Practicum - Caden Henderson
Project Brief
Intent
This project demonstrates a site created for the modern interpretation of a traditional craft guild. The intent behind this project is to house local artisans on site, which forms two distinct spaces. The collaborative workspace is a space where the artisans can work, while the community interaction is an environment where they can interact with people temporarily visiting the site.
Site
Location
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The site for this project is the forest surrounding Old Alton's Bridge. The density of the trees forced me and my peers to produce creative solutions for problems like sustainability: maintaining a natural ecosystem, deforestation, and the conservation of light. Furthermore, the site was massive; we not only had to find sustainable methods to keep our site healthy, but we also needed to find out where we wanted our community interaction and collaborative workspace to go. After investigating our site, we learned the sun's path, where the noise comes from, and the topography. All of which helped us determine where we wanted our buildings. We also added Baptista Australis, an indigo flower native to Texas, to the entrance of our site, leading to the community interaction. The indigo color represents wisdom and leadership. The flowers have a gradient effect, the smallest amount found at the entrance, but when you reach the community interaction, you converge with a field of Baptista Australis.
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Conceptual Designs
Community Interaction
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Initially, my community interaction had two elements: the markets and the plaza. In this community space, the intention of the market was a place for people to buy from the local artisans, and the plaza was an area for visitors to socialize and relax. Traditional terrace farms helped create these two areas. I chose to pursue this idea because terrace farming is a craft. Terrace farming also needs precision to make. Firstly, the definition of "craft" for me is anything that can be made by building on another's idea or creation, further evolving the craft, and creating something new. I displayed this definition of craft by having the terraces stack on one another, feeding into the idea of building on something to create something greater than what it originally was. One terrace holds the purpose of farming, but when you combine all of the terraces, the formation of a plaza occurs, and through the plaza, you can enter the marketplaces.
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Collaborative Workspace
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My collaborative workspace's design stayed relatively the same throughout the entire project. The intent behind the collaborative workspace was to house four different types of craft: pottery, glassblowing, leatherworking, and fabric working. I connected both community interaction and collaborative workspace through my design. My collaborative workspace's roofing progressively gets taller, like the community interaction. The differentiating height symbolizes the growth and creation of a new idea. The material of the workspaces is adobe brick. Adobe Brick symbolizes craft; this is because it was used by Native Americans to create their homes before the Americas were discovered. Creating these homes took time and precision to create. Another way that I was able to connect the two areas was through the shape. Both community interaction and the collaborative workspaces surround you, engulfing you in "craft." The workspaces are separated into private and public areas. The private area is for the artisans to work, isolated from the public; this is their own space. Classes are held weekly in the public space. In these classes, the artisans give a hands-on experience to the public, teaching more in-depth about their craft.
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Final Product
Community Interaction
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My initial design for my community interaction stayed the same, along with some additions. The markets sticking out of the terraces on my conceptual design felt awkward. To fix this problem, I added another, larger space for the markets, and in its original place, I created galleries. Each gallery is specific to the market that it leads into; if the market hosts pottery, the gallery will host it as well. This new area uses much natural light, as the windows that make up most of the market are facing towards the sun path from the southeast. The sloped roof of the markets also adds to the juxtaposition formed in my earlier designs, with sharp edges creating something rounded. There will be flowers (Baptista Australis) on this roof as well. These flowers will make the structure seem more connected with the site, if not erupting from it. After the presentations, the main critique was utilizing more space and adding doors to each market. The addition of doors to my markets isolated it from the gallery while still having the two connected. It also created a more fluid movement throughout each area.
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Collaborative Workspace
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Like the community interaction, the initial design stayed the same with minor changes. The only real change that occurred was the interior layout of the buildings. The private section is now structured more around the workshop, utilizing more space. This area contrasts my preliminary design, which was structured more towards storage, which took up most of the building. Another change is the addition of more windows. In my conceptual design, there were already windows; however, to preserve light, I felt that it was necessary to add more. After the presentations, the main point of criticism was the roofing. There was no issue with the slant or the height, but the functionality; if it were a glass roof, I would gain more natural sunlight within my design.
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3D Models
Community Interaction
Collaborative Workspace
