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Exposed Shelter
2015
Exposed Shelter is a form of animal architecture that accommodates spaces not only for humans, but also animal species, specifically New England Cottontails.
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This design attempts to create a co-existing environment between humans and rabbits to reduce extinction of the species and protect them from unwanted human contact.
Site Analysis - Space Usage
Amherst Golf Club covers a fair amount of land in Amherst, MA, and a large amount of the golf site is composed of untreated greenery area, where the topography is irregular. This diagram clearly exhibits where the used and wasted spaces are.
Site Plan
Amherst Golf Club is surrounded by large areas of trees and residential streets. It is very quiet, which would be perfect to shelter unprotected animals.
Roof Plan
The Exposed Shelter is located in the middle of the golf site, where wasted space used to be. This placement minimizes the interruption for the golf players, while maximizing the use of an untreated area.
Axon
This axon illustrates the fundamental idea of geometric structures forming a whole. The fluctuation of the site's landmass translates into the irregular pattern incorporated throughout the project.
Elevation
The elevations show the interplay between the building and the site.
First Floor Plan
This floorplan shows the spaces occupied by humans and rabbits. There is a number of public spaces, such as cafe, lobby, viewing hallway, and an education room. There is also a private accommodation for the caretaker of the rabbits, and it consists of typical residential housing features, such as a living room, kitchen and dinning room, washroom, and bedroom. The caretaker has access to both the rabbit courtyard and the rabbit shelter.
Second Floor Plan / Roof Plan
The structure is one story high, but it incorporates a rooftop balcony that overlooks the rabbit courtyard with a pond. The balcony is accessible from the outside.
Section - SW
The building is embedded six feet into the ground, and the large courtyard is elevated back up three feet to match the eye levels of humans in the building and rabbits in the courtyard. This submerged structure also conserves energy by allowing less sunlight during summer and more sunlight during winter.
Section - SE
The rabbits have options to live in the human-fabricated shelter inside the building, or underground rabbit holes that they create themselves.
Rainwater Management System
The Northeastern part of the landscape is cultivated in a way that collects rainwater and sends to the inside of the building to be used in bathrooms, cafe, and the pond in the courtyard. With the sustainable features such as green roof, rainwater collection, and the energy conservation via underground structure, the building establishes an ideal co-habitat for both humans and rabbits.
Perspective Rendering
This rendering looks at the southern side of the building.
Interior Rendering - Viewing Hallway
The viewing hallway offers a panoramic view of the courtyard, as well as a sufficient space for resting and enjoying the peaceful scene of rabbits running around in the courtyard.
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