Project Description
Using all of the previous projects, students were asked to design a Biodiverse Research and Archive Facility that would be located behind the Jewel Box, a greenhouse glass building situated in Forest Park. Forest Park is located in St. Louis, MO, and serves as one of the biggest public parks in the country, with a zoo, an art museum, and various other places to hold outdoor events. In addition, it was the venue of the 1904 World's Fair. The challenge with this particular step was trying to get a way in which my two precedents could merge and form one uniform space. I saw the Gardens as an artificial organic design and the library as a very structured, confident design with minimal organic shapes. Based on my previous steps, the form of the building itself would be based more on the gardens and its undulating hills, and the materials would be more based on that of the library. The layout for the plan of the building would come from the seventh spatial typology called Enfilade, in which the entrance would take the individual into the center of the building. Then the programs would surround the center harmonically. In this case, the building's central circulation chamber is characterized by the stairwell and elevator, and the provided programs are hinged on either side. The facility would primarily focus on researching the threatened and endangered native plant species in the St. Louis area. The facility would then focus on how to get these species back into the surrounding environment. The primary heart and soul of the building itself is the interactive greenhouse. This space allows for the general public to interact with the researched plants and see for themselves what it is that the researchers are doing.
Interior Render
Exterior Render
