The project called for that site to hold 3 buildings for the Global and International Studies department of UWM. I chose to put the two smaller buildings in the sunken area connected by trellised walkways and then flood the remaining area with water. The larger building is up on the raised area with the entrance courtyards on both sides. The north side is the student entrance - the one closes to campus. The south side is the closest to Lincoln Memorial Drive and Lake Park, making it the public entrance. The wide area between the buildings is a smaller gathering space and the peninsula off of the medium building would be considered an 'intimate' gathering space.
The goal was to develop the façade and to learn how to construct the building in a way to make it work off of paper. I developed some details more like the mullions and louvers (screen). I started by using my original A-B-A concept and breaking it down to smaller levels to make the mullions for the windows and to lay out the vestibule and kitchen. Since these smaller spaces had lower ceilings than the large space, I took the roof off in the open areas and changed the wall panels into louvers. This gives the effect that the building is morphing from the solid system on the left into the open system on the right. This also gives the user a less intimidating feeling as they enter the building. They are met with smaller pieces of the building as they move from the trellis-way into the main space.
This project won an honorable mention in the SARUP Student Design Competition in 2005.
This project was published in 2131, a student magazine for SARUP in the winter of 2005/2006.
