Herrington Algae Park
ARC 659 Graduate Studio
Instructor Anne Filson
The algae bioreactor system responds to the topography it encapsulates while creating a flexible space with a free plan.
A vaulted structure erupts from the main processing component of the bioreactor, freeing the space surrounding it and allowing the opportunity for the free plan.
The original priority of maximizing sunlight absorptance provided the opportunity to exploit the space beneath the generated canopy.
The bioreactor creates a unique experience meant to emulate a hybrid of technology and nature. The forest of bioreactors defines a cinematic promenade for the guest and the employee.
The free plan formed by the canopy allows the inhabitant to define the space. Each visitor to the site activates the space in his or her unique approach.
The bioreactors initiate a negotiation of coexistence between competing programs. The canopy forms a territory open to interpretation creating an ambition for experience.
The canopy breaks the barriers between an agricultural scenario, a recreational setting, an old industrial site and new industrial developments. The smooth consistency of the synthetic forest is heterogenized by the inhabitants.
The canopy transforms the difficult landscape between Lake Herrington and the E. W. Brown Power Plant into a universal fabric of unlikely cohabitation and creates a distinctive destination for public leisure and exploration in Central Kentucky.
