Culture plateau

Mixed Use Space for Local Arts and Culture

ARCH 2520 Architecture Foundations II

Clarissa Mendez Sophomore Spring 2021

This cultural Centre is located in Cayce, SC. The site is set between two train track at the edge of the Congaree River, adjacent to an active granite quarry. We were tasked with designing a mixed use center for art and culture for Cayce, SC. I was deeply inspired by the Mapungubuwe Interpretational Center in Africa. The precedent’s design is centered around the building’s construction and the use of local materials, reflecting the environment and surrounding cultures. My interpretation of Cayce’s Cultural Center uses plateauing slabs of earth lifted from the ground, exposing its environment’s roots. The structure consists of concrete slab floor supported by steel. The floors are tiled from locally sourced granite and the curved roofs are prefabricated steel plates that house elements like electrical, plumbing, and ventilation systems. Resembling the roots, pilotis also play a vital roll in the aesthetic and structure of the building’s facade.

Uprooting technique sketches watercolor pens terracing and movement sketches watercolor pens concrete and rebar form foundation watercolor pens roof system diagram Rhinocerous x Adobe Illustrator