FORESTRY CENTER

The project description was to design a building or a series of buildings to house an educational forestry center. The program required a woodshop with delivery access, storage, and all the machines necessary for wood crafted art. A space was needed for open education, classrooms, an auditorium, and a gallery space. In addition, a residential area was essential for an artist in residence to stay.

My design concept focused around the best view in the park. I pointed the gallery building with a large window, at a sparse layout of trees that gradually became denser with distance. I created an angular building that physically points to that spot. A series of iterations took place to pick the correct form for the job. The gallery building is the main building on the site and is meant to showcase all of the finished work. I created a large cut into the ground, making an enclosed exterior space that mirrored the angled form of the large gallery window.

The woodshop building is separate to keep clean and dirty spaces apart. The most efficient form for the architecture was an industrial warehouse style. It needed plenty of head height for delivery trucks and logs to be stood up. The residential building is farther off from the main buildings for privacy. All of the buildings are related by their angular forms and the material choice of black slate and wood. I chose a material that didn’t stand out from the environment and could blend in with the darkness of the trees.