCHITECTURAL IMAGINATION. AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLABORATION BETWEEN JONAS SALK AND KAHN RESULTED IN A COMPLEX THAT IS RADICAL IN ITS PROGRAMMING, ITS SITING, AND ITS MATERIALITY. SO WHAT BETTER PLACE TO ROAD TEST IDEAS ABOUT OUR OBLIGATIONS TO THE PAST BY PROPOSING AN ADDITION TO THE SALK INSTITUTE?
THE LARGER PROJECT FOR A RESEARCH INSTITUTE ENVISIONED BY DR. SALK AND KAHN IS YET UNFINISHED AND THERE HAVE BEEN A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE INFRASTRUCTURE INSERTIONS AND A CONTROVERSIAL MAJOR ADDITION IN 1995 SINCE 1962 SO THE PROJECT IS STILL ALIVE. THE STUDIO WILL CONSIDER THE PROVISION OF 100,000 SQUARE FEET OF NEW SPACE WITHIN THE EXISTING SITE BOUNDS. THE STUDIO AIM IS DESIGN A BUILT INTERVENTION, DETAILED PROGRAMMATICALLY AND MATERIALLY, WHICH IS FULLY INFORMED BY A CONCEPTUAL OR CRITICAL FRAMEWORK THAT ADDRESSES THE THREE QUESTIONS ABOVE.
PROJECT STANCE
RESPONDING TO HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT ARCHITECTURE REQUIRES INTERPRETATION RATHER THAN IMITATION. A CONTEMPORARY INTERVENTION SHOULD EMERGE FROM A CAREFUL UNDERSTANDING OF THE ORIGINAL WORK THROUGH ITS SPATIAL LOGIC, INTENTIONS, AND CULTURAL CONTEXT, WHILE ALLOWING ROOM FOR NEW IDEAS TO ADDRESS PRESENT CONDITIONS. RATHER THAN REPLICATING FORMAL ELEMENTS OR MIMICKING STYLE, THE RESPONSE SHOULD OPERATE THROUGH CRITICAL REFLECTION AND TRANSFORMATION, USING THE LESSONS OF THE ORIGINAL ARCHITECTURE AS A FOUNDATION FOR SOMETHING DISTINCT YET RESPECTFUL. IN SOME CASES, THE MOST MEANINGFUL RESPONSE IS NOT TO INTERVENE DIRECTLY WITHIN THE ORIGINAL WORK, BUT TO ENGAGE IT FROM OUTSIDE ITS BOUNDS, EXTENDING ITS UNRESOLVED IDEAS IN A NEW AND CONTEMPORARY WAY.