FOREST WITH CIRCLE
Simple opposites. Circle and square, risen and sunken, covered and uncovered, outward and inward. The building is circular and domed, and precisely this geometry allows the architecture to realize its concept spatially. As if aliens crashed their flying saucer. By sinking a low one-story dome below ground level, the architecture embodies a topography and eliminates the recognition of facade.
The directors of the park need a new office. What was once an oak forest is now a site of two houses and a public park. One house, Torre Catynes, remains for the public outreach of the park. The other will be demolished. Torre Castynes faces out. The office faces in. The oak forest is replanted at the park, leaving a clearing for Torre Castynes, and hiding the new office. A new act of destruction is a catalyst for the rebirth of the forest, much like the volcanoes that shaped the original landscape.
The sunken circle creates an unusual space from the gap between roof and landscape. Where office workers expect to see grass and sky and mountain by looking outwards, they instead find themselves face to face with rock and dirt and the sliver of light that fights its way towards the impossible perimeter through tall oak and thick trunks. Where workers expect to see their desk, they find a desk and a chair and maybe some drawers. There are also functional bathrooms and cabinets to store documents on park improvement strategies. And a snack room.
Distinctly, the visitor is not invited. If you are lucky, you may see a peek of office life through a swiss cheese skylight or observe a mound of mathematically precise dirt when leaves start to fall.
Year: 2024
Type: Workshop
Location: Olot, Spain
Instructors: Jan Guell, Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, Ramon Vilalta
Team: Nainika Aggarwal, Howard-Chang Chen, Yen-Lun Chen, Yong-Chun Chen, Yu-Quiao Chen, Shih-chi Huang, Swarnavalli G, Kuan-Wen Liu, Will Martel, Aishwara Narasimhamurthy, Yu-Wen Ou, Hui-An Wu
Shoutout to the english group. Special thanks to Kane Liou for the photos and Marc for the stay.