LANDSCAPE LABORATORY - UNDERGRADUATE ARCHITECTURE PROJECT
SCOPE: find an area of Cincinnati to repurpose. what is that use and why is it needed?
A landscape laboratory is a space that can be used as a testing ground for experiments in landscape architecture, ecology, horticulture, and agriculture. Cincinnati’s riverfront is misused and neglected. Once the backbone of the city’s economic activity, much of it now lies vacant and abandoned. It is nearly impossible to get to the waterfront as it is blocked off by railroads and raised roadways. The site is begging for a more inventive and purposeful use.
The design consists of a series of berms to create many microclimates to create a diverse testing ground throughout the site. Ground conditions range between sand, clay, silt, and peat. The research structure portion of the site includes two bridges connected by a building tunneling through a berm. Where the bridges puncture the landscape, they become workspaces and labs. Where the structures are daylighted they hold several small glass pavilions for isolated climate control.
It’s a varied and re-configurable research area, a non-perfect site that would never be complete. Ideas would be built on top of each other as the landscape continues to change. The space serves as both a learning center for students and researchers and a relaxing natural setting for members of the public. This way innovation can be an aspect that everyone participates in and therefore all can contribute to the future of landscape architecture.
