![ARCH [or] studio](http://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54581704e4b076d6c3dd5550/1415059522956-N3CWHXMCB8Q9WWHUYBHO/Arch-or-STUDIO.jpg?format=1000w)
synthetic landscapes + natural inclusions, a pocket park for jefferson avenue
Part micro-garden, part park, part playground, part impromptu meeting place, the project seeks to provide a place where playing children, foraging hipsters and lunch-break taking adults come together ...
While the project exudes an organic vocabulary of form, it seeks not to render itself as nature, but rather to insert itself into nature as a synthetic inclusion in an otherwise natural landscape; one which, through time, fuses with the natural world to form an amalgamation whereby distinguishable boundaries between the biotic (natural) and abiotic (unnatural) elements are blurred, yet commingled and interwoven.
Situated adjacent to various traditional structures which comprise the historic Church Hill area, the project makes no apologies for itself. The author asserts that injecting such a wholly contemporary, contrasting, even cutting-edge element into the otherwise homogenous setting would allow for a diversity in the built environment which does not exist to-date; thus elevating the image of the area from one that could be considered stagnant and old-fashioned, to one that is undoubtedly forward looking.
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The structure consists of a series of simply constructed interlocking ribs, made possible by modern digital fabrication techniques, which rest on a standard concrete footing. An outer layer of flexible metal mesh would allow for a continuous layer of either exterior grade smooth-finished stucco or 'shotcrete' (spray-applied concrete), depending on budget constraints. Further built elements include custom fabricated seating elements. Again, depending on budget constraints, these elements could either be constructed using vacuum formed plastic, or with a fiber-glass core composite material. Natural materials include grass for the landscaping, a lemon tree as the central vertical element, herbs and flowers to be selected.
