Showing you the process

I took the terms I am using to define the new identity and attempted to define how these terms can be represented architecturally.
-Accessibility
-Awareness
-Interaction
-Recreation

Accessibility: (approachability, friendliness)
-Gentle grade/slope changes
-View to a given vista or node (or visibility THROUGH opening or glass or material)
-wide spaces
-clear entry spaces (well defined as entry)
-ramps
-open entries
-large (wide/open) walkways
-warm materials/colors
-sense of place (see where you are going/know where you are)

Aware:
-Sense (feel, see, touch, hear, smell)
-Orientation (sense of place - know the surroundings)

Interaction:
-Open Spaces
-Gathering Spaces
-Places of convergence (paths, hallways, greens)
-Views through openings (ability to see others)

Recreation (Green Space):
-Lawn
-Bench/Sitting (viewing)
-Trees/plants/flowers
-Experience (enjoyment, happiness)
-Wild areas vs. Landscaped areas
-Retreat
-Medium for interaction
-Habitat

Now, incorporating those concepts into an initial design for the school...

The Site


Looking at the school - wanting to incorporate view of river (interaction of sloping grade with river) and the perception of viewer from school. (The angle of the "view corridor" is based off the angle of Main Street that runs perpendicular to the site across the river.)


By extending the interior wall to the outside (outdoor space) and extending it - I can create several spaces; the path, the green, the wall.


Creating sections of the building on two axis (3 section cuts per). These sections helped me to develop a sloping floor and ceiling in the entryway/entry hall - that emphasises the slope in the grade on the outdoor space facing the river.


Site Section:

Looking at the sloped grade - and what will happen where the grade meets the water.


By creating an exterior climbing wall on the facade of the retaining wall - it reinforces the programmatic aspect of the site and its relationship to the building.
Also - knowing that the river will change in height throughout the year - the river will be allowed to spill onto the hardspace at the bottom of the sloped grade - providing further interaction between the river and site.




Looking at the plan in more detail and its effects on the outdoor spaces around it.


Entry space extends through the building (creating clear points of entry). Immediately, you enter the view corridor (room) that has a direct sloping view to the river. (sense of place/awareness). The climbing room is to the right and spills out onto the green space outside.

Considering the views:


From inside the entry space - looking to the water.


Climbing wall (outdoor space)