The design of the new Castle Downs Park Pavilion is aligned with the desire to create a memorable impression, and for the building to act as a touchstone for the community and the city as a whole. Since a large percentage of the building footprint functions as storage space, the design seeks to throw away the traditional concept of a building as a regular, straight-edged shape, and to draw parallels to a more natural and organic form - one that holds visual interest when viewed from all angles, one that grows naturally out of a flat landscape, and one that functions to support its own existence.
The inspiration for the form of the building - the lotus flower - is made up of large petals that reach outwards at its base and upwards towards the centre of the flower itself. The spiky and angular upwards-reaching shape offers a contrast to the relatively smooth landscape of the park, just as the lotus flower contrasts with the smooth surface of its water habitat. There is no front, side, or back on a lotus flower, and thus the design creates a building that is visually appealing from all sides and fosters a strong, natural connection to the land itself.
The soft upward curves of the flower lend the building form to the task of collecting rainwater, its arms reaching toward the sky and drawing water down along its core. This direct connection to natural vegetation gives the building a character and life of its own: it opens up to the sky, collecting and distributing one of the most vital elements necessary for life, water.
The lotus flower grows out in a gentle arc, and thus the building is directly connected to the earth instead of being placed upon it. The line between 'exterior' and 'interior' is blurred, such that before one enters the building, one is already protectively sheltered by it. As in the expression 'Form Follows Function', the building is created to serve its physical purpose with proper space planning and layout, but also serves an emotional purpose. Its inspiring and uplifting design becomes a source of civic pride, comfort and inspiration.
Description of the Design Solution and Technical Aspects:
The new Castle Downs Park Pavilion is represented as a collection of 'petals of the Lotus', made up of different angles in the walls, angles in the roof, connections and juxtapositions between planes, and the juxtaposition of strength and harmony between the materials that make up the building itself. The pavilion is the design embodiment and interaction of the fragments of place, time, and the experience that each user takes from it. It is a physical representation of the community network, made up of different parts and displaying itself as a complete, beautiful whole. Each member of the community will find a space to feel at home in the pavilion, and each individual will make a unique and personal connection to the building and the space around it.
The Castle Downs Park Pavilion was designed to unfold from a central axis as if growing directly from it. The various wall and roof elements were placed on distinct angular trajectories to draw the eye towards this core, and the entrances were placed at each end of this axis, each anchored to the site with a large masonry mass wall. Integrating with the existing planned site development of Castle Downs Park, the building uses the mass walls as a visual cue for each entrance. A covered bicycle lockup under the east side roof encourages alternative transportation methods for users of this LEED silver building.
(From competitor's text)
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