Buffalo Bayou Education Center
2017
Design Strategies
1. Elevate building to a high point within the site to avoid flooding issues.
2. Develop a vertical circulation to promote low amount of site impacts and no removal of surrounding trees.
3. Branch out programs to reinforce idea of a “sculptural tree.”
Axonometric Diagrams
South Elevation
West Elevation
Buffalo Bayou Education Center
In order to expand on Buffalo Bayou Park’s incorporation of art installations mainly located at the East end of the site, this project aimed to activate the site by means of promoting the idea of a “sculpture garden” and incorporate that into the design itself. Through this idea, the project reflects a harmony between nature and development by representing a tree-like sculptural design in order to stay true to Buffalo Bayou’s sense of “escape from the city.”
Through the initial design process, the project and its site revealed a series of issues that were vital to resolve. Some main issues tackled with this project included:
Dealing with a site fully immersed in a flooding zone.
Low activity within the site
Large number of trees on the site.
Design strategies that helped resolve these issues included (to
Elevate the building to a higher point on the site in order to avoid flooding issues in the future
Develop a vertical circulation within the site to promote the least amount of site impacts in terms of foundation incorporation, avoiding the removal of any trees in the site, and opening up views to Downtown.
Branching out of programs in order to reinforce the idea of a “sculptural tree” design development. This branching out of spaces also allows for the most literal mixture of nature and architecture by having large glazed spaces be elevated next to trees in the site.