Title: Red Solitude
As architectural design shifts towards widespread focus in sustainability, one structure in the University of British Columbia aims to demonstrate environmental awareness and abstract geometry. Constructed from locally harvested western red cedar, the C-Shore is a wooden pavillion structure that is placed on the campus, and represents the movement towards ecological architecture and sustainable design. Its repetitive stacking construction creates a cozy space that invites students into refuge from the busy campus. When the light shines on it, the red cedar blocks glimmer in brilliant, varying shades of orange, and the rays converge through the holes in the structure.
I aimed to emphasizd the feelings of comfort, peace and the subject's interaction between the structure and its natural design. The wooden cedars create a sense of connection between the subject and nature. Much like how when we walk through a forest and we are warmed by the sunlight peeking through the cracks in the branches and trees above, the sunlight poking through the holes provides natural light and warmth to its occupants. This is reflective of both the intent of the cozy design and the interaction between the geometry and people. The individual cedar blocks all reflect the light differently, creating a gradient of light and an overall smooth transition of colour temperatures. Ultimately, this provides small spots of intense red, where the light hits the greatest, and the other portions of the structure where the less intense tones creates the quieter atmosphere.
The C-Shore invites its occupants to share a time of serenity, even if only for a short moment, or to lean against its warmed, brilliantly red cedars, and let the occupant continue about their duties, as if the space is their own.
