BOSQUE TEA HOUSE DESIGN STUDY
MATT COOPER M.ARCH SUMMER 2015
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INCREMENTAL EXPERIENCE IMPINGEMENT INTERIOR LIGHT SITE PROJECT RESOLUTION
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PLAN VIEW OF KITCHEN WITH PHYSICAL POSITIONS INDICATED STORY BOARD
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INCREMENTAL EXPERIENCE
The original exercise required close study of the process of making tea, with emphasis on one’s physical movement through the space. This model is comprised of twenty panels, each representing a minute of the time it took to prepare, serve and drink the tea. Each panel is dimensioned in proportion to the kitchen where this activity occurred, and the cut-out portions are placed such that they approximate my physical position in the room at each point. Where the panel is solid, it represents focus on the task at hand. Where it’s cut away, the void represents distraction. For example, in the first panel I’m almost fully focused on the act of making tea, and am standing at the counter. The small void indicates the baseline level of distraction that is usually present. During the fifth through ninth minutes, while I wait for the water to boil, my mind wanders and I am distracted. Near the end is the least amount of distraction while I drink the tea with someone, but that’s followed soon thereafter by a need to get back to the work of architecture school and so the void almost completely dissolves the panel.
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MODEL ELEVATIONS SCALE 1/8 INCH PER FOOT
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A conceptual model that simulates the passage from front to back of the space, with curtains placed at regular intervals and spanning the entire width of the room. The experience of moving through is defined by the increase in degree of light that’s allowed in to fill the fabric of the curtains, and represents both literal and metaphorical enlightenment.
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Just as time passes more slowly when one can hear the second hand ticking, the slots are spaced regularly to help break up the passage through the entry corridor. This added friction serves to slow down the process of entry and helps to create a severance between the concrete world and the abstract.
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STUDY MODEL ROOF REMOVED FOR CLARITY
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STUDY MODELS
IMPINGEMENT
The word ‘impinge’ has a negative connotation, and as considered here, that holds. The model is closed where the mind is focused on the task at hand, much as in the case of the Incremental model, above. The breaks in the side of the shell of this metaphorical tea house are where the external world has inserted itself on the mind of the visitor. These gaps however migrate to the ceiling, representing progress towards a focused and enlightened view that moves from lateral to vertical. At the termination of the experience the hole is small, indicating successful passage from the condition of distraction to that of focus. The figure ground study of the Taos Pueblo is a diagram of a more damaging sort of infiltration, i.e. that of attack by outsiders. The darkest areas indicate safety, while the white indicates exposure. The grey area between is the intersection of these conditions, which is defense.
FIGURE GROUND STUDY OF TAOS PUEBLO
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OBSERVATION OF CHANGING LIGHT CONDITIONS Over the course of 5 hours during which time the sun set, the shadows deepened and seemed to fill up the ‘bowl’ of the back patio walls. The light and darkness separated and became distinct, and took on a volumetric quality.
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INTERIOR LIGHT CONDITION
CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO BRUCE NAUMAN
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ITERATION OF TEA HOUSE DESIGN
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LIGHT STUDY MODELS
INTERIOR LIGHT CONDITION
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CENTRAL AVENUE BRIDGE
PASEO DEL NORTE TRAIL RIO GRANDE
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PROJECT SITE BOUNDARIES
SITE
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
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PROJECT BOUNDARIES AND SITE CONDITIONS Significant ambient vehicle traffic noise from nearby Central Avenue (est. 34,000 vehicles per day,) including periodic motorcycles and emergency vehicle sirens, creates a uniformly near-urban environment. Cottonwood trees in general are threatened by human activity, and approximately half of the proposed project area consists of cottonwood forest. The level clearing between the forest edge and the Paseo del Norte Trail provides the greatest degree of solar exposure, an essential element of this Tea House design.
TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF PROJECT AREA LINES REPRESENT 1 FOOT ELEVATION SCALE 1/16 INCH PER FOOT
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topographic lines at 1 foot increments scale 1/16 inch per foot
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BOUNDARY BETWEEN COTTONWOOD FOREST AND OPEN FIELD TO THE EAST
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As part of the recently completed Middle Rio Grande Ecosystem Restoration Project, improvements were made to recreation infrastructure. The pathways and river viewing platform are popular for bicycling, walking and running. The demographically diverse public presence is a significant and desirable condition.
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PROJECT RESOLUTION
The approach to this tea house begins a mile away in opposite directions along the Paseo del Norte trail with markers, placed at intervals, that as individual objects don’t provoke much wonder, but with repetition begin to establish a lineage. As the markers increase in size and frequency, people on the trail begin to sense progress toward a goal. Arriving at a gateway to the Bosque, the pattern continues towards the Rio Grande, into the cottonwood forest, up a low hill under the shadowing canopy and, finally, to the Tea House entrance. A final passage under cover, narrowing, leads to a bowl of light, a frame for the sky, and a tea ceremony.
SITE PLAN SHOWING PATH OF TRAVEL TO TEA HOUSE ENTRANCE
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MARKERS ON THE TRAIL
FIRST VIEW OF TEA HOUSE
ENTRANCE FROM FOREST PATH
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INTERIOR VIEW
SECTION VIEWS APPROACH TO TEA HOUSE
SITE SECTION
SCALE 1/8” PER FOOT
NORTH EELVATION
EAST ELEVATION
SOUTH ELEVATION
WEST ELEVATION
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FINAL MODEL ROOF REMOVED FOR CLARITY
VIEW WALKING INTO TEA ROOM
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FINAL MODEL BUILT TO 1/2” SCALE FROM SPALTED MAPLE
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