Concrete Failure Visitors Center

ARCH 422 (3G3) Situation 15

Top down section view of architecture building

Areal top down view render of architecture project

Interior render of architecture building

Render of large glass window with people looking outside

Section elevation view of architecture building

Exterior render of architecture building

Cracked floor render with rendered people standing around the hole

The Concrete Failure Visitors Center takes the current Sibley Quarry and transforms the location into a national park attesting to the strength and downfalls of concrete through a museum of failure while also being in touch with the topography of the region with circulation following the slope of the quarry. The museum takes inspiration from the Thorne Miniature Rooms to display specific types of failure like cracking, crazing, and blistering while the user then circulates into the rest of the building where various dioramas exhibiting famous failures that have happened throughout history that were caused by the specific failures users learned about prior. Additionally, the visitor center creates a dichotomy with concrete failure itself. With certain aspects of the building creating an interesting condition of what is structural strength vs. cosmetic strength, therefore users experience the building and see the strength of concrete in a very upfront and often unsettling way while learning about its inevitable failure. [gallery size="medium" ids="43120,43126,43122,43124,43121,43123,43125"]