Ascend
Temporary Installation in Hooke Forest
Hooke Park - 2020
Team: Jacopo Niccolò Silvestri, Sirisha Munnangi, Daniel Swarovski
Group project to design a staircase that facilitates the route from the main campus at Hooke Park to Warren Hill. Our approach made use of the existing trees on site, highlighting the beech tree at the center of the area as a load-bearing structural element of our design. The staircase was built as an experiment in an ad hoc approach to the context; by scanning the trees in the forest surrounding the site, we identified several larch trees with geometries suitable for the structure. All elements were crafted on-site, adapting the design to the characteristics of the location and the available resources. Photogrammetric scanning was used to manage the irregular geometries of the trees and the terrain. The curved larch tree found during the scan near the beech tree resolved the staircase’s slope.
Once the bark was removed, the steps were fitted into the trunk using interlocking joints, alternating the position of the treads. The use of a metal rod as a hinge, combined with a series of steel tie rods to hold the three logs of the structure in place, allowed the structure to be stabilized once it was lifted. Once the structure was completed, it was left on site for 6 months before being dismantled, leaving the site completely clear.
