THE BIRDS NEST

ARCH 251 I Studio Tom Di Santo I Fall 2022

This project focuses on “edge conditions” and the relations edges have towards each other. The design language of this studio is “Aquaitettura” (water architecture), or to incorporate water into the design.

The program is a leisure pool and a recreational pool with a bike path that runs through it. The site is next to a railroad track, two roads, and a pedestrian bridge on all four sites of the structure in downtown San Luis Obispo. The main contrast being the interaction between the relaxed and the competitive.

“Structural redundancy” is a key link in the project. This concept is an overabundance frame to provide more than enough structure and thus becoming “redundant”. Much of the inspiration comes from bird’s nests in nature.

The shape of this element is dynamic and connects the two sides of the program. It also serves functional elements other than structure, like creating different spatial zones within the structure, using varying densities to create privacy and different lighting conditions, and providing protection from the loud noise of the street.