A PLACE FOR THE SPIRIT
Focus
Public, Spiritual Space
Location
Halibut Point State Park
Rockport, MA
Year
Spring 2023
Design Team
Lily Rousseau
project information.
This semester's project was adapted from The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Annual Steel Design Student Competition for the 2022-2023 academic year. The assignment was to design "A Place for the Spirit," with steel being the primary structural material with special emphasis placed on innovation in steel design. However our design studio exclusively used the site of Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, MA, specifically the area surrounding the quarry and down to the shoreline. The program for this project mainly consisted of entry and admission areas, gathering spaces, ancillary spaces, and parking on site- including roads to access the building since there is no current access to this point of the park.
storyboard.
We began this project with a collaging exercise, which was a refreshing way to research the site and inspire design priorities. The storyboard is divided into 6 categories of exploration- site, building/place precedents, sustainability, spirituality, materials, and universal design. I was inspired by the slope of the site from quarry down to the ocean, and wanted to reflect that same downward gesture in my storyboard. A main principle that came out of this exercise was the concept of water, since it such a prominent feature of the area- how it flows and drips down the site. This unpredictability of water encourages the possibility of a unique experience every time the site is encountered. Another design priority was the use of Corten steel, a material that is extremely resistant to corrosion, which is crucial in such an aquatic environment. This exercise also helped me define what aspects of spirituality I wanted to prioritize through this building, specifically how the space can be used to foster different interactions between people, between nature, and within ourselves.
process work.
I focused on encouraging three types of interactions within the space, interactions between people, between nature, and within ourselves, which in turn inspired three forms of program. The first form would address entry and admission programming, the second more public gathering spaces, and the final a stand alone spiritual center. Each building is connected to the next through a binding system of beams made from Corten steel, serving both as a structural component as well as a representation of the flow of water down the site.
sections.
1/8" = 1'0"
1/8" = 1'0"
SECTION 2
SECTION 1
elevations.
REAR ELEVATION
1/8" = 1'0"
FRONT ELEVATION
1/8" = 1'0"
site plan.
1/64" = 1'0"
As seen sectionally and within elevations, this beam system established a greater sense of hierarchy, with thicker beams defining the boundaries of each building (seen vertically in the site plan). This beam system additionally included ideas of drainage and rainwater collection, taking water funneled from the sloped roofs of each building and diverting them into spouts that cut across the beams horizontally. The water from these spouts empties into basins that then carry the water down the site until they meet with the ocean. Following the slope of the hill, each building subsequently steps downward, through a system of ramps and landings that align with each building pad.
site elevation.
