WATERS EDGE architectural intent to evoke emotional response.
Architecture can be more than just a building. It has the potential to express intangible concepts embedded into it.
It can be elevated to an experience.
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Architecture can frame a moment.
The right relationships of space and materials in the right setting can bring about an emotional response. Furthermore, a design can be purposefully orchestrated to elicit specific feelings.
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This concept is meant to evoke two opposing emotional experiences, utilizing water as the core theme element set against a pure monolithic mass that creates the space.
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The lowest point in the building is reached after a long descent to a stone platform. The building mass looms above, and the scale of the space and the structure are meant to make the individual feel small and insignificant.
The platform is surrounded by huge pillars obscuring the view, and the entire level is continuously hammered by large waves.
The seaward facing opening in the columns allows waves through to crash directly against the face of the platform. The vaulted ceiling overhead amplifies the sound of the crashing waves. This area is meant to bring about a sense of unease, of helplessness, despair, but at the same time, humility and respect for the force nature.
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The highest point in the building can be reached by climbing stairs to high above the sea.
This area is meant to bring about a sense of tranquility and hope, but also a sense of humility and respect for the scale of nature.
Here at the top, there is another stone platform, this one is set like an island at the center of a still pool that covers the entire roof. The expanse of the horizon is clear and unobstructed.
The sound of the waves is distant and muffled. The mass of the building is completely obscured from view and a pool of still water all around the individual reflects only the sky above.
This project is also featured in
Buildner Architecture book -
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