ARCH-4980.6 | Chris Perry, Assistant Professor

HYDROCULTURE

JAMIE LEE

The role of today’s garden environments call for a heterogeneity of experiences in order to stimulate the masses and their growing demands for everything. Our appetite for accessibility led to the construction of massive factories that produced everything from paper to cement, all of it located conveniently on the river to satisfy our need to have everything at a moment’s notice. As our attention waned from farm lands to urban life these factories became abandoned, but their impact was lasting and manifested itself in the pollution of the surrounding waters of the river. At the same time of the decline of the factory was the increased fascination with the environment and the benefits of nature on human health. We look to nature to provide for us the health benefits of cleaner air and a relaxed space uninhabited by the built environment. Using abandoned factories as a remedial site for an experiential garden we can mitigate the divide between the static environment and the grown environment.

Using the abandoned factory as an interface for a dynamic living environment one can see the potential of a space that looks to Ant Farm projects as precedence for a reposed oasis. The contoured roof acts as a water collector that directs rainwater into tubes that make up liquid lanterns on the interior of the factory. As the lanterns collect more water they descend and expand to the topographic landscape. Once they touchdown onto the landscape they release the water, thus nourishing the soil and permitting vegetation to grow. The lanterns create a relationship between the exterior and interior resulting in a space that would be an unconstrained garden. It defies the boundaries of architecture and extends its reach into the realm of an art installation. It works as a water collection system but also a device to grow greenery. This space will not only allow for the growth of nature but also allow for a dynamic environment that gives the user a varied experience.