INSTRUCTOR: Stewart Wessel (http://architecture.siu.edu/faculty-staff/arc-id-faculty/wessel.php) 

 The true essence of the hunt lies in nature itself. That is the message that is conveyed to any visitor of my museum after researching and knowing the five stages of a hunter.

   The  journey of experience starts with depicting what anyone would expect of a hunting space and simulate those known emotions of adventure, excitement and the rush of adrenaline. The visitor starts exploring and discovering the kekuli huts zone in the dense tree area, then is guided to the next hunting space which is the rolling huts , where he will experience the form and development of hunting spaces through time. After leaving the cantilevered structures the visitor is tricked into entering a cave-like entrance of the third hunting space, which is Qasr Amra, the feeling of excitement and exploration here is still strong. At this phase the visitor is presented with a new additional concept of how hunting is, where he will realize that this hunting space didn’t just accommodate a hunter’s equipment but also held a luxurious addition to a hunting trip; the baths. The bath's walls of Qasr Amra are covered with fresco pictures of activities like hunting, then the pictures shift to those of lovers and gardens and nature, sending a subliminal message to the visitor that there is more to the sport of hunting than they know. The visitors are then led with this new thought down a narrow path surrounded by water almost like the Moses bridge where they become completely isolated from their surrounding nature after getting a glimpse of their next hunting space destination just as they get out of Qasr Amra (the schwimmhaus). While walking in this narrow path the visitor can only hear the calming sound of the water and then he will be guided into the schwimmhaus boat from the back. Once inside the visitor will immediately be driven towards the incoming light from the wide-glass facade of the boat. Suddenly exposed to his natural surroundings while floating to the next hunting space, The Boats House, and docking there, the visitor will have by then a new perception and appreciation for nature. Upon leaving the Boats house with its contrasting materials of copper and wood the visitor’s sense of touch is what interacts, moving across the rustic green colored copper then ascending a hard path defined with natural materials that goes along with the topography of the site the visitor finally arrives at the last stop which is the hunting lodge. There, walking into the lodge, the visitor is greeted with a pleasant surprise in the dining area, a wide glass view of a small wildlife reserve where one could take pictures and interact with wildlife and nature. Feeling whole, peaceful and close to nature, which is exactly how the hunter feels at the fifth stage…and in the end the visitor will have if not an understanding, develop a subconscious awareness of how hunting intertwines with nature and peace within the being.