In Collaboration with: Erin Doherty
Completed in: Syracuse Architecture, Comprehensive Design Studio Spring 2020
Faculty Instructor: Elizabeth Kamell
Project Brief: “Salt memorial” is a tribute to the industrial heritage and historical impact that the Salt Industry had on Syracuse, New York. The project features a museum dedicated to the history of salt, while the memorial celebrates the necessity of salt not only as a commodity, but as a natural resource necessary for sustaining life on earth. As such, the memorial space is a salt bath designed with the intention of producing a larger than life atmosphere. The exposure of raw concrete against the salty water produces a contrast that detaches the user from the exterior world, and allows them to appreciate the bath. The museum portion of the project pays tribute to the natural origins of salt by using different building materials to distinguish the heavier structural system of below grade spaces, with the lighter more open spaces above ground. This relationship is clearly seen through sectional drawings that show the gallery spaces below ground and their relationship to the viewers passing by on the street. The building program features the Salt Bath, Gallery Spaces, Auditorium, Locker Rooms, Library, Administrative Offices, and a small Café.
Completed during the Comprehensive Design Studio of the B.Arch curriculum at Syracuse University School of Architecture, a major emphasis of the project was on the development of an integrated and fully functional building. In addition to the conceptual development of the project, structural, mechanical, and enclosure systems were developed to ensure a comprehensive design was achieved. A double skin façade was used to help control internal climate both in winter and in summer, while mechanical systems were seen as supplemental. Among the biggest challenges of the project was the structural strategy and integrity of the large triangular concrete memorial space. An insulation strategy deploying thermamass was used, allowing the great walls to operate both structurally as well as provide insulation.
Section Drawing by Erin Doherty
