powerPLANT

university of virginia

vsaia competition

2004

re_mediate _ parcel 5 art gallery [2nd place VSAIA Student Design Competition]

Inspired by the images of an abandoned powerplant, the intervention serves as an insertion into the existing structure. Northern light washes down the ‘scoop’ into the main gallery space which contains a flexible display system with hinged panels allowing for both intimate art and large sculptural display. The southern facade has a scaffold | sun porch that mediates the harsh summer sun and collects heat during the winter months. The bottom floor of the main volume is flooded with water in order to create an art grotto which serves as a reminder of the purpose the building once served.

off-the-grid gallery [2nd place VSAIA Student Design Competition]

Wall and Floor are juxtaposed in this abandoned hydroelectric plant: a static structure of walls enclose spaces that change volumetrically as the dynamic floor rises and falls with the flow and ebb of water. The proposed interventions mirror this relationship - the heavy, solid walls slice through the spaces while the tenuous floor planes hover within. These interventions leave the existing building intact and create new and varied volumes of space. From within the lower gallery, the rushing water and spinning turbines are visible; this installation allows the gallery to generate its own power.