Watershed, architectural research and design studio by Float
Made by Float, this writing studio is designed to reveal the ecological complexity of the site to visitors and in this way it is successful: Small tunnels under the studio bring rare reptiles and amphibians into view through the floor-level window. The water collection basin that doubles as the front step draws in birds and deer.
The first stage of construction was the site-poured foundation piers that are cast to spread the weight of the building on the ground and to drain water away from the steel frame.
The second stage, the steel frame, was shop fabricated and dropped in a single piece onto the piers by a front loader. Stainless steel bolts connect dado-grooved cedar 2×6s to the frame and the final tongue-in-groove cedar and glass enclosure layer floats in those grooves and on rubber engine seats. There are no irreversible connections. The wood enclosure can be updated or recycled piece-by-piece as necessary. The steel frame can be removed the same way it arrived and can be reused or recycled.
The roof diaphragm amplifies rain sounds and the collection basin is a measure of past rainfall.
The way the studio is designed in three separate construction stages made it possible to shop fabricate most of it and then to walk the parts to the site for assembly.
Link Via [Inhabitat]
January 22, 2008 - Category: Architecture, Green - Posted by: Hans - Comments: 0