THE BISON CAMP
or
The Dome of Our Departure
Vol 5, Chapter 1
Fall 2018
This is a space where human's alternative future outside of the earth is exhibited. As everything has a beginning it has also an end. There might not be an ending at all, but acknowledging the possibility of the death, of whole mankind, will help us to perform a better existence and achieve things we have always dreamed of, while looking at our greatest accomplishments. The Dome is a poem, manifested in architecture, of the man – Homo Sapiens Rationalis.
IMG 1: Plan
IMG 2: Section
During the process I came up with the idea of a capsule of human data, however, it was still quite unclear what it possibly could be or where I would place it (IMG 1, 2, 3, 4). One thing I did knew was that I ought to be a part of the chambers, which I have maintained all the way to the end.
IMG 3: First sketch of the capsule / spaceship
IMG 4: Finding a relation b/w the chambers and the dome
IMG 5: The Dome and chambers compose one architectural composition.
The Tectonics
There are two means of story telling employed in this project, one through representation art and one through digital coded information. These tow distinct means of representation manifest itself in the tectonics of the space; former being the dome itself and latter being the capsule (IMG 5, 6, 7). Inside the dome, there are levels (floors) associated with different activities. As elsewhere in the project the progression of the space is top-down.
There are following levels:
1. The prairie level
2. The level of entrance
3. The level of human spirit
4. The level of eternal propositions
5. The level of sacred foundation
6. The level of Launching
IMG 6: First form finding - Section & Location
IMG 7: First form finding - Capsule & Plan
The Dome
The dome is what stays behind while the spaceship departs and carries the capsule into the space. The dome has murals and drawings which tells our story through a representation, like our forebears did in the cave paintings. The Level of the Human Spirit is last level one can get to. There is a special chamber – The Chamber of Liberty, where a sculpture of Homo Sapiens Rationalis stands. The inscription under it says; made by humanity. The mural, and the dome whole, is meant to be found by others after we have gone (IMG 8, 9).
The two chambers, the portal of William of Ockham and the portal of Meister Eckhart are two opposing portals leading to the same chamber – the chamber of Rationalism. They symbolize an opposition of two medieval mode of thinking – Nominalism Vs Universalism.
IMG 8: The level of human spirit
IMG 9: The chamber of HPR
The Capsule
The spaceship, which carries capsule or The Positive Void, is the lower portion of the dome. In its essence this is a giant USB drive. However, other than carrying a data of the history of humans, it is constructed as a piece of an inverted Gothic temple (IMG 10, 11). Thus, not only it carries a digital information it also visualizes and symbolizes the greatest capacity of human’s mind – designing a beautiful thing through an extreme rationalization as once did the great Gothic architects. It consists of parts that create the whole like the medieval summa.
The spaceship will close when the time comes and depart. It will carry our data across the universe until it is found by others (IMG 12).
IMG 10: Space ship and capsule
IMG 11: Positive void - Gothic architecture
The Proportion
The entire building is designed with an emphasis of proportion and ratios, especially the golden ratio. This exercise was conducted to bring back the rejected design methodology and to symbolize the human’s capability of discovering innate qualities of the universe through rationalizing (IMG 12, 13)
The beauty is the byproduct of this meditation, not the end.
IMG 12: Cone's operates on the proportion grid
IMG 13: Proportions and ratios
Early production
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