CONTRIBUTORS:
Emily Bishop Danielle Dottin (Competition Co-Chair) Joseph Dray Laura Ellis John Gomez Alexis Greiner Chien Howard Bran Lachnicht Joey Lee Acacia Li Cole Neff Ann Nguyen Erica Morrisey Sophia Simmons Gabi Valds-Recio Eduardo Villamor (Competition Chair) Moises Villanueva Sophie Wojtalewicz PERSONAL CONTRUBITION: Research and concept development Digital modeling Building Sections |
Situated in East Oakland, California, the Biome serves as a mixed-use cultural center that addresses food security, celebrates the rich cultural history of the Black Cultural Zone, and provides spaces for social discourse. A biome is generally understood as a natural ecosystem, divided into biotic and abiotic factors. Similarly, this building considers both people and culture, as well as structure and space. This project seeks to foster community ties and celebrate East Oakland heritage through the implementation of necessary food resources in an apparent food desert, the honoring of an extensive and diverse local culture, and the integration of sustainable design measures. It is simultaneously respectful of the past and forward-looking.
The building’s form was guided by the dynamic forms and vibrant history of the local, improvisational, and expressive art of Turf Dancing. Its detailing and translucent quality evokes both a sense of transparency from the exterior, and safety and inclusion within. A perforated, panelized screen that wraps around the facade of the residential/commercial tower also functions as a shading system for occupants, a solar collection apparatus, and a compliment to the gesture of the glass-dome structure — the Pearl. The primary spatial driver of this project is the Pearl, as it simultaneously attracts visitors while creating spaces for gathering and dialogue. The Pearl is powerful in its potential flexibility: it may be a place of rest, of discourse, of performance, or of assembly. Its form of the greatly contrasts the rest of the project, though a language of carving softens the disparity between the Pearl and the residential/commercial tower. |