Olympic National Park Trail Hostel
The
Olympic National Park Interfaith Chapel Washington, United States Community College – Design Project
The design of the Interfaith Chapel was inspired by the natural feature of the chapel’s site, the Hoh Rainforest located within Olympic National Park. What makes the Hoh Rainforest so unique is its unexpected location in the mountainous region of the northwestern United States. The design will emulate this experience by using organic overhanging forms to recreate the feeling of a forest canopy. The organic overhanging forms will create a feeling of unexpectedness by masking the hard inorganic geometric forms of the building. The concept further explores what one feels while proceeding through a rainforest, the farther into the forest travelled, the denser the trees become and the more complex the canopy above becomes. This journey relates to meditation and the journey to dive deeper into one’s thoughts. To recreate the feeling of the journey, the canopies will be widely spaced at the portal entry and gradually become more densely packed the closer to the chapel one walks, with the chapel being almost completely covered. The chapel itself will be framed with heavy timber from sustainable sources. FSC laminated beams will be the main material used in the exterior organic structures masking the building. Sustainability speaking, the design will take advantage of rainwater management by collecting rainwater and reusing it as gray water in the building’s water system. This gives the building LEED points in rainwater management and indoor water use reduction, both of which are regional priorities in the region where Olympic national park is located.
CHAPEL
PORTAL
PERVIOUS PARKING
The natural inspiration for the design comes from the complex multi leveled canopies of rain forests. The canopy creates a feeling of awe when one looks up and sees the various canopies interacting with one another. The design will recreate this interaction by overlapping the overhangs, this will also produce a feeling of being deep within a rainforest.
Louis Vuitton Foundation Frank Ghery
The organic petal-like exterior structures surrounding Louis Vuitton Foundation will be the inspiration towards the overhangs and canopies that will be masking the building’s geometric design.
Form: Contrast of shapes is of significant importance to the overall design. A relationship will exist between the geometrical building design and the organic forms that mask it. This contrast between an organic exterior and a geometric internal structure will help develop the feeling of unexpectedness of the design.
Proportion: The design of the portal and building will both rely on a 12 foot by 12 foot grid that will dictate where spaces are located as well as how large they are. By using the grid as a basis for where walls and other aspects of the project are located, a proportional relationship will exist between the parts of the portal and chapel.
The first set of parti diagrams were created to play around with different organic shapes that would eventually become the basic form used to mask the portal and building.
The second series of parti diagrams helped develop the manner in which the overhangs became more dense to create the feeling of journeying deeper into the forest.
Parti model studies continued the development of not only what the shape of the exterior forms would be, but also how they would interact, the original parti models stacked the overhangs in order to create the feeling of the multi levelled forest canopy.
The design of the portal uses the 12 by 12 grid mentioned previously to define where the walls of the path are located. The canopies become increasingly dense the further into the portal one goes.
The second portal model addressed the problems regarding the first model. The second model varied the heights of the overhangs, increasing the density at the exit of the portal then the previous model had. The new model also developed the use of varying sizes of the overhangs.
Private Utility
Public
N
The red lines drawn over top the picture illustrate the relationship between the organic forms that mask the inorganic building form underneath.
East Elevation
South Elevation
Section Cut Through Center Hallway
The detail shows how the exterior structures that mask the chapel are designed. FSC laminated beams are used as the main support for the glass panels of the façade. Steel connections are used to join the various elements of the structure to one another as well as the connection to the main building.
Olympic National Park Interfaith Chapel Washington, United States Community College – Design Project
The design of the Interfaith Chapel was inspired by the natural feature of the chapel’s site, the Hoh Rainforest located within Olympic National Park. What makes the Hoh Rainforest so unique is its unexpected location in the mountainous region of the northwestern United States. The design will emulate this experience by using organic overhanging forms to recreate the feeling of a forest canopy. The organic overhanging forms will create a feeling of unexpectedness by masking the hard inorganic geometric forms of the building. The concept further explores what one feels while proceeding through a rainforest, the farther into the forest travelled, the denser the trees become and the more complex the canopy above becomes. This journey relates to meditation and the journey to dive deeper into one’s thoughts. To recreate the feeling of the journey, the canopies will be widely spaced at the portal entry and gradually become more densely packed the closer to the chapel one walks, with the chapel being almost completely covered. The chapel itself will be framed with heavy timber from sustainable sources. FSC laminated beams will be the main material used in the exterior organic structures masking the building. Sustainability speaking, the design will take advantage of rainwater management by collecting rainwater and reusing it as gray water in the building’s water system. This gives the building LEED points in rainwater management and indoor water use reduction, both of which are regional priorities in the region where Olympic national park is located.
CHAPEL
PORTAL
PERVIOUS PARKING
The natural inspiration for the design comes from the complex multi leveled canopies of rain forests. The canopy creates a feeling of awe when one looks up and sees the various canopies interacting with one another. The design will recreate this interaction by overlapping the overhangs, this will also produce a feeling of being deep within a rainforest.
Louis Vuitton Foundation Frank Ghery
The organic petal-like exterior structures surrounding Louis Vuitton Foundation will be the inspiration towards the overhangs and canopies that will be masking the building’s geometric design.
Form: Contrast of shapes is of significant importance to the overall design. A relationship will exist between the geometrical building design and the organic forms that mask it. This contrast between an organic exterior and a geometric internal structure will help develop the feeling of unexpectedness of the design.
Proportion: The design of the portal and building will both rely on a 12 foot by 12 foot grid that will dictate where spaces are located as well as how large they are. By using the grid as a basis for where walls and other aspects of the project are located, a proportional relationship will exist between the parts of the portal and chapel.
The first set of parti diagrams were created to play around with different organic shapes that would eventually become the basic form used to mask the portal and building.
The second series of parti diagrams helped develop the manner in which the overhangs became more dense to create the feeling of journeying deeper into the forest.
Parti model studies continued the development of not only what the shape of the exterior forms would be, but also how they would interact, the original parti models stacked the overhangs in order to create the feeling of the multi levelled forest canopy.
The design of the portal uses the 12 by 12 grid mentioned previously to define where the walls of the path are located. The canopies become increasingly dense the further into the portal one goes.
The second portal model addressed the problems regarding the first model. The second model varied the heights of the overhangs, increasing the density at the exit of the portal then the previous model had. The new model also developed the use of varying sizes of the overhangs.
Private Utility
Public
N
The red lines drawn over top the picture illustrate the relationship between the organic forms that mask the inorganic building form underneath.
East Elevation
South Elevation
Section Cut Through Center Hallway
The detail shows how the exterior structures that mask the chapel are designed. FSC laminated beams are used as the main support for the glass panels of the façade. Steel connections are used to join the various elements of the structure to one another as well as the connection to the main building.
