PRERANA KAMAT
ADVANCED STUDIO
Climate+Identity Exploration Center
Revelation Pulley/Hinge:
Interconnecting eco-social identities & climate change
Location- Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Professor- Frederick Pearsall, Georgia Institute of Technology
Term- Fall 2019
Area- 12500 ft2
Mapping Framework- Team members-Paola Santiago, Prerana Kamat
Softwares Used- Rhino 3D, Grasshopper, AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, Vray
MAPPING FRAMEWORK
The Baker building site was chosen as an ideal location for the new climate lab such that it remains in the vicinity of the other research facilities of the Georgia tech campus. After recording and analyzing the site it was found that despite being rich in its natural and cultural characteristics, it’s identity remains concealed.
CONTEXT & CONCEPT
Marking positions of the trees that previously existed with glass stele, a guided path along these is designed such that the observer is made to experience the highs and lows of the topography and the interplay of light and shadow cast by the tree canopy on the ramp and the stele. Playing with the perception of the observer through concrete poetry etched on the stele, Revelation Pulley functions as a machine system by amplifying forces of nature and therefore tries to bring the hidden identity of the site into light.
FLOOR PLANS
Buildings are responsible for at least 40 percent of our energy use and greenhouse gas emissions but also offer some of the fastest and least expensive solutions for reducing their environmental impact. The iterative process in building massing and envelope as a response to the extensive properties of the sites-topography, neighboring buildings and intensive properties of light, temperature and ventilation that were simulated with the help of environmental design tools and the best strategies were considered in the orientation and form of the structure to reduce this impact.
The Climate Lab needed a space that allowed the work of the researchers to be made aware to the public. Revelation Hinge thus consolidates various functions and stratifies them to provide identity that balances researchers’ need for privacy with the increasing importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and display of work to the public. To maximize the relation to the exteriors-nature and the artwork of site, and to allow transparency to the work of the researchers the exterior surfaces are of glass and the construction is of CLT to reduce the carbon footprint of the building.
