Stargazing

INTENTION

When we were first introduced to the task of designing a star-

gazing-tower and got the feedback from the children of the

kinder garden/school I was impressed by how fast these kids

were able to get lost in their imagination of the sky, the universe

and the things that might, or might not, be out there in the space.

I realized that this ability of setting our minds free is getting lost

when we were growing up and is swallowed up by our daily life,

our responsibilities and worries.

With this design of a star-gazing-tower my goal was to give the

opportunity to discover the capability of childish imagination

again. Since the site is not really suited for a star-gazing tower

that fits the needs of professional star-mongers it was clear for

me that I wanted to design a space where everybody could enjoy

a little bit of stargazing but also find a retreat, or a place to go to

and relax and rediscover the child in themselves.

For me, one of the easiest and most efficient ways of getting

away from the daily life and its restrictions is a simple walk

in the forest or some quiet place where nothing disturbs your

thoughts and one has the time to calm down and set his mind

free of daily problems and impressions. It is impossible to shut

off all these thoughts that prevent yourself from relaxing in an

instant - you need a certain time to calm down and be able to

enjoy the moment and force your brain to go to ‘stand-by’. The

time a normal walk in the outside takes is seldom enough, but it

is at least a start of this process.

My design adapts this image of walking through the forest and

setting your mind free by giving the real walk following the

‘Kultursti’ a destination to physicly relax and rest and during the

night, of course, watch the stars above rindal.

siteplan 1.1000

light falling through ‘trees’

exterior perspective