Masaka Merton Institute for Contemplative Leadership, New Heaven, Kentucky
http://justmusing.net/page/4/ This project is driven by the idea of path as well as the use of our bodies to measure the spacial qualities of a place. It is the goal of this exploration to study the experiential nature of a pathway and how different spacial qualities along the path influence the person who occupies it. What is mostly important to me in this project is how people experience the space. The form is important but it constantly in flux to accommodate the above. I think that the spacial experiences, just like music and art, will trigger thoughts and emotions, provide comfort and provoke.
At the site scale, the site experiences are deeply connected to the natural flows of the site. The pathways relate to low and high spots. They cross the topography creating steep climbs while in other places, the paths climb slowly, at a small angle to the slope. Abundant growth on the site allows to use trees as a way to play with space and create a variety of spacial transitions. Trees surround some buildings to isolate them, while the expose the others to welcome visitors.
At the building scale, spacial experiences are emphasized in sections. A building’s entrance narrow, in attempt to pull the visitor in. The elongated properties of most buildings pull people through, emphasizing movement, but also the temporal nature of human experience.
