It Endssss!

I finally figured out how to end the project! Thanks to a precedent shown in one of my daily classes, I have come up with a very elegant way of directing the user toward the terraces. I have used a series of benches that evolve from the existing lines of the project. The lines continue out into the landscape until they reach their turning point. From there they turn toward the terraces to shown the user that they are supposed to make the same turn. The benches also have some similar forms to the ones shown in an earlier post. Take a look!

HOW IS THIS THING SUPPOSED TO END?!

I'm struggling with the idea of how to end my burial space. I have gone through a few versions including my previous post on the benches. It has evolved to the excavation of land at the bottom of the burial area to create a balcony over looking the river bed and mountains below. My biggest problem is finding the form and reason of where I want it to end. The space needs to be proportional to the existing cemetery along with my addition. The first picture shown is the first balcony sketch that shows the points where the fingers end, and transposing that onto a point about 30-60 feet away in spaces.

(rotated really weird?) it's saved in a horizontal orientation on my computer

This second picture is showing my second idea done in model. Drawing wasn't producing any results for me so I started working in model again and used the angle produced by the first terrace off of the burial space to create the cut angle of the ends. The angle helps direct the public towards the terraces that are used to get back to the entrance. 

Benches and Ending the Burial Area

I am now faced with the challenge of how I want to end my burial area. I originally wanted it to slowly fade into the landscape with a series of trees that get less dense as you move away but I feel like I might be able to add a little more on top of that idea. From a precedent I found a few days ago (you can find it a few posts down) I got the idea of adding benches at the end that look like the fingers rise out of the ground one last time and fold back to create a nice seating area. This will only happen at special places because a line of benches at the end is just too predictable of a solution. Where there aren't benches, I am thinking a small deck to help create the boundary from cemetery to open site will look very appropriate.

Here are some sketches and a small model to help you visualize my thoughts.

Chapel/Ceremony Space Pictures

In this last photo you can see the structure starting to form that will in some places peel away from the overhang similar to the "arches" at the entrance to the existing cemetery.

The entrance to the chapel space has a piece of the roof pulling up, inviting the visitor to enter the chapel here. That same piece will also extend back into the chapel space to appear as though it is falling and it also blurs the distinction from outside to inside.

A Daily Dose of Architecture: Today's archidose #575

A Daily Dose of Architecture: Today's archidose #575: Here are some photos of the Spain Pavilion -- "Living Nature" -- at the Floriade 2012 World Horticultural Expo in Venlo, The Netherlands. A...


Found this on another blog. It has a very similar idea to mine where the forms of the building look as though they are rising out of the ground and wrap around to create a space underneath.

update again?!

it's been a productive night and I FINALLY figured out how I want my chapel/ceremony space to look. I took a quick video of the model to get a better feeling of how it would look from a first person standpoint.

chapel space/ workers space

The next thing I've been working on is the chapel space and the workers shed. I am planning on incorporating the chapel into the slope on the opposite side of the terraces and have it facing out towards the views in the landscape. The mountains will make for a very nice, peaceful backdrop to have a ceremony in.

Here are the current diagrams I have drawn up to show where these will go in relation to the rest of the project.

terraces

The next step in my process was to figure out how I want people to move from the bottom of the site back up to the parking area/entrance. I dont want people to filter back through the graves unless they really would like to, so I was thinking of putting a series of terraces up the side of the area I am working in. The form follows the drawdels and the casting i did earlier. 

In the picture, the white spaces are the benches/ water feature that will be incorporated into the terraces. The water will flow behind the seating area creating a small boundary to the wall. On the wall you will see all of the names of the people buried in the cemetery engraved into the concrete.

The terraces give the viewer a chance to step back and view the burial area without fully engaging it. The small areas created in the terraces allow for small contemplation areas and the sound of water will give a soothing feeling to help relax emotions. 

Here's a series of drawings to help you visualize this idea.

Post Mid Crit

Since the second mid crit, my project has evolved a lot. I have pushed all of the fingers together and created a much more dynamic landscape. There is no longer a disconnect between pieces and overall the project now flows much better.

I used my site model to determine where the fanning of the fingers would happen. Taking the white string, I found the convergence point of the existing forms, and placed a nail at that point. From there I used a series of brown strings to represent where the fingers would be placed and at what angle. Using the strings as guidelines, I started to carve away at the site.

My idea when pushing the fingers together was that you wouldn't be able to walk straight down one path from top to bottom. You would have to engage the landscape and traverse from one finger to another. Once you have moved from one side to the next, that original side now becomes the graves and visa versa. There is constantly a movement from walkway to burial wall. From the outside, it is hard to tell where exactly people are burried and what is a walkway because the forms are very similar.

The next step was to think of a way to direct the public in the areas I want them to move. To do this I am using a series of trees placed according to my study of an original draw-del.

In the draw-del you can see how the nails form rows in some places but implied walls in others. By opening these rows up, you invite the user to explore that row. By creating an implied wall, you tell the user to go somewhere else. So I took the nails and placed them precisely where I would like people to walk around, and pull them in different directions.