T4T
LAB
NATRONIC 2013
Invited Distinguished Professors:
Eric Goldemberg,
Niccolo Casas,
Coordination: Gabriel Esquivel
Team: Meredith Monroe, Katie Parker, Hannah Smith, Mike Koernig, Matt Mishalak.
Natronic displays the hybridization of the organic and the robotic. It becomes a transitional element from the natural to the artificial realm, lying on the border between nature and civilization. Its components are clearly distinguished from one another and are condensed in space to create systematic conditions reminiscent of a compressed park experience. Exploration may be initially confined within itself, but the experience is intensified and dramatized to a point of excess to provide an exciting transition from one realm to the next.
The pavilion’s design was derived from the concepts of senescence and nature. Studies of the decaying process contributed to elements such as the petal-like forms along the pathway. Another source of inspiration was crustaceans; particularly crabs and the mechanics of their joints. The influences of these forms are represented in the shade like structures that cover the pathway. These objects went through design phases of natural replication and oversimplification in order to ultimately result in a combination of the two that makes for a truly unique and startling form.