Hillside Aquarium
In Stan Allen's "Matters of Surface", the techniques he describes refer to Landscape Architecture and Engineering. The same techniques can be used to describe different structures or the possible inspiration behind their designs. The first thing about the Rolex Learning Center that caught my attention was the gaping holes that appear, seemingly randomly, throughout the building. Almost as if someone took a shovel and dug out space to allow light and air to penetrate the center of the structure. It also resembles what could be described as detention or retention basins for rain water run-off. Scour is a very important thing to consider in Landscape Architecture and Engineering when examining possible unwanted excessive erosion as a result of soft soil. The building could be described as what looks like a terrain that has suffered from a lack of scour and erosion control or possibly a piece of art that was developed deliberately using this technique. I have used the word "scour" as inspiration for the overall site development as well as the building design. My design started off as a more literal translation of the word, while my second iteration takes the idea and progresses into a more practical piece of architecture. The interior of the space, on the other hand, sticks with the original geometry and use of curvilinear lines to form the walls of the structure.