Untamed Course

Riverfront Park: 24-40 Highways & N. Second

Riverfront Park is located North of Lawrence along the Kaw River. The Kaw River (also known as the Kansas River) winds east, passing next to many of the major cities of Kansas including Manhattan, Topeka, Larewnce, and Kansas City. Riverfront Park serves as an off leash dog park, has a disc golf course, and accomodates people for hiking, birdwatching, etc. It is mostly unpaved footpaths, with the exception being the paved parking lot, which is the main entrance into the park. From the parking lot, a trail extends in both the north and south directions. It hosts a multitude of bird species including chickadees, cardinals, and red-tailed hawks.

It is also a prominent nesting site for bluebirds, wood ducks, purple martins and others. In 1986 the City of Lawrence released 40 Canadian Geese to esablish a resident flock. They can be seen feeding on grain fields and roosting at night for the majortiy of the year. The program for this project is the design an open air structure that encourages conversation/ guided nature talks about the area. For the actual site of the structure, I was free to choose the specific site depending on the topography and views I wanted to capture.

During my first studies, I played with forms that would draw people off the path, acting as a path as well as shelter. Many of my designs were made to suggest an abstract version of a bird, as an homage to the importance this site serves to a multitude of species. My work also took a second approach, inspired by Andy Goldsworthy’s Rivers and Tides, as something that would weave throughout the trees, protecting and appreciating their prominence and age Besides the types of birds mentioned on the park website, I did my own research into what types of birds may interact with the structure I ended up choosing. This study is shown to the right.

By my second round of iterations, I had decided to move forward with the flowy abstraction of a river. However instead of keeping it as one form, it split into two that would weave around the trees of my site, imitating the growth pattern of a prominent tree I noticed. Two trees grew in such a way that they touched and merged at some points while diverged and created little pockets of space between which I documented in a drawing to the right. The second thing I experimented with was how the form would be put together in reality.

This caused me to break the solid form into a system of parts that when joined create the entire form. That way, it can be built around the trees without removal. At this stage the final thing I thought about was how to shape the form in such a way that it provided both humans and non-humans a place of rest and shelter. This made the turns of the “river” tighter leading to placing where groups of people can gather in a semi-circle to talk while the second form soars overhead, creating an overhang above.

Two forms are split into modular pieces that can be assembled on-site so that the structure can be built around the trees.

Modular Intentional

One of the forms lifts above the other to create an overhang that protects from driect sunlight while the bottom from rises up enough from the ground to create a semicircle seating area.

Non-Humans

Much of the structure is suspended just barely above the ground. The purpose of this is to allow field mice and snakes to find shade under during the day and warmth under during the night, which snakes love to hide under. Having small animals in the area attracts predatory birds that are rare to see. Lastly, the top structure retains some water, creating a bird bath.

Engaging

The design of the form is in response to the surrounding context. First, it starts next to the footpath to draw people off of the path into wooded area. Second, the seating curve is oriented in such a way that when people are sitting, they face the best views out to the field. Third, the seating is placed close to the edge of the woods where birds like to peck for food, allowing people to get a good view of birds chirping and eating.

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