A methodology for designing human experience informed by roller coaster design
Contemporary retail architecture is often conceived as a neutral container that remains
disconnected from the culture and intensity of the experiences it houses. This thesis challenges
that model by proposing a methodology in which architecture is generated through the
integration of movement and material constraint. This methodology is tested through the design
of the NBA Flagship Store in New York City, transforming retail into an active, legible
expression of cultural performance. Drawing from roller coaster design, circulation is organized
as a continuous, linear sequence that translates the kinematic phases of an NBA slam dunk into
spatial experience. Simultaneously, the project establishes a generative system in which space is
produced from the fixed scale, geometry, and physical behavior of cultural artifacts. By
maintaining the true scale of objects and arranging them without intersection, architecture
emerges through the spaces formed between, within, and around these objects.
