Eureka Timber Research Center

Narrative:

This project explores the use of tectonics. As town of Eureka consists of a great historical redwood timber foresting legacy, it attracts tourists to the town just for the redwood. Therefore, this project seeks to create a hybrid timber research center where the program organization is based on the sound-activity of surrounding environment that seeks to resonate the emotional atmosphere of programmatical spaces. The collage illustrates that there are two different conditions, the city, and the water front, where the activity level is massively contradicting. Therefore, with the publicly accessible central gallery space, I seek to create a portal from the “loud” city, to the “quiet” waterfront.

The tectonic system is a waffle grid structure on the ceiling, but due to the programs of the space, only a direction of the waffle grid falls as the vertical support. For instance, the high bay and classrooms are “louder” with higher activity level, hence it faces the active city. The office and artist studio are “softer” hence face away from the active city. The gallery space is the only space that faces the bay front.