Floating Pavillion

ARCH 301
2023
Houston, TX

We propose replacing the fence between Buffalo Bayou and the Glenwood Cemetery with a pavilion that bridges the two spaces together through circulation. Inspired by the grid like paths of the cemetery and the organic ones of the bayou parks, we wanted to overlay them together and explore their intersections and divergence. During our site visit, we felt that the Glenwood Cemetery is lacking small and large gathering places, private spaces for reflection, and a flower/ gift shop. In placing them in the pavilion, we want to provide bigger open spaces for private activities and tighter spaces for public ones. In plan, it generates a rhythm of sparse to compact when inhabited. These programs are not connected to a specific religion to allow more adaptability and inclusivity.  

Proposed Pavilion Rendering

From afar, we wanted to construct a poetic illusion of an ascending roof with contrasting the roof and walls. Inspired by the Mies’ New National Gallery in Berlin, we wanted to use the waffle grid to maximize the material use to reduce its weight as well as allow maximum surface area for releasing heat trapped in the roof. In the humid and hot summers in Houston, rammed earth acts as a natural heat bank and cooler. We designed a system of water tubes installed on the top and bottom of the roof: during the day, the sun will heat up the water on the top, and the water will travel to the bottom at night to release the heat. The roof’s weight is supported with HSS columns, hidden between reflective aluminum panels. The I-beams on top act as frames for windows to allow sunlight into the two continuous bands of circulation.