The Wing Nature Center
Senior Architecture Studio
Spring, 2020
Boulder, CO
The Wing at Wonderland Lake is meant to be a meeting place between community and nature. It is meant to blur the line between formal building space and protected open space here in Boulder. The Wing will be the host to children’s camps to teach about the importance of protecting Open Space, the Young Ranger’s program, and be a starting point for trail maintenance crews.
This project challenged us to design alongside protected open space while creating a destination for people to come to. With neighborhoods on three sides of the project site, appealing to all ages was a key factor to design, while trying to connect to nature in complex ways. Ultimately through the study of a barn owl lead to me the design of the silhouette of the building, the shape being inspired by its wing during flight, allowing the building to feel as though it is gliding across Boulder Open Space.
In my initial design I imagined the building being a lantern during the evenings to draw people to it. This is in stark contrast to it during the day where it hides within the landscape.
Looking at the building from the North allows you to see how the building begins to rise from the earth.
The Wonderland Lake site is one that is surrounded by protected public open space in Boulder and it gives the site a unique opportunity to interact with it.
In my initial design I imagined the building being a lantern during the evenings to draw people to it. This is in stark contrast to it during the day where it hides within the landscape.