Ottawa Research Center

Advanced Design B | Powers | Spring 2022

Standing at the top of a hill, the Ottawa research and education center acts as an inhabitable retreat amongst the trees with paths that slope downwards through the forest until you meet the water’s edge. Story telling was a focal point of Ojibwe tradition which was integrated into the design of the amphitheater that acts as an anchor connecting the separated private and public masses. The main objective of the center is to bring people together to learn, share, and experience nature and the environment around them by forming an experiential and informational threshold to the site. Its transparent façade also allows for maximum solar energy to enter during the winter and be stored with sufficient openings on its backside to allow for ventilation during the summer. Michigan’s copper mining traditions are also reflected in the building’s weathering copper roof that will, like the seasons, eventually change and merge with the tree canopy.