Work submitted for the competition
"Best Diploma Architecture".
There are few places in the world where a person can experience the power of nature and appreciate it, observe the spectacle that our planet creates. Such a place is Iceland, which is the backdrop for my project. An island of fire and ice, full of contrasts, majestic landscapes that will take your breath away.
visualization, bird's eye view
© Gabriela Golbiak
The Observatory of Life project is an attempt to create a space where humans can feel a renewed sense of humility towards the power of nature and a bond with our planet. I wanted the object to be more than just another building - to be a testimony to the coexistence of man and nature, a reminder of how extraordinary our world is and how much we need to take care of it. When developing the project, I was guided by its impact on the environment.
visualization
© Gabriela Golbiak
The materials used, the form of the building, the use of renewable energy and 3D printing technology translate into the creation of a sustainable, ecological building that harmoniously coexists with its surroundings. As if it has always been part of the surrounding landscape and environment, rather than an added element.
Axonometric diagram of the structure and construction using 3D printers
© Gabriela Golbiak
The form of the building was dictated by climatic conditions, 3D printing technology, as well as inspiring natural peculiarities such as active volcanoes. The building consists, in the above-ground part, of four segments that give the impression of independent blocks. The canopy of the central underground part of the building serves as a system for collecting rainwater, which is stored in an underground tank. The design calls for the underground part to be printed in concrete with carbon capture and storage technology, making it zero-emission, and the above-ground part to be made of material containing soil dug up for construction to return to nature what has been taken from it.
urban cross-section
© Gabriela Golbiak
cross sections
© Gabriela Golbiak
The irregularities, the difference in size of each part of the facility, and the roughness of the structure on its walls make visitors to the Observatory of Life experience the sensation of an evolutionary homecoming, a cave. The facility also gives us the impression of a natural shelter. The sunken paths shield those heading for the building from the wind and protect the structures from being trampled by the moss growing on the plot. The homogeneous nature of the form makes it possible to use 3D printing technology to construct the building.
visualization
© Gabriela Golbiak
The appearance and structure of the material are the same on both the exterior and interior of the building, and the whole creates a spacious, multi-level building filled with diffused light, thanks to skylights and glazing that resembles cracks in the rock walls of the gables surrounding the plot.
interior visualization
© Gabriela Golbiak
Gabriela GOLBIAK
Illustrations: © Author