The project is a mountain motel,
comprising 80 bed rooms, a cafeteria, lounge/lobby
and outdoor facilities for fishing and recreation. Our idea was
to generate a building which was conceptually a tent;
such that it would become a part of the environment by
emerging out of the landscape, just like a tent would,
and with its folded skin create an extrusion of the mountain
geometry. Our project aspired to reverse the modernist premise of "man over nature" and regards man as a biological therefore technological extension
of nature.
SUBMISSION
TEXT OF THE PALISADES GLACIER MOUNTAIN HUT:
To the primitive mind nature
was a force to be fought against. Throughout history nature was viwed as an agent, an extension of God and for the most part his/her punishment. The
Ancient and the Religious paradigms negotiated with nature through their peculiar ways, one sacrificing for and the other befriending it. The Scientific Paradigm was bolder and more arrogant. It tried to conquer
it to no avail. In our project we no longer regarded nature as an element of punishment, negotiation or conquering.
Rather the technological advancements and their social consequences
have shifted from mechanical to digital with such
velocity that we defy natural boundries of time and space, watch explosions in space, configure our genes, change the sex of our babies and clone sheep. In other words, we have become nature's executive agents.
Architecture
is an essential part of the equation between human and
nature. In our Mountain Hut project in Nevada, we would
like to create an architecture that performs as an event
of transition as opposed to a defining truth, an everlasting statement. We believe architecture should dissolve itself, recycle back into earth, water and fire. The primary natural elements we see in
our site are the Mountain and the Pond. As natural preserve
and a land to ancient nomads, the site has been the campgrounds
to many human ancestors and with care and vision; it will be
the campgrounds to many generations to come. In our research,
we have been fascinated with ancient and contemporary
tent structures. From yurts of the Central Asian nomads
to the tepees of the Native Americans, these structures
are generated from flat planes of fabric and strips of
wood into folded and enclosed volumes. Additionally, the
rock basis of our site generates a geological formation
that conceptually constitutes a geometrical ground condition.
These conditions became the basis of an architecture in
constant transition from ground to figure, from the Mountain
to the Pond. They do not represent the states of matter
in appearance; they simply perform a series of architectural
events. The primary element of our project is the roof
plane. It is clearly visible not only from the walkway
of the campgrounds but also from grounds higher up on
the mountain. It, in relation to tent structures; embodies
the transition from a flat plane to a folded shell. As
a vectoral transition, it peels off as a flat plane from
the mountain skirt, folds and fans itself out to the public
realm of the pond.
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There are three major programmatic
volumes which hover over the ground plane and envelope
the bathrooms and the sleeping units. Two of these volumes
are located higher than the third one considering the
view orientation of the rooms and the levels on the site.
All rooms have vast views of the mountains and the natural
landscape. Under these volumes, on the ground plane, is
the great communal space. It is a double height space
in between the bedroom boxes topped by a vast skylight
which contains all public functions including breakfast,
dining, lounging and socializing. Our fourth element is
a platform over a canopy, which is the closest to the
pond. It contains the fish cleaning area, cooking and
grilling facilities and has a platform for barbecue. Environmentally
our project is respectful and symbiotic. Water is a key
element of the energetic balance of the building. The
roof plane is conceived as a water-accumulation device.
The
pleated surfaces direct the rain and snow water from higher
areas towards the water tanks to be stored over the wooden
space frame of the circulation strips. These circulation
strips provide access from the communal area to the bedroom
corridors. Stored water is then distributed to kitchens
and bathrooms by water pumps and filtered out back to nature
as natural waste. Since there are no chemicals involved,
there is no environmental space and the bedrooms with the
aid of thermal isolation and special fenestration. This
reduces the necessity for excessive power. Remaining need
for electricity is then provided by a nearby hydro-power
plant. The bedrooms are lit by horizontal strips of windows
located on the roof. They provide each bed room a panoramic
view of the surrounding mountains. We have a vision for
the forests of America; with the simplest means of high
technology we want to create an architecture that pollution.
The sun light is used to the fullest extent; beyond natural
lighting, it is used for heating the communalembraces nature
and blends in. With that comes our remembrance; we are nature.
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