Beginning the design process, I started thinking about the ocean and everything that is involved with it. I thought about what the ocean is in an abstract manner, and how water in itself has been used for thousands of years in religion as a means of cleansing and purity. Knowing this, I wanted to create a structure that would cater to this idea of “purity� but also relate it to coral reefs and how it would work with this biodiversity.
I studied different species from the ocean, varying in size and definition. I diagrammed how every basic species however, originates from one basic form and manifests into evolved versions of these shapes that start to work and become a cohesive structure.
So, knowing that the ocean is such a sacred entity, I started looking at sacred geometry and the forms that comes with it. I mapped out sacred geometry and made a series of diagrams that come from one another. It all starts with a void, then turns into a sphere, and they regenerate the way atoms and cells unite and grow. As the diagrams progressed I was able to dissect a series of shapes that eventually led me to the flower of life.
From the flower of life, every shape known to man can be diagrammed. From a simple circle, triangle, and rectangle to a octahedron, it can be dissected. Using this information, I decided to rethink my project yet again. I decided that my building wouldn’t be an actual building with conventional spaces that include bathrooms, hotels, restaurants and whatnot, but an exhibition space that would be created using these sacred geometries.
After about a month of extensive and intensive research I also learned that these sacred geometries also came with meanings - life meanings. I learned that these geometries paired with what is known as “chakras”, and that these chakras represented a different part of the body, color, sense and meaning. The seven chakras consist of the Crown, Third eye, Throat, Heart, Solar Plexus, Sacral, and Root. Knowing this, it came to that point in my design process where I reflected back on my ideas and thought well, “what if” these spaces became exhibitions spaces. What if the architecture catered to the meaning of the chakra, and in return fed whoever visits through the installation inside? What if whatever installation is going on in the inside was reflected through a surface from which coral would grow on below?
Naturally, I started diagramming again and thought about how each space would reflect the meaning. I started at the root chakra. The root chakra is about how well a person is grounded, somewhat like a tree. It’s about how well a person knows themselves and how comfortable they are in their own skin. In terms of architecture, I decided to create a dome that would reflect this meaning. When it came to this point in my design process, I had to almost treat it like an art piece. Thinking about what is it to be grounded, I created a series of mirrored walls that would reflect everything inside once you enter. It would in turn place you in the middle of a “universe-like” space that would make you feel like you are by yourself. From my point of view, a person only really knows themselves and who they are when they are truly by themselves. Being all alone means being “all one”, free of distractions and anything that can deter you from getting to truly know yourself. The second chakra is the sacral chakra, and this one deals with the 6 senses, 6th being intuition. This particular dome(exhibition space) took me extra time to figure out only because I couldn’t think of a way to cater to all those six senses. Going back to the “what if” stage, I thought about what it means to truly feel everything and the only way we can really explain the term “to feel” is through experience and past moments that we have lived. So, to really make someone understand the meaning of feeling, I created a sensory deprivation dome, that would remove all feeling. It’s a sound-tight, light proof room that someone would go into, and lay in water for about 3-4 min. From research, it has been shown that people can last only a few minutes before starting to feel uncomfortable from actual lack of feeling.
The third chakra is the solar plexus. The solar plexus is about what really motivates a person and the drive they have inside them. Thinking of the space I really started to think about what gets a person moving every day and what their drive is. I thought about myself and thought about how I leave my window open at night so that at the crack of dawn I start waking up. I then thought about what morning meant and how it really resembles a fresh start, which is what makes me motivated. Thinking about this led me to create an architectural version of a sun which would be centered in the middle of the dome. The fourth chakra is the heart chakra. This chakra is about how pure a person’s intentions are and how pure someone’s soul is. I had an extremely challenging time thinking about how this space would be designed. When it comes to the heart and thinking about how a space could be designed for this, I thought it would only fit best if it were the entrance for my actual design. In my head, a person’s first thought about another person they meet truly reflect what type of human they are. What better way to design a space then the entrance where people would meet? The fifth chakra is the Throat chakra. This one deals with how a human express themselves and how they communicate with others. I created a dome that is essentially a maze. When thinking about how a space would cater to an emotion, I thought what better way to do this then through a space that makes people think and work together to get through. Ultimately the space would guide a person to the center, which would then have an opening where a person can jump into the water and see the beautiful corals growing under.
The sixth chakra is the third eye. The third eye chakra is about how a person perceives the natural world around them. Whether it be through sound, light, and life circumstances. Thinking about this space, I wanted to design a place someone could sit, and reflect, but do so in an awkward manner. When I refer to “awkward”, I mean a space that would somewhat make someone feel “almost” uncomfortable. To do so, I created a double-faced façade made from highly reflective aluminum, that is perforated and twisted to a certain degree, to allow light in. Light would bounce back and forth from this façade, and in return would create a space that looks like a “kaleidoscope”. Apart from that, this space would have certain volumes that would act as topography, allowing someone to sit or walk through. Lastly, the seventh chakra is the crown chakra. This chakra deals with how a person’s relationship is with God. Of course, I would design a space that someone(anyone) would feel comfortable with to meditate and pray in. This dome is simple in plan, but complex in meaning. I created a void at the tip of the dome that would also provide a straight relationship between the divine and mundane.
These domes, would represent these seven chakras and would be intended to swim from to another. The term “aligning your chakras” is referred by those that understand this theory as being in “oneness” with oneself. Traveling from one to one, and seeing the coral grow under and grow in such a way that it mirrors what the next dome above would cater to these senses and act a mindful retreat at the end of the day.
The site is located about 7 miles southeast of Homestead and approximitely 1 mile from ocean reef.
The site is located in the Deep Fore Reef zone, which is where most of the corals grow, due to the lack of wave height and current. It would be located far enough from the reef so that the reef itself would stay undisturbed but close enough to view when diving under the sea.