Dos Lagos Heart & Public Areas

[Left] Artificial lighting extenuates the linear flow of the spaces; [right] A habitable lantern floating in space.

Words from the designer

The functional and experiential components of the architectural discourse of the Project include well-defined built spaces: 1) the entry plaza; 2) the gateway canopy; 3) the garden armature; 4) the 350-seat amphitheater embraced by garden armature; and 5) the bridge area. These components make up an architectural whole and create a complimentary interaction of spaces through the articulation of forms.

The defined architectural space is established by the bamboo and steel-ribbed skin covering a 15-foot wide pedestrian promenade that undulates for nearly 1,000 feet and bisects the two butterfly-shaped lakes. This skin will be, in turn, accented by climbing rose vines to create a garden armature that shades the visitors' experience while blending the edges of the built and natural environments. The pedestrian promenade forms the axis of the project - running north-south through the canyon and uniting the mixed-uses and functions into a cohesive community.

The pedestrian promenade defines the human scale through maximization of views of the mountains, waterfall, and lakes. It orchestrates the manipulation of light with the organic undulation of irregularities of the natural imperfections of the bamboo poles and the openings in the steel ribs to create the texture of the skin. Manipulation of light is achieved through a deliberate alignment along the true-north orientation of the bridge, the project's climax. Nonetheless, the bamboo exercises a formal discipline in its horizontal alignment along the pedestrian path. The positioning of the varying openings and shadings takes into consideration the sun's path as well as the most desirable views in blocking the presence of the nearby freeway and in contrast, opening a picture frame to the waterfall. The distancing of the bamboo poles allows air to circulate through the structure producing evaporative cooling to mediate the inland valley's harsh summer climate.

The 9-foot waterfall conjoining the elevations of the two lakes is an accent to compliment the architectural statement. The white noise produced by the waterfall encapsulates people's experience -- distancing the headaches of suburban traffic congestion and defining a micro-environment in touch with evocations and references to the natural context and the history of the land.

The entry plaza to the amphitheater functions as a mediator between the commercial street and the communal gathering spaces of the amphitheater. This is the atrium. The amphitheater is contained within a form, despite the fact that it is an open space, by being contained by the embrace of the curve of the garden armature.

The Project, the vortex of connectivity of the entire 543-acre master planned community, is designed to not only channel pedestrian traffic but also foster commercial activities in the form of movable kiosks placed along the garden armature (a reference to the historic florentine Ponte Vecchio).

View full page Pages: Previous Page 1 | 2 | 3 Next Page