Project
NEW MEANS OF THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS IN NATURE
Year: 2022
Category: Cultural Architecture
Skills: Rhino, Illustrator, Enscape, V-Ray, Photoshop
This project studies from the Acropolis of Athens and gets situated in the south bay tidal wetland in the upstate New York. Acropolis is primarily dedicated to the goddess Athena in Greek mythology. The means is to keep what is sacred inside. Original acropolis was not designed for pure aesthetics, but for good defense and to manipulate perspectives by precise proportion alignment and part to whole relationship. In this project of the museum of nature, natural phenomena provide the higher importance. Museums are oriented according to the landscape to demonstrate respect to nature. The experience starts with a ramp and is derived into three axes, air, water, and earth. The floating island celebrates the tension between human and nature. Visitors are forced to look at it at the end of all three axes, but only able to take a boat there at certain seasons. Architecture itself is like a petri dish. It is artificial, but neutral. It says nothing, but carefully curates fauna and flora in different scales, even water. With rising water levels, different exhibits become active. Bulkhead is the construction method used in structural elements, learning from piers in the Hudson river.
Air Museum
“I love the whir of the creature come to visit the pink flowers in the hanging basket as she does” ---Robin Becker “Hummingbird”
Water Museum
“A turtle coming up for air, its reptile’s head in almost blind swaying. No matter. Take off your sandals, lie on your back, breathe deeply, but with no purpose in mind. Beside the still waters, you will be restored.” ---Dick Allen “Still Waters”
Water Museum
“Upward or downward, motion, thy rest. Full of a nature, nothing can tame. Changed every moment, ever the same.” ---James Russell Lowell “The Fountain” The water museum is located in a tidal zone. Water level changes in the range of four feet. When water rises, it will hit the upper exhibit space and leave water in it. Different faunas are curated based on their living levels. Each level becomes active in different seasons. Metal deck with special treatment is used for levels that would interact with water. The hole allows water to flow in and out. After years, a thin layer of dirt would leave on the metal deck, symbolizing nature taking over man made structure.
Water Museum
Air Museum
Air museum is oriented north-south, responding to wind direction. It’s built along existing path to save construction cost. It has two scales for different bird sizes. Bird cage acts like a tent with wiremesh sitting on top of the four columns and anchored to the roof structure. It uses wall type B retaining wall, which is to have the metal bar inserted into the soil behind.
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