ENTRANT │ Entrant: Michelle Sowder | Team Members:

PROJECT TYPE │ Community College / Design Project – Studio

SCHOOL │ Anne Arundel Community College

FACULTY SPONSOR │ Professor Michael Ryan, Department Chair / Department of Architecture and Interior Design

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE │ 4/23/2015

Summary Description of Project

Students will design three individual observation pavilions for Assateague Island National Seashore. As a refuge for the conservation and management of the seashore’s natural environment, the challenge is to design something that is appropriate and symbolic of each microenvironment. Each pavilion will be designed for a specific part of the island. The design and form should symbolize and represent the characteristics of that part of the island. The three areas of the island are the Life of the Dunes, Life of the Marsh, and Life of the Forest. You will develop a design for an observation pavilion for each of the three ecological areas that is appropriate, symbolic, related and representative of that particular area. As part of this project, students will also design using design elements of structure and light.

Student's Statement

Assateague Island is a national park located near Chincoteague Island, Virginia and Ocean City, Maryland. Assateague Island is the home of many types of wildlife and has been protected since 1965. The initial task was to create a concept that would translate to each of the micro environments in the park. The overall concept of the pavilions focused on how mankind would interact with spaces that nature creates. It looks at the erratic tendencies of nature that forge a unique sense of direction and translates nature’s organization into built structures.

IMAGE CREDITS (if any)

IMAGE 1:  Ecoforms:Assateague Island, Life of the Forest high res image 1, Michelle Sowder

IMAGE 2:  Ecoforms:Assateague Island, Life of the Forest high res image 2, Michelle Sowder

IMAGE 3:  Ecoforms:Assateague Island, Life of the Dunes high res image 3, Michelle Sowder

IMAGE 4:  Ecoforms:Assateague Island, Life of the Dunes high res image 4, Michelle Sowder

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Media For Download

Project PDF