Karesansui
Spring 2022
Carnegie Melon University
Professor Steve Lee
The CMU campus had long lacked a proper designed outdoor study that caters to the students in a climate like Pittsburgh’s. The Design Build studio started with a design competition between 22 students and resulted in an outdoor seating area that offerd a space for outdoor learning, resting, and contemplation. Located at the grass steps infront of Resnik Cafe, the project is able to activate the space and encourage more students to enjoy the sloped grass and the space inside the project. The whole process demanded the studio to act as an architecture firm, with distinct teams, crits, marked up drawings, and finally a cohesive construction crew. Working on the site in the later half of the Spring semester, the process included pre-fabrication in the Architecture Wood Shop, excavation on site, construction of a crib wall for ADA compliant sloped surfaces, laying and tampering of gravel, fabrication of gabions and Black Locust benches. The studio focused on locally sourced materials, materials that needed little to no maintenance, permeable surfaces to mainatain the underground water table, and the reuse old/leftover material from older CMU projects. This included several discussions with environmental engineers. landscape architects, and other practitioners.
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