Nature-Over-Man Folly

Prairie Acre, Lawrence, KS 66045

~130

sq Ft

For this project, I was tasked with designing a folly for the students of the University of Kansas, with the only parameter being the site location, and the fact that it had to be a space for students to relax. Right next to the site is the last acre of natural prairie grass in Kansas. Drawing from the nature, and beauty of the flora and fauna, I was inspired by how it had prevailed through our construction projects and the test of time. To pay homage to this, I took the most prominent tree on the site and tried to “contained” it.

Through this, disks attempt to strangle the tree, but nature powers through, and explodes out from the top. To reference the prairie grasses once again, man made blades of grass, made of concrete and stone, also push through the disks, leading the users vision through the structure