nature lo[d]g[e]
illinois institute of technologyspring 2013 advanced studio
design of a nature camp for elementary and middle school students at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL.
suspended from a slope and hovering over a lake, this 30ft wide tube offers a telescopic viewports to the surrounding nature and the sky through apertures ranging in scale and depth. Pertruding horizontal volumes are inserted into a singular concrete mass offering spaces of respite and pause, while vertical masses signal main circulation points.
Approaching the lodge from the main building in the north, one is first faced with long descending steps that lead to the building. This dim-lit threshold signaling the enteriority of the board-cast concrete mass leads into a tube-like space that opens into an unobstructed view of the lake and forest.
The shifting and playful volumes highlight the various programmatic spaces of the tube mimic the spirit of the seasonal programs and users that inhabit these spaces throughout the different seasons of the year. From the darker spaces embedded in the earth to those open and hovering over water, the simply volumetric language of the lodge exit on clear horizontal and vertical axes that lead to views and the outdoors. The narrowness of the building allow for a holistic understanding of the enterior spaces of the structure and a better contact with the environment that surrounds this insulated structure. Direct water access is convenient for summer use while cabin-like sleeping quarters and insulated glass rooms are meant to be used year-round.
design
studio: nature camp with adv.thomas jacob
