Design Studio 04 - Spring 2020
Horizontum is sited in the mountainous English countryside. The fluid landscape was reminiscent of the characteristics of water, and the flow of water became the programmatic driver of this project. The element of water becomes a guide for the user's circulation throughout the site and can be followed through incisions in the ground. The program includes a water cistern/repository, dormitories, horticultural space, a "bell tower" (space of light), and bath houses (space of gathering).
The stitched system represents the movement and circulation through the site. The main zone of program is located near the midpoint, between sunset and sunrise. Water informs movement of the site and program, and it introduces and holds light.
The cistern/repository is a large and subtle subterranean system that moves throughout the building context and it collects/stores water from the site beneath the building. The program connotes the idea of holding together, because the cistern represents an "ocean" where multiple rivers from the site converge and form into one body of water.
The incisions in the ground create views of the flowing water and it guides the spatial itinerary of the user. The water collected in the cistern is repurposed throughout the project. It moves through the thick vertical wall within the building and is directed towards the horticultural space.
The collaged perspectives show the choice of material, the light and shadow conditions, and the spatial itinerary pertaining to the programs: light (bell tower), rest (dormitories), storage (water repository/cistern), and relaxation (bath houses)
The bell tower space represents the moment between Earth and Sky. The skylight frames a view of the sky above and of the Earth below. The bath houses are slightly submerged within the subterranean layer of the cistern. It is a stereotomic space carved out of thick stone masses, it is relatively dark in comparison to the well-lit bell tower. The baths become filled with water stored in the cistern through incisions in the ground condition.
