Design Studio 5 (Baron Baumeister)

FALL 2019

Manipulation Within the Florida Landscape Design Studio 5 Baron Baumeister Professor: Nina Hofer

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Table of Contents Introduction 4 Madison Blue Springs

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Landscape Studies 9

Aquifer Project 12

Process through Plan 14

Process through Section 17

Hot Air Balloon Project 20

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Introduction

In this studio, the main objective was to have an architectural language that embodied the Florida landscape.

The horizontality of the landscape was explored and manipulated throughout the semester with rigorous process. Projects included a study of Florida’s aquifers and prairies. My journey began about an hour north of Gainesville at Madison Blue Springs State Park.

Research began here to find edge conditions and insightful information about Florida’s aquifers. The Florida landscape is very porous beneath the surface because of the constant flow of water from the water table. This provides springs with an abundance of fresh water. I was in shock by how strong the current was on its descent into the Withlacoochee River. This sparked ideas about how to manipulate the environment.

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Madison Blue Springs

My objective at the park was to gain knowledge about the aquifer through ph Through my photos I was able to capture the essence of the natural structure in to the left, I began to think about how the structure of roots could capture spac ing air through sketches was essential to understanding the beginning phase of become dense where air and water interact. To understand the surrounding na taking it in audibly. This method, seen in the sketches below, generated new fo think of possible interventions.

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hotos, sketches, and short videos. n this diverse landscape. In the photo ce above and below water. Capturf the project. To the right, moments ature deeper, I closed my eyes while orms that guided me when I started to

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After becoming one with nature at Madison Blue Springs State Park, I was asked to form landscape studies out of plaster. In these studies, I tried to mimic the porous nature of the aquifer while keeping the integrity of the flat, horizontal Florida landscape. One of the main ideas I got from this study was the act of slipping voids in nature. The plaster plates to the right embody this idea. This would be the bridge into creating space for the final intervention.

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Not only did the spring inform the plaster studies, but also plate studies. In this assignment, I began to think about broader ideas to inspire my intervention. When I jumped in the water at the spring, all I could see was the glorious reflection of color. This act of reflecting and refracting can be seen in the study below. I also started to think deeper about the meaning of the aquifer. It acts as the heart pumping water through the cavities of the limestone. This idea was brought up in the plates to the left through rhythm.

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Interventions and a scroll would represent the conclusion of the aquifer project. In my main intervention, I chose to keep going with the idea of the heart. I wanted to create a pair of spaces (slipping voids) that interacted with water like the heart interacts with blood. The heart constantly pumps blood throughout the body. The way I designed my intervention, water would pass right over the structure pinching guest through a narrow aperture surrounded by the flowing water. Glass panels reinforced with a steel structure would keep the partially submerged spaces dry.

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A new site was given for the next project, Paynes Prairie. Here, the horizon felt endless with marsh. The proposal for the project was to create a hot air balloon launch site at the north west corner of Paynes Prairie. Shade had to be abundant so a roof with over 6,000 square feet was required. This site forced me to design based on rising and falling water levels because of prairie floods. My plan drawings would evolve from condensed structures focusing on interior moments to long expansive structures that provided optimal viewing of the prairie.

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Another key focus on my personal development through this project was generative sections.

These sections helped me tremendously in finding spaces that could interact with water. Floating docks, ramps for measurement, and erosion pools made these structures feel like they could contribute to the landscape rather than hinder it.

The two sections to the left would later inspire the final design of my semester.

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The main focus of my project was to interact with changing water level while providing guest with a place to observe and launch hot air balloons. As guest arrive, they are greeted by two ways of passage for travel, land and water. Elevated platforms allow guest to view from above, while kayaks allow people to view from the surface of the prairie. There are three places where the architecture is activated by the rising and falling water levels. The first is the kayak dock, the second erosion pools, and the third sleeping spaces. The kayak docks are designed to adjust with water levels by tension cables providing guest accessibility to the water at all times. The erosion pool is filled by an artesian spring when the prairie water is low, but as it rises it becomes the medium between the constructed and the natural. The sleeping spaces are also on floating platforms that interact to the constant change in water level. Storage for the balloons lies on the same datum as the launch for ease of access.

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