Project One- Entry Pavilion
Design IV begins as an exploration of the site Blue Bell Park located in East Falls, Philadelphia. The architecture class as a whole analyzed the area and selected different regions per class to design an Entry Pavilion for the park that would act as the gathering place for visitors entering the park and later as the starting point of our second project of the semester. The Entry Pavilion was designed within the contours of the surrounding landscape and with sustainable practices in mind.
Project Two- Fitness Path and Exercise Folly
For Project Two the class takes to Blue Bell Park again; this time however, the project is design a path that can be used by people of all abilities that stretches for a mile in length. The classes as a group designed the path with the goal of the people taking the path to explore all areas of the park. Scattered throughout the path was the next step of the project, exercise follies where people could experience them in a multitude of ways such as climbing, ducking, weaving, reclining, to name a few. The folly I designed allowed people to climb, weave, and sit on it and experience the folly as if they were in a tree canopy. The folly's speckled shading, climbing abilities and organic materials allows people to feel as if they are within the canopy, while still remaining within the fitness path.
Project Three- Open Air Theater
Blue Bell Park is a sizeable green space in the East Falls suburb of Philadelphia rich in views and geographic shifts. Our Design IV class spent the sum of the semester becoming acquainted with the park and understanding it on a basis that allowed us to design three projects through the course of the class that showed our knowledge of the site. By analyzing the park, the class concluded the semester by designing an amphitheater in the park that people of all abilities can access and enjoy. When looking at the site for the amphitheater the initial intent of the design was maintaining the views in the small valley that is the site while preventing the spectators from having obstructed views due to elements such as the sun. The design developed further by establishing the intent to follow the contours of the land as closely as possible in a single gestural movement that resulted in a design that resembles a cresting wave. Through revisions and reviewing the amphitheater was able to achieve a design that optimizes the views for the spectators and integrates itself within the surrounding landscape to create a piece of architecture that stands on its own.