FLOATING HERMITAGE
by Sarah Rich, 11/03/05
At South Carolina’s Clemson University, architecture students are looking out for their peers. Their recent project was to create a floating hermitage for the reflection pond in front of the campus library, which would allow students a brief respite from the stress of school. The structures were designed to give a feeling of isolation but to allow views to the outside world. Each design offers three body positions.
One key limitation of the assigment was that all materials must be natural or recyclable, which led students to incorporate bamboo, straw, and various recycled plastics into their designs. Students hope to take the project to the next level by creating larger scale models that can be used as portable homeless shelters or housing in urban environments.
