The original site for the Wedge Shed project was an unused loading ramp located on the Twisp
Works PDA property. My team and I saw an opportunity to revamp the use of this loading dock by
implementing a shed with two spatial conditions. Some of the main concerns for providing an inclosure
for a bio-digestor is that it is well insulated from the cold during the winter and well ventilated to flush
out smell and prevent the compost pile from igniting during the hot summer heat. Compost piles must
reach a minimum of 131 degrees Fahrenheit in order for bacteria to die but in the summer the pile can
exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Zephyr means “westward wind” and the project is named so because
of a strong prevailing wind coming from the northwest and west. Our team saw this as an opportunity
to inform the shape and closed vs open condition of the project. At one end zephyr’s roof cantilevers out over the ramp to provide shade and protection from the elements while visitors load organic waste into the bio-digestor. The project shifts alignment slightly off the ramp to a closed condition where compost piles are kept to burn off bacteria. In the winter this zone is closed to prevent the outmost potion of the pile from freezing, but in the summer the zone is opened up to receive the western winds to cool down the pile and sweep out unwanted smell. The team saw an opportunity to align form with material properties in that each longitudinal beam is made from cardboard - Recycle Round Up’s largest source of waste - which has the flexibility and strength when stacked to bend into each groove of the latitudinal CNC milled plywood beams.