QUARRY OUTPOST HOUSING + VISITOR CENTER
My Spring 2023 studio followed the theme of territory observed through a material study. Assigned the material, stone, I studied the territories of stone quarrying processes and the effects of this practice on the existing landforms and the eco-territories present. I also chose to study an additional theme, exploring the return of stone as a structural material and its sustainable benefits as a regenerative material territory.
SPRING STUDIO 2023
Shenandoah National Park
We started our projects by documenting our research through the creation of maps. Below are two maps I created. The first shows the production of stone in each state, the classification of stone around the country, as well as the stone processing and quarrying sites around the country.
The second map shifts towards a focus on the biodiversity throughout the country and how different ecosystems are effected by stone processing and harvesting.
Project Thesis
Where and how is stone sourced and what pre-existing landscapes and ecosystems does that affect? The act of developing and preserving pioneer habitats within quarries is one that can ensure an ecosystem’s security and mark the permanence of a species once endangered. By subsequently focusing on the preservational aspects of a project in which a natural environment is altered, we can work to solve the problem in which we are creating by harvesting and processing stone, while subsequently exploring the return of stone as a structural material.
QUARRY OUTPOST
Project 2 Summary
Studying the material properties and territory of stone, my project is centered on the preservational steps that must be taken when considering stone as a building material, as well as the structural variability and capabilities of the material itself. For Project 2, I chose an active stone quarry site located in Shenandoah National Park. Within this site, I developed a fieldwork outpost for the workers in the stone quarry, providing storage space, a small break room and private bathroom spaces. The overall circulation allows for more private areas as you move deeper into the structure. The building itself is constructed out of a gabion basket wall system, with scree infill. This scree acts as a secondary habitat for the pioneer species found in stone quarries, who call piles of small stone home. Supported by basalt columns, the structure demonstrates the variability of the use of stone as both a structural material as well as a façade, while providing a space for both the invaders as well as the invadees.
QUARRY HOUSING
Project 3 Summary
For the third section of the project, we were instructed to design housing for our chosen sites. For this portion, I chose to fast forward through time to about 30 years later, when the site was no longer harvesting stone. The quarry fieldwork outpost transitions to become a visitor center, while individual single family housing units are placed within the base of the quarry. The housing follows a circular plan similar to that of the original outpost, and falls on repetitive plots of land. The idea supports that of coexistence, where humans and pioneer species could regrow and thrive together. The plots provide a grid system in which some spaces are curated for the regrowth and rejuvenation of endangered species and some for visitor housing. The idea is that visitors would be able to stay in a naturally beautiful environment such as Shenandoah National Park, and witness the regrowth of an ecosystem that humans previously destroyed.
The housing itself demonstrates three different uses of structural stone through a gabion basket wall system, stone basalt columns as well and stacked stone block walls. It aims to demonstrate the longevity of stone as a building material as it integrates structural stone practices that are no longer as common in structural design.
