University of Idaho Visitor Center
Designed: Spring 2017
This visitor center for the University of Idaho was a conceptual design that was to be placed in a location that was visible upon first entering Moscow. It was meant to be a place for visitors to stop and learn about Moscow and the University as well as see projects that the college of Art and Architecture had created. One of the requirements was to have an outdoor garden and have it integrated into the space somehow.
I started with the site analysis and found were there was lots of traffic and where noise would be coming from. (my process is pictured below) I then started to lay out my building footprint. For this project, there was a requirement of having a piece of the design being five feet below grade. I decided to drop the whole building below grade and have the garden at ground level. I made this decision because it isn't done very often to where someone has to walk down do get into the main entrance of a building. I also made this decision based on the fact that part of the building was to be used for a gallery. Knowing that galleries were sensitive to light, having the building partially underground meant that all of the windows were high enough on the wall to not ruin the art inside.
Over the course of the project, the main garden changed many times. This showed me how that even though I might like a design in the beginning, to not get to attached to it because I will more than likely change it over and over again. In the end, I really thought that my design was unique and would draw the attention of the visitors of Moscow and the University of Idaho.
