Revival of the Fittest: Architecture of an Ecological Empathy

This semester's work pursued the reciprocal niche relationship between animal and environment as a precedent for the dynamics between architecture and site. It began with a thorough analysis of an animal and the formal translation of that animal's essence into a sphere. The autonomous sphere then encountered and adapted to a local environment. Voyeurism between human and animal was negotiated in the design of a zoo pavilion that challenged the human to occupy the animal's space and in doing so recognize their inherent unfitness and lack of ability in conditions to which they had not adapted. These studies culminated in a proposal for a zoo welcome center that engaged both human and animal by employing architecture as a symbiotic interface and by engaging shared principles of attraction.