Jenga3.0 Project Statement: An Evolutionary Flow of Form, Material, and Light

EVOLUTION | FREE FLOW

We actualize the underlying theme of flow through moments of enclosure within solids and moments of release through the perception of void upon discovering the glass patio. Through form, materials, and light, we explored the sense of enclosure and openness along certain paths....

FORM SHAPES HUMAN EXPERIENCE
Enforcing the feeling of enclosure, the solid forms of the units and their placement and orientation cue the division of public and semi-private spaces throughout the building. As humans enter the building complex through the central part of lower level public space, occupants experience a covering and sheltering from the roof above. With an overhanging roof plane extending from two of the units (“flow” and “crystallize”), we provided walkways that take advantage of the negative space, again providing a sense of shelter. Further enclosing the second floor experience, we placed the third unit (“pendulate”) to enclose the public space and provide a backdrop for the activities envisioned there – circulating, sitting, and experiencing – bringing people together through the idea of flow.

MATERIALS PROVIDE A SENSE OF CAPTURE + RELEASE
The dematerialization of the floor plane and structure, as seen through the glass flooring on the upper patio, endow the public space with a certain lightness, underscoring the open feeling of this second floor space – in deep contrast to the sheltering, intimate spaces first experienced by residents and visitors to the building. Circular columns support the upper level patio, becoming thinner as they rise through the second story to emphasize vertical expanses and lightness of space. These columns mark key moments along a diagonal line under which patio flooring, inscribed with curvilinear lines, suggests a path of movement to the occupant without a sense of restriction.

LIGHT UNITES + UNDERSCORES OPENNESS
As a design element, light filters through the translucent glass floor and brings together the lower and upper level. When light reaches the solids of concrete and wood, it warms their surfaces and distinguishes the building envelope from the site, bringing humans to a natural reference of materials in the everyday world. Shaped by the designers (and, ultimately, the builders), these solid materials provide great contrast to the open nature and fleeting light experienced through the glass. Light thus materializes and dematerializes – not unlike the qualities found in a cathedral. Through this most basic experience of light washing through and onto materials, and the sense of verticality gained through the uniting columns on both levels, we bring a universal understanding and order to an unstructured world.