map-lab, inc.

map-lab's proposal for a Picnic Pavilion located within a local recreation area seeks to create a space that is in balance with its surroundings through an understanding of the site on which it sits and what opportunities that brings us. Through site and environmental analysis, we determined that the existing landscape was the culprit of costly erosion of a nearby beach. Rather than simply designing a pavilion, as requested in the original scope of work, we promoted the idea that the site issues of drainage present an opportunity to create  a beautiful "room" that extends beyond the pavilion but does not feel apart from it.

Recreation Area Site Analysis

Our design calls for re-sloping the existing landscape, as well as adding a vegetated roof, bio-swales, drought resistant rain gardens, and pervious pavers in order to direct rain water towards the existing wetlands, rather than contributing to the beach erosion.

Proposed Site Design

The site is the location of a former granite quarry, so we chose to encorporate the granite from the site in the form of a stone wall. This is transformed into a hearth, creating a four seasons outdoor room inspired from Frank Lloyd Wright's Inglenooks.

Building - Site Section w/ Design Elements