Washington Waysides - Curating an Experience of the Given at Tipsoo Lake

Abstract

A fundamental quality linked to the core of who I am is a passionate desire to explore the amazement of the world around me. Experiencing new and unfamiliar places for the first time seems always to awaken something new within me, a truly exciting feeling that adds to the structure of my very being. I believe that the world and the self are inherently connected. New experiences of the world can impact the experience and understanding of the self and, in turn, a heightened awareness and understanding of the self can yield an enriched perception of the world. The world and the self, then, re-define one another constantly. Environments and spaces affect the body, and this is in part how we remember them - through the effect had on all the senses of the body and on the body itself. Architecture, as part of the built environment situated within a natural context, is the means through which many of us connect to the world. Dwelling amongst architecture permits the constructed world around us to serve as shelters for our bodies, identities, and minds. By offering an opportunity for personal and poetic meaning to emerge through experience, architecture can successfully mediate between the outer world and the internal world of the self, projecting frames of perception and understanding. My intention with this thesis is to discuss experience, and how the specificity of place and the given natural characteristics inherent within a specific place can be mediated by architecture to foster personally rich and meaningful mental connections that can simultaneously remind and connect the presence of oneself to the presence of the world. Scenic byways in the state of Washington offer an abundance of opportunities to view and explore much of the precious splendor the state has to offer. Rest areas and turn-outs along Washington’s scenic byways and in the states national parks are often the gateways to new experiences, and as such can be the promotional vessels that shape meaningful connections between the world and the self. The presence of the human body, the presence of the natural environment, and the acknowledgment of the two could suggest an intimate opportunity for the implementation of architecture as a third presence. This is what I’m referring to as the new Washington Wayside - a theoretical notion that attempts to attain a renewed focus on an already existing infrastructure. Rather than design a kit-of-parts or a one size fits all fix, however, the project in this thesis will utilize place specific implementations to re-envision an existing wayside in Washington. The result of the investigation aims to encourage consciousness of place as a primary driver for future wayside development in the state and elsewhere.