‘We are deep in the wild now, deep in the lonely, sweet, remote, primeval world, far far from anywhere familiar to men and women. Clean air to breathe; stillness, solitude, and space; an unobstructed view everyday and every night of sun, sky, stars, clouds, mountains, moon, cliffrock and canyons.
The living organism stands out bold and brave and vivid against the lifeless sand and barren rock. Each stone, each plant, each grain of sand exists in and for itself with a clarity that is undimmed by any suggestion of a different realm.’
Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
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Jiaxun Xu, Tile 17, Digital Painting, 21x29.7cm, 2021
Jiaxun Xu, Tile 18, Digital Painting, 21x29.7cm, 2021
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Jiaxun Xu, Tile 19, Digital Painting, 21x29.7cm, 2021
Jiaxun Xu, Tile 20, Digital Painting, 21x29.7cm, 2021
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Jiaxun Xu, Tile 21, Digital Painting, 21x29.7cm, 2021
Jiaxun Xu, Tile 22, Digital Painting, 21x29.7cm, 2021
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Jiaxun Xu, Tile 23, Digital Painting, 21x29.7cm, 2021
Jiaxun Xu, Tile 24, Digital Painting, 21x29.7cm, 2021
All of these began with our observation from still-life paintings, where we’ve found a well-balanced way to compose fragments;
from miniatures, where we’ve found geometric identities;
and those from study models, where we’ve tested the relations between the apartments and the greenhouse.
Starting from these observations, we’ve put diagonally both sides of the initial large greenhouse, a rectangular and a circular volume in similar but different sizes. The rectangular spaces are for regular daily use, while the circular spaces are for irregular activities.
The whole building is in unified sizes from the grids that meet spatial demands for living, working, and the large structure.
The way in which it’s functionally divided, creates symmetry and asymmetry within such balance.
Beyond functions, these diversified interfaces within the house create dynamic visual differences, enriching the experiences moving in and out.
Then the continuity of circulation strengthens the balanced feeling, by staircase and the curvy path, which connect both sides, but changing one’s orientation when passing through, also shifting one from work to leisure, or the contrary.
We’ve been simultaneously observing from the site, which is in the west of Mount Rainier, by the side of Alder lake. Our initial thought was to create contrast, between climate and types of vegetation.
Looking carefully through our site, we think it’s more appropriate to naturally preserve those surrounding mono-color trees. Also we’ve planned to place it West to East, West for scenery from the lake, East for Mount Rainier.
which is a very typical temperate-zone,
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Jiaxun Xu, Zone 2, Acrylic, 15x15cm, 2021
Observing from Mount Rainier,
Jiaxun Xu, Zone 1, Acrylic, 15x15cm, 2021
the natural landscapes vary with heights, acting as visual foreground,
inspire us for visual connections between our plants and the distanced mountain.
To really distinguish from the temperate-zone vegetation, we’ve chosen to plant cactus in our greenhouse to create exotic desert landscape. These are six very typical types of cactus with strong identities in size and shape, while also growing well under similar conditions.
And by researching more about the specific prerequisite of growing,
like types of soil and needed amount of sunlight,
we’ve started to imagine about what’s going on inside the greenhouse.
By varying the number of each type and the whole composition,
diversified sceneries of desert can be made.
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Jiaxun Xu, Interior Imagination 2, Acrylic, 15x15cm, 2021
Jiaxun Xu, Interior Imagination 1, Acrylic, 15x15cm, 2021
When walking outdoors into the forest, with all these light-grey concrete walls outside, where the division texture is actually a resonance of those vertical trunks, one feels and sees them as a unified environment.
Then it can be a totally different world when looking from the inside, particularly while working in studio space looking towards the rammed-earth wall, with all these continuity to the ground.
We may now step further into the inside. This circular space can be used as the main studio for a botanist. It’s visually and spatially connected to the large green-house without partitions.
While this rectangular space is for meeting with the guests, to show samples of plants or other treasures from the keeper, and to share ideas mutually.
These are more private spaces for the keeper. Here is a personal reading space for long time use besides field-working, with a void that keeps one aware of the activities beneath,
while this one is for daily living.
Then for the guests, these are more public spaces. One for dinning,
and one for different guests to leave their different personal gifts that they made here with cactus.
Then the staircase here is meanwhile a frame, a seat, and a symbol of shfting body movement.
Here is the other circular space that the guests could observe and play with different types of cactus.
On both sides of the house, guests and the keeper get higher viewpoints from the second floor.
This semi-outdoors space here becomes a corridor, a balcony, and a secondary mediation between interior and exterior, where one could observe both inwards and outwards.
Through some more rational drawings, even more layers could be further revealed. The main access here connects the house from the outer world, and there would be enough space on the terrace for transportation of plants.
The hill within the site is softened, connecting through landscape from the forest.
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Different types of cactus are arranged according to their sizes, distances, and the needs of sunlight. The physical connection from the larger rectangle to the smaller one in the first floor, is interrupted a little by the stairs to create a switch.
While in the second floor, where that connection is cut off, the semi-outdoors spaces mediate between the two opposite private spaces.
The functional beams and the formal columns in-between create visual and physical connection of both sides. The openings and floor-heights are related to the sizes of cactus. Also, different glass partitions going in and out indicate that different activities could happen.
Three different horizontal paragraphs of vertical divisions indicate different uses within the whole building.
The whole roof structure is landed and connected to both sides, providing a continuous large cover for cactus-growing.
‘How difficult to imagine this place without a human presence; how necessary. I am almost prepared to believe that this sweet, virginal, primitive land will be grateful for my departure and the absence of the tourists, will breathe metaphorically a collective sigh of relief, like a whisper of wind,
when we are all and finally gone and the place and its creations can return to their ancient procedures, unobserved and undisturbed by the busy, anxious, brooding consciousness of man.’
Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
NAIVE INTENTION 14:
OPEN CASE
HOUSE Nº 03
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK
BOOK A
JIAXUN XU
JX363@CORNELL.EDU
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS: MAURICIO PEZO
SOFIA VON ELLRICHSHAUSEN
MAP352@CORNELL.EDU
SCM224@CORNELL.EDU
WWW.PEZO.CL
INFO@PEZO.CL
OPTION STUDIO
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
HTTPS://AAP.CORNELL.EDU
COURSE NUMBER: ARCH-503
HOURS: TUE, THU, 08:00-13:00 EST
FORMAT: ON-LINE
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