Matthew YoungPortfolio

Appalachia Observatory2013 FallMarshall, NC

Found between a train track and the back of the main cluster of buildings in Marshall, the Appalachia Observatory is a place for the dislocation of an observer from the immediate surroundings to remain engaged with the contemplation of the overall situation: Appalachia. Comprised of a research and community building, a small fieldwork shed and a seperate dwelling for the scientists in residence, interior study spaces and labs are juxtaposed with intimate gardens and penetrating light volumes. An environment for observing is providing through the interface of spaces of being “in nature” and “on nature”.

The building first inhabits the site with a shell that is at a scale that reaches away from the human and toward the mountains. A secondary structural system of wooden beams and surfaces inhabitats the shell, allowing for humans to have a greater access to the facility. The shell is a conglomerate of massive aggregate bound by concrete with a varying opac-ity, programmed by interior spaces that demand more or less light and view of the passing of time.

Heading Home; Bath Awaits Entering Exterior from Exterior

Looking away from Overlook Towards the Bath

Space of Wonder2013 FallCatawba, VA

As we travel across uneven terrain, we are focused on the navigation of the ground. Each step is a calculation as we smell the foreign earth and see rocks, roots and mud with our feet; all the while a different world hovers above. Sun and water precipitate through the perforated mass.

One must choose to detach from the trail and explore to find this space of wonder. A vertical volume constrained by fabric focuses communication between the occupant and the canopy. The transition of the senses and self into the canopy is gradual, until one is removed from the familiar, pausing on a platform that hovers above the ground.

Proposal 152013 FallBlacksburg, VAwith Tom Powers and Brian Heller

A series of lanterns placed to float high above the shore spill their light across the path and out onto the water. Untamed brush is sculpted into lush terraces, cultivated by the composting processes of the towers. These gardens rest on meandering paths that increase the variety of circulation and intimate spaces in the park, all under the soft illumination and gentle caress of the series of warm beacons.

A resoviour catches rain cascading off the roof to pour on demand; satisfying cleanliness and thirst. Another retains compost and channels exhaust

past the resoviour.

Elements stand lining the structure and defining the space. Tendrils peel up from the platform’s edge to hold the inside, and streams of light

erupt from the floor to illuminate the way.

One hand reaches up to catch a plane as it floats gently above the space. The handrail meets the path rounding the corner, leading the way to a

private space.

The second hand reaches over the first to clasp the glowing light, enveloping the resevior, and catching the sun’s rays to be radiated slowly into the space; a space ensonsced by a heavy veil to both insulate and conceal.