200’ x15’
2020
San Jose, CA
In collaboration w/ William Dodge + Austin Chappell
When considering the nature of this particular competition, its location within Silicon Valley, and the focus on designing an “icon” within the built environment, our design team chose to propose a pencil tower within a landscape of reinstituted native California prairie. While static in form and occupied only at ground level, this installation becomes dynamic within the structure itself and the wider overall landscape through the use of light, shadow and those that inhabit the space within.
By analyzing the use of “technology” throughout the ages, whether it’s the Pharos, the Colossus of Rhodes, an ancient Egyptian temple, fire, the wheel or more modern examples such as Galileo’s refracting telescope, the factory smokestack or the computer motherboard, the term “technology” is very much in-fact relative. In order to be truly timeless in both use and design, this “icon” must not only appeal to those dwelling within the here and now, but truly adapt throughout the ages.
We considered the site, the opportunities and ramifications provided by it, we chose to propose a structure that uses modern techniques but is timeless in spirit, utilization and function. By breaking down “technology” (both old and new) and utilizing cues from the natural environment, we came up with a fairly straightforward but radical concept. What if we harnessed the exploration-focused spirit of the past within our modern age of discovery/rediscovery? How could this tie-in to the mission of the City of San Jose and this competition while also reimagining the built environment, landscape, ecology, and the very nature of public art at the same time? While proposing a 200’ tall pencil tower in modern times is anything but radical, what if the proposed structure was never in-fact occupied beyond the ground level? What if it in-fact became an authentic symbol of exploration and connected deeply within both our direct environment and wider cosmos, in tangible, educational and meaningful ways? With these questions and opportunities in mind, we proposed a 200’ x 15’ occupiable analog telescope (based on Galileo’s design) that would also work in tandem as a sundial by casting its shadow throughout the park day after day in conjunction with pre-set markers. The form itself is an extrapolation of the trunk of a palm tree and is just as much at home in our current era as in that of pre-history or our own very distant future.
Project completed for SILICON VALLEY (URBAN CONFLUENCE) COMPETITION
