CANTILEVERED GREENHOUSE
The first project in my Architecture Design in the Landscape course, Cantilevered Greenhouse, is a design for a gathering hall space located at the University of Illinois Arboretum in Champaign, Illinois. The clients from the arboretum requested a gathering space to serve the arboretum and adjacent Japan House, to be used for guest lectures, organization meetings and visitor events.
Prior to developing a design, I analyzed the natural landscape of the entire site and selected a prospective site for my gathering hall. In my analysis of the site, I took into account proximity to existing paths, buildings and water sources, circulation throughout the arboretum, and the effects of natural sunlight for passive heating and cooling purposes.
My design proposal features an integration of open and closed spaces and facades through a supporting greenhouse concept. I developed a hierarchy of spaces within the plan that opens up to an outdoor patio space on the southeast end of the structure. The extension of the building through the outdoor patio successfully creates a connection between interior space of the gathering hall and the exterior environment of the arboretum, and supports a deeper connection to the natural landscape.