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Paul Phaisinchaiaree

Paul Phaisinchaiaree

Torrance, CA, US

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A marine research laboratory design that negotiates the transition from the marine to the land environments by forming a layer of wall in which creates protections against the erosion of all forces such as wind and water.

Locating the project on the prevailing wind direction and next to the water, the form is stretched out off the landscape to produce a protective zone.  Each stretch becomes an arm that reaches out from landscape to shield the landscape itself.  In addition, each arm are interacting and intersecting with each other in which it locates vertical circulation as well as the spatial quality.  Shortcuts of circulation are design to serve the use of different moment in the building.  Furthermore, programs also being affected by the interested arm where several interconnection moments become double ceiling height or stack.

Looking at sustainable system, our design is a proposal of a sustainable system where the building turns itself into a protection zone behind against nature of erosion.  However; taking advantage of the location where the location of the site is facing a prevailing wind, breeze is used to cool down the building during the day, and using thermal mass to release heat at night from concrete which can be found only on the student residential areas.

Through our research, it became clear that wind ad water can produce intricate natural patterns as it erodes land.  We use this natural patterning as a reference for our cladding system, that we develop with wood where sizing of wood begin to change from one location to the next and color of wood begin to alter according to the nature of time during erosion period.  This cladding system are associated directly to program, for instance, lab areas are required more natural light than other programs in which the cladding system is less dense than the exhibition areas where lighting needs to be very control so that the cladding are more dense and more area.s

 
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Status: Competition Entry
Location: St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Additional Credits: Partner: Victor Monge