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CATWALK<br />
The catwalk is by definition synonymous with the concept of movement.<br />
Whether it be an elevated walkway above a theater or industrial<br />
space it provides safe passage without disturbing what lies below. The<br />
term further refers to the continuous movement and observation of<br />
people in a fashion sense, where the catwalk becomes the stage. The<br />
movement of models is observed from those hidden in the darkened<br />
gantries.<br />
The catwalk informs the fundamental element at the center of our<br />
project. Akin to the concepts of the architectural promenade brought<br />
forward by Le Corbusier, the Catwalk is the genesis of this new Journey.<br />
Raised off of the ground, this single gesture is fundamental in meaning.<br />
To be raised off the ground allows the landscape to be free,<br />
purging the ground of its previous responsibilities, transforming the<br />
railway, a previous barren cut in the earth into an area now teaming<br />
with life. The horizontal slab also a fundamental psychological element,<br />
allowing openness and transparency to the outside world. This<br />
is juxtaposed to the possibility of enclosing such a structure within vertical<br />
walls, thereby creating exclusion between inside and out, while at<br />
the same time disturbing the landscape by cutting it, creating a new<br />
frontier. The open Catwalk is not only an important device inside the<br />
structure, but also from without, as it is able to function much like its<br />
haute couture counterpart, garnering interest and intrigue from the<br />
places through which is passes.<br />
143 LIFE IN MOTION<br />
A space of interaction and social inclusion is formed by the Catwalk,<br />
much like the Silk Road which preceded it. The refugees now have a<br />
purified journey along which to walk, supplying them with all possible<br />
necessities of life. Not excluding society in general though, the Catwalk<br />
becomes a space of social aggregation, where people form all walks of<br />
life are intertwined. Thus social inclusion is the dominant state of society<br />
within the structure, relinquishing people of the urge for xenophobic<br />
fear, and replacing it with a sense of community and acceptance.
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