Corey Boucher Portfolio 2015

The KU Field Station is a facility that allows
both staff and guests the chance to observe
nature and wildlife in a microcosm of the
climate of the midwestern plains. At the
center of the survey is the Armitage Center,
the headquarters of the facility. The
Armitage Center is the intake point for all
guests, and often hosts groups for
celebratory or educational purposes. The
Field Station reached out to the Dirt Works
Studio, with which they had commissioned
two prior projects, the Roth Trailhead (above
left), and the Field Station Gateway (above
right), to design a dining pavilion for the
Armitage Center. This pavilion would serve
as a gathering place for both the staff on a
regular basis as well as special groups
visiting the center on occasion.
The intent of the design was to create a
multipurpose space for users which would
provide shade from the hot Kansas sun, and
preserve the views out to the beautiful
natural surroundings that encompass the
center, specifically the prairie grass
immediately to the center's west. And
keeping with the central purpose of the Dirt
Works Studio, the pavilion would be
constructed primarily of rammed earth.