Sung Hwa Cha U22 Yr5

Sonoran desert conservation centre proposal

Project brief

My project has been focused on designing a conservation centre for a threatened landscape called the So-noran desert in Arizona, USA. The Sonoran desert has been threatened by a number of urbanisation projects such as installing renewable energy plants and mineral mining plants near the site. Moreover, there has appeared to be a decline in rainfall rates which has resulted in increased temperatures over the last 25 years. This has consequently created warmer and drier desert conditions. The impact of land use and climatic change caused a serious warning of fragmentations and loss of wildlife and plant species in the Sonoran desert. Therefore, this conservation centre will provide research spaces for scientists and biologists who will monitor the endangered species. As well as this, it will also provide opportunities for the visitors to have a heightened desert ‘experience’ and learn about the landscape through educational facilities. There will be a new landscape constructed on the roof level of the buildings, where people will be able to observe the pro-tected plants’ habitats.

Project agenda

My architectural intention has been focused on creating protected and natural habitats and environments to preserve the landscape and make it more valuable by designing facilities that are used for educational pur-poses but also for highlightening the beauty of nature. I designed the educational facilities through which people can feel 5 different senses-taste the cactus alcohol touch the soil and texture of natural wallslisten to the tortoises movements through amplifiers from the below ground level view the specific landscape moments smell the soil and plants

Reasons for the site (car parking area) to be chosen

1. To try to reduce the impact of the site use in order to preserve the landscape2. To reduce the amount of the vehicles coming into the museum site (There will be an alternative transpor-tation system instead ) as for less interruption and impact on the wildlife animal and plants habitats 3. To enlarge attraction to the proposal from the existing museum site 4. To reuse the materials such as concrete, soil and stones to construct a new artificial landscape