rare|Space
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Studio Coordinated by Geoffrey Thün
Floor, wall and ceiling all contribute to how a space is enclosed. The atmosphere of the space is prescribed by the character of the thing defining it.1
rare|Space is defined by a series of thresholds and boundaries. The thresholds and boundaries are materialized as screen and plan. The screens derive their formal character from the experience of tracing a path through the dense overlapping of trees in a forest and the structural benefits of cross bracing. These thresholds define the space within themselves (when presented as a cluster) as well as local the places of program between them, as in the case of the main performance space. Similar to how the screens shift to adapt to program so too does the ground plan to accommodate specific program requirements.
The space is also located over time by the growth of the flanking forests. With the introduction of the project not only does the forest move towards and fill in the field, but due to its presence and the nature of forest succession, also moves out from the project. The built artifact acts as a generator of landscape. As time passes the primary circulation route is amplified as movement opposite the grain of the project increases as its object quality dissolves into the forest.
1. Christian Norberg-Schultz.1980. Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture [New York] Rizoli. 11-18
2008 2B University of Waterloo Design Excellence Award