BLOSSOMING OBJECTS
WAR PORT MICROTECTURE international competition, 2014, Latvia
Honorable Mention
HomeMade Dessert TM
Honorable Mention
HomeMade Dessert TM
“A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms.”
Inspired by the current conditions of Karostra, we decided to expand the brief of microtectural objects by merging them with public gardens and allotments alike while taking the economic and social aspects into consideration.
Our proposal involves the creation of self-grown plant communities and self-support culture via the micro objects that bus stops, information signs, benches and playgrounds represent so that the urban fabric can become a place to provide motivation for the inhabitants to engage with each other and to reconnect them to the city they belong to. These objects also provide a good opportunity to promote education, business transactions and self-sufficient urban agricultural communities, to use food as a means for people to be brought closer together while also allowing for other activities of a more playful nature to be carried out in the premises.
Each design is a direct result of the unique function that each object has. The bus stops act as a winter garden (greenhouse), information signs are places where goods can be exchanged while benches and playgrounds act as allotment.
The objects will be placed around Karostra city in order to create an intimate atmosphere with several varieties of vegetables, plants or flowers, so that the city becomes more coloured and visitors can experience the pleasantries of the floral scents while making the whole area livelier.
Steel and aluminum materials respond characteristic of War Port, and its shininess introduces a spark of beauty. Therefore the ellipse shaped benches and roofs are made of metal as well as the thin columns, placed on the concrete slab with a freestanding glass system which favours the building's greenhouse functions so that the inhabitants can plant vegetables whole year round. Furthermore, the circle shaped roof windows make it able to receive natural light during the whole day which make it perfect for growing plants while creating an adequate atmosphere for the users to perceive the seasonal and daily changes. The playground’s steel structure upholds the netting material above the planting patch, so children can climb on it and learn to protect the nature.