CHIAROSCURO

This project is dictated by the philosophy that learning happens at the joint between the known and unknown, safe and unsafe, wall and field. This is the image of one in the portico of Villa Rotunda looking out upon the field, or Newton sitting under the shade of an Apple tree. Within this framework, different forms of learning can take place - whether it is an engaging, soul-calling learning as in The Calling of St Matthew by Caravaggio, or a more contemplative learning such as Lady in Pink by Edward Hopper.

Two open air pavilions are placed into the hillside facing the field. One connects arriving students to the campus and promotes collective learning about the environment while the other tracks the sun from east to west in an atmosphere of quiet solitude. Where the two meet, an amphitheater reveals the layers of the earth and collects a stream of runoff water from the hill. Throughout the structure, different moments emulate different forms of learning between engagement and contemplation. It is within this joint between earth and air in which the students can interact with and learn about the environment and how to protect it.