Catalogue 22/Belly of the Beast

Part of Catalogue 22, Catalogue 22 on Google Maps



Designer: Vanessa Haddock, Adam Hatch, Jeffrey Martin Degree: M. Architecture School: Carleton University Year: 2012 Location of Project: The Detroit–Superior Bridge, Cleveland, OH, United States Project Status: Unbuilt

The beast sprawls across the Cuyahoga river; its belly sags over the water. The mile-long store fuses the beast to the city, and though one can pass through on the paved pathways, you might find yourself swallowed into the theater. As you are digested down the stairs you pass rib after rib, never reaching the bottom but always hearing the sounds that race along the undulating edges of the stomach. The grotesque spectacle heightens as you look out through the skin of the belly before entering the theater suspended within it. The theater scars the skin, protruding from it, but you must leave before you are fully absorbed into the belly of the beast!