Journey

Blacksburg, Virginia

Submitted for the ACSA 2014-2015 Steel Competition, four boards were composed. An agricultural center is viewed as a retreat away from the university campus. A pathway from a parking garage to the ‘’secret place” is met with the agricultural center in the middle. The destination consists of a secret place among groves of trees.

The Journey

The path guides people away from the world of the university into a man-made world of nature; the arboretum. The agricultural center serves as a transition point during the path where the path’s materiality changes from a dense concrete to a light yet sturdy steel structure. An underground concrete parking deck provides a place for people to descend into as they prepare to enter a tunnel that will lead them towards the agricultural research facility and eventually to the secret place.

The Facility

A floating box cladded with perforated corten panels cantelivers above the path. Concrete cores support a two-way steel roof framing system that hangs volumes to support the program. Steel columns flank a walkway within the building leading to different spaces. The south facade is closed off while the north facade has a large window that allows visitors and staff to view the path leading into the arboretum.

The Bridge

The path transitions from a grounded concrete walkway to a suspended steel bridge after the transition point. Tension cables and structural steel frames suspend a glass walkway as one continues the journey towards the secret place. The steel that lines up with the edge of the concrete path transitions into a guardrail on the bridge. The visitor is surrounded by steel but has access to views into the arboretum. The path acts as a datum while the grade and canopy of the trees are ever-changing.

The Secret Place

The secret place, also the destination, anchors itself into the arboretum. The trees are viewed as materials that essentially make up a room in a grouping of trees. As people reach the end, they are above the canopy of the trees and a set of stairs leads them into the canopy within nature. As they descend once more, they are released into the arboretum, away from the university.