Upon
visiting
the
site,
I
traveled down a path, across a
72
VANTAGE POINT AT HORNSBY BEND barron peper
meadow, and descended to where the trails met, leading to beautiful views of the river. I was intrigued not by the final meeting point of these
trails, but by the beginning of the trail, which descends down into the heavily-wooded area. The change in elevation is drastic and ideal for creating an experiential space with views looking out through the trees and over the trails, creating a sense of place and an understanding of the site. This is where I chose to locate my building. I began by designed a water catchment system that worked as a single plane, folding to channel water to one area. This segued into a steel roof design for my project that catches water but also folds over the trailhead in one continuous piece. This canopy over the trail encourages circulation and has apertures cut out and replaced with glass, allowing people to experience the building from both within and outside of the conditioned area. The views down this hill captivated me, so I emphasized those scenes in my design through large glass windows that look out and over the various levels of vegetation. After entering the main information room, the visitor has the opportunity to go through these glass doors onto the deck that is projecting out into the site. Even the conference/employee room has a large glass wall that allows the employees to enjoy the site while at work. The apertures on the trail-covering canopy gradate in size, creating an enhanced perspective when returning to the meadow, but negating the natural perspective when approaching the building. This enhances the experience of walking on the trailhead. Additionally, I wanted to make apparent to the visitor the way that the roof works. From a distance, an observer can see the roof projecting into the site and the way that it would channel water. This helped achieve clarity of purpose with my building, allowing the structure to be appreciated for its connection to the site and allowing visitors to experience the building at different scales. april clark : design two, sp2011