Honorable mention

Designer: Artur Rich

Judges quote:

"A great application of T-Splines for a conceptual design where the TS capabilities add to, rather then dictate the concept."

Sanctuary

This project was inspired by the sacred tree of "Ora" which is from the Banyan Tree Family in French Polynesia. The "Ora" is a vast habitable tree which animals find sanctuary in. The branches descend from above and when they reach the ground they become part of the structure of the tree. The "Sanctuary structure" is located on the edge of a cliff on the island of Huahine in French Polynesia. The structure is a place for people to go and reconnect with nature. Since there is no existing trail to the structure, people will have to hike up the cliff, and find their way to the Sanctuary structure. After reaching the sanctuary structure, people will experience a cave-like space which has levels of the rain forest. To get to each different level, one would have to climb the branches and the ladders that are hanging from the walls. Like the Banyan tree itself, these branches work as structure for the interior, holding the floor planes intact with the exterior.

Inspired by the banyan tree, I sketched the way I imagined that Sanctuary. The organic shaped structure on the cliff was difficult to make on the software that was available to me, so I decided to try working with T-Splines. By watching a few tutorials, I knew that T-Splines would help me model the design I wanted. After coming back from the Huahine Island, I rendered my design and presented it at Woodbury University, School of Architecture. T-Splines should be introduced to all students and architects due to its valuable computer 3D modeling.

Artur Nesterenko