This was a project by Michael Wade for Galo Canizares' ARCH 2410 course in Autumn 2018. Students were asked to design a rest area for an existing site located along I-75 North near Wapakoneta, Ohio. Instructors encouraged students to focus on developing the form and outward materiality of each project. My proposal explores how separate, freestanding buildings can be made to appear as a single, unified complex. In accomplishing this, I selected both a form and material scheme that would support an obvious relationship between the buildings. I chose to divide the project into four trapezoidal forms all sliced out of a long rectangular prism. Each one protrudes from the ground at an odd angle so as to imply a hidden, underground connection between the buildings. In this sense, I used form to establish a unity among all four parts. The outward surface features a binary material language consisting of wood and glass strips (selected for their low embodied energies), which are arranged in an alternating pattern derived from the Dazzle Camouflage used by the U.S. Navy in WWI. On the interior, the glass strips often manifest as windows or skylights. Since each building is covered in this eye-catching, shifting pattern, when seen from various angles the buildings begin to blend together, creating an ambiguity of edges. In this sense, materiality also helps to establish an overarching unity. The buildings, when seen together, appear to be swimming through the site, and the exterior pattern, walking paths, and picnic tables placed throughout the project follow a geometry that supports this dynamic, swimming motion. What results is a Rest Area that is more energizing and visually appealing than those to which many of us are accustomed. Program includes a restaurant, restrooms, gift shop, information center, offices, and a maintenance garage where equipment can be stored. A slide is also provided within the arch-shaped main building to give children the chance to expend excess energy before returning to the road. Outdoor seating is provided in the exterior space located beneath the restaurant.
