topos and tilts

The topography of the site is very flat- from corner to corner it's 225' and drops a grand total of 2'... wow. So the model below is exaggerated a bit... 

And this is something I've been thinking concerning the kinetic landscape- since the 'natural' ground plane is so flat, what if the ground plane itself was something one could interact with? There are several examples in contemporary landscape architecture of rotating planes- even entire plazas rotating with planted trees and all, so why not a ground plane see-saw?

This could be at several scales- one where the length of the one below was 10', 20' even? longer, thinner ones? shorter ones? would be a great interactive bit for big and little kids alike. 

The construction of such a feature would be thrilling to figure out- cor-ten steel, 1/8" margins, 10" thick solid steel center pivot- the result would be visceral, a real treat, i think... 

shifting planes

These models are where the fun really happened for me- to work out site features this way is so much more powerful in my own mind- hopefully they communicate well.

The lawn area I'm envisioning for the northeast quadrant of the site has many possibilities. What this shows is a raised edge on the east side, maybe 3' with a long gradual slope to the west- because this would be quite long, maybe 60' or so strong edge. I thought about what spaces and experiences might happen were I to intersect that tilted plane with another plane but with an inverse relationship- i see this as a walkway, a way to enter, as well as a fairly dramatic (given the context) shift in perception- even 3' off the ground would allow users to see from a different vantage. 

An exaggerated protrusion.... 

And a shift in planes, creating opportunities for other spaces to emerge around it. 

STILL working out concepts

It's getting rather tiring, I must say- a small breakthrough of sorts after these drawings were made- I've been focusing so long on "what the space needs to be" and have been totally stumped- yes, the site tells me a few things, but the creative end is obviously on me to decide and propose. I feel like i've been leaving the creative out of it, or have not been approaching it from my true self- i know, i know. that's a bit silly, but i've really been letting what i assume the client is expecting (which exists totally in my mind) to shape my concept, so it's really no wonder that this figment of my imagination has not been producing anything...

so these drawings are just still basic things i've been thinking about the site- and then the models are where i've begun to allow my sculptural side out a bit- very preliminary, but i had fun with them, which afterall is the point. more fun is to be had in coming days, and hopefully this will lead to true inspiration. it usually does for me.

Sketchup Stills

Just a few images of my sketchup model and pedestrian analysis... more later.