SLO LIFE Jun/Jul 2017

| ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN
+
BUILD
In this ongoing feature, SLO LIFE Magazine is proud to partner with the American
Institute of Architects California Central Coast to unveil its current project winners and highlight
our local design and engineering talent. Each month, the organization reviews submissions
and selects the top Central Coast projects. Below are two recent installments to this series.
June Project Recognition
The Hallow Tree
Architect flux DESIGN
Contractor B G Broome
Owner Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
A husband and wife team based in San Luis Obispo, who make up
the company flux DESIGN, was selected to design and construct a
playhouse based on the following prompt from their client:
“Treehouses, forts and playhouses evoke memories of escaping outdoors
to explore, dream and play, of hours of imagination and creating worlds
of our own invention in the fresh air. Small play structures of all kinds,
called Wee Houses for this exhibition, have always been important
places we play. In 2016, Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden presents ‘Wee
Houses: Places We Play,’ an interactive art exhibition to celebrate play
structures with a design and installation competition.”
The goals set out by the client included engaging diverse audiences,
inspiring creativity in outdoor play, creatively using natural materials,
and responding to the varied landscape conditions of the botanical
gardens. flux DESIGN’s proposal was based on the narrative of the
book “I am a Bunny” by Ole Risom and Richard Scarry. This story
details a year in the life of a bunny who lives in a hollow tree and, from
the shelter and safety of his tree, explores and experiences the flora
and fauna of the changing seasons. Constructed of wood with careful
detailing, the hollow tree is a geometricized abstraction. It creates a
perch from which to experience the changing context while framing
it in distinct ways. The doorway is intentionally diminished to reflect
the scale of its miniature users, and the apertures in the façade are
positioned at different heights and orientations to frame elements
of the surroundings, views that vary with one’s vantage point. The
overhead aperture draws the gaze upward, framing a changing image
of the sky and creating a dynamic play of light and shadow.
54 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | JUN/JUL 2017