Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Meditation Site.

For my final project in my Architectural Design class, we were asked to design a meditation space on a lot near West Temple and 100 South, across from the Salt Palace. The space needed to have a a green area, public gathering area, a group meditation space, and 3-5 private meditation spaces. It would be one of six meditation areas that SLC would have around the downtown area which will add to the diversity of the city. (This is obviously all hypothetical). So first I went down to the actual site and measured it, looked around and got a feel for it, and stuff like that. Then I made a site model of the space and all the buildings around it, so that I could take into account lighting, scale/proportions, etc. when designing the meditation area. After making the site model I started thinking about the space. I made a list of things that meditation meant to me and after toying with different ideas came up with inspiration from Japanese Tea Rooms. They have low ceilings so you are forced to duck down and even crawl sometimes. I took this idea and also kept the idea of hierarchy from my last project and made 3 stories--a ground level, second story for group meditation, and top level for the private meditations. There are a lot more details and ideas behind my design, but it takes too long to type so I'll leave it open to your own interpretation. Here are pictures. I'm pretty stoked on how it came out considering I have never done anything like this before.
(PS- Keep in mind that we didn't have to be completely realistic in our design. Those long strips for the different stories would probably need columns supporting them, not able to stand on their own like that, and accessibility would probably be a problem since you would have to climb stairs but just ignore those things :) haha)













4 comments:

Jake... said...

Wow. That looks awesome, especially the first pic w/ the buildings around it. How long did it take? I hope you got a good grade on it, it looks like a lot of time & effort.

Taylor said...

holy cow! that is soooo cool. Wow. Seriously good job, way creative.

Beverly Rice said...

WOW!!!! That is amazing!!! I am so impressed with your creativity and ability to translate that into a design like this. I am so proud of you!

Unknown said...

Hey dot, you did an awesome job. Since I over Analyze everything, here goes:) I love the texture of the checkerboard floor where you cut the cardboard squares (even though it might not be intentional - was it?). I'll bet that was hard to cut like that. I like how the ground floor surface changes directly below the other levels. that really defines the space. I also like how you have a lot of usage in one area while leaving a large space that gives off an uncrowded feeling and is conducive to meditation. I assume that by leaving out anything that would cause people to loiter (like benches, etc), you are able to control the flow and keep that area open and clear. Very cool!