Hi

2012-04-24

First year of MArch complete!

Check out some of the drawings and renderings from the latest studio project produces by me and my other two group mates Dorin Baul & John Guinn.

About the project:

Courtyard is a high density residency complex located in Seoul, South Korea containing a large variety of amenities tailored to an aging population. The complex is a collage of different building types, a courtyard typology at ground level, with three towers vaulting from it, containing two floating bar typologies grafted between two of the towers.

The courtyard area is a conditioned space flanked by commercial activity at the ground level of the building. The courtyard is completely enclosed with lightweight transparent ETFE pillows that allows for the space to be utilized in all seasons, as well as creating a constant atmosphere indoors. The program of the commercial space penetrates the conditioned courtyard with a large planetarium that is able to open during the day for outside air, a large barbeque space that penetrates the ETFE, an indoor/outdoor market area, and a conditioned park containing mounds that pump pure oxygen into the space and a waterfall that spills into the parking garage.

The floating bars are connected to the couryard by a system of accessible escalators. The lower level bar at the 16th floor contains spaces for social recreation such as an area for parlor sports (shuffle board, bowling, billiards, etc.) as well as enclosed auditorium areas for bingo or community meetings. The higher bar at the 26th floor contains water related amenities such as an olympic length pool, leisure pool, and areas open to outside air with vegetation.

The goal of this project is to create a high density living situation for an aging population, not only by providing amenities but also garnering a sense of inclusion of all age groups. The amenities, although tailored towards an aging population, are open to the public and people of all ages, thus creating a spaces that stitch different age groups together. This is created not only by the amenities themselves, but the atmosphere of being in a contained space that hardly appears to be so, and conditioning the space with pure oxygen, creating a sense of harmless euphoria, intoxication, and possibly delirium.