Digging

I've scrapped my previous notions about UNCG's off campus collaborative retail, performance and studio space (originally known as the hatchery) and am now going in a different direction.  As it goes, sometimes I jump the gun during the ideation process-- making assumptions concerning functionality or setting my heart on spacial aspects before I've fully wrapped my head around the concept.  So, confessions (and hatching) aside, I've allowed myself to step back and re-think conceptually-- and this is what I've come up with:

An estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water where rivers and streams flow into the ocean.  This unique blending of fresh and salt water results in an ecologically rich environment where many animal species feed, breed and nest.  Estuaries are often referred to as aquatic nurseries due to their protective locations, transitional waters and biodiversity.  It's these elements that led me to connect the concept of an estuary to The Hatchery.  Like an estuary, The Hatchery is designed to nurture development and provide relevant experience for those transitioning from one life phase to the next.

While thinking further about an estuary as a concept for the hatchery, I've been investigating the particulars of brackish water (the fresh and salt water blend found in estuaries).  One striking occurrence of brackish water takes place in underwater caves where it is called halocline and can be seen as a distinct layer hovering between undisturbed salt and freshwater.  The difference in density of fresh and salt water is responsible for the halocline layer which appears like an underwater mirage-- refracting light in a surreal manner.

So, pulling from this bit of research, I'm thinking I'd like to physically interpret the following elements:

-A river flowing into an ocean.

-A semi-enclosed body of water.

-Salt and fresh water.

-A halocline layer.

The first two elements in this list could be interpreted as ways to "carve" the space.

-A narrow entrance, low ceiling, and intimate lighting could indicate the mouth of a river.

-A wider space, high ceiling and ambient lighting could indicate the flow of a river into an ocean (of infinite possibilities--ha ha).

-An alcoved area (performance space?), wall washing and creative peripheral wayfinding could indicate a protected bay.

The second two elements in this list could be interpreted as material choices.

-Salt and fresh water could manifest as two different shades of the same color, a variation of textile patterning, different states of the same material (i.e. polished/honed stone).

-A halocline layer could be represented through two planes of overlapping polarized glass. A horizontal wall recess, lit in a unique way.  Suspended planes of obscured glass or loose acrylic beads inside translucent vessels.

The halocline effect.

Mangroves in brackish water.

An Estuary.