Folding Oasis
Taking water as an active medium, this studio -- Surface Tension -- explores friction that often play out in the design of an architectural project: between surface and substrate, inside and outside, public and private, land and water... Pools are designed as a site-specific interface that mediates between people and their surroundings, stitched into a broader conversation around social life and urban generosity in Houston.
In the final project, folding surfaces define the conditions of dryness and wetness and the regarding functions of spaces. A large pool on the ground level folds from deep water into a gentle slope of rest and further into a smaller and shallower upper level pool. Two inner courtyards fold from the ground and diffuse circulation around. The introduction of a sunken screening room beneath the upper pool extends the program of public natatorium from a place only for swimming to a community center where people can gather and watch movies.
Fall 2019, independent work.
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Taking water as an active medium, this studio -- Surface Tension -- explores friction that often play out in the design of an architectural project: between surface and substrate, inside and outside, public and private, land and water... Pools are designed as a site-specific interface that mediates between people and their surroundings, stitched into a broader conversation around social life and urban generosity in Houston.
In the final project, folding surfaces define the conditions of dryness and wetness and the regarding functions of spaces. A large pool on the ground level folds from deep water into a gentle slope of rest and further into a smaller and shallower upper level pool. Two inner courtyards fold from the ground and diffuse circulation around. The introduction of a sunken screening room beneath the upper pool extends the program of public natatorium from a place only for swimming to a community center where people can gather and watch movies.
Fall 2019, independent work.
