The ACHUO design competition challenged entrants to propose what a campus living center (a dorm/student union) of 25 years from now could be.
I participated in this last year with a Ted Givens, Gang Wang and Brian Watson, a group of from Little's Durham office. While there are many interesting aspects of this project, I am limiting this post to the highlights of the landscape design.
Our entry consists of two bent bar buildings separated by an exterior courtyard and bordered on the edges with water cisterns, filtration ponds and an apple orchard. Water is collected throughout the project, taken through a filtration process and reused on site.
The buildings units all open on to an inner courtyard where a series of bio-swales and event cubes- wooden crate-like objects used for various functions- set the stage for the many activities that occur within the college campus.
During the fall, new students arrive in the middle of a hub of activity around the annual apple harvest and sale. Student residents share in the cultivation, harvesting, and selling of the crop. The intent is to promote social and educational interaction among the students through this combined effort . The surrounding community is also invited to participate, broadening the reach of the design to more than just the college.
