Layout of Vertical Ribs, click to enlargeA space can have a purpose, or be purely for the enjoyment of natural light.

For this assignment, the class was split into three groups. Each group was given a different site on the hill directly behind Chaplin. The buildings designed were to be made primarily of wood-based products.

My design is about natural light and the interaction inside the structure. The form of the structure embraces the ground-plane at the places of connection and opposes it everywhere else. The exterior of the building, as well as its form, will be made of wood. The interior deals with the interaction. The floors and walls will be made of fiber optic woven materials whose form directly relates to the exterior shape so there are no flat planes in the building. The floors will be made of a translucent concrete and the walls a mixture of dark, opaque polycarb panels and white, fiber optic woven panels. The fiber optics will all be hooked up to a light tower-like structure that will capture light and carry it to the floor and wall panels. As a person steps inside, the lighting in the fiber optics will be cut off directly under the person’s foot changing the lighting in certain parts of the building.

conceptual rending, click to enlarge