This project report constitutes the design
of a Dark Sky Visitor Centre situated on the
border between Nyord Salt Meadow and
the moraine landscape at Nyord. This relation
to the surrounding landscape is established
through different views to the Nyord
Salt Meadow and the moraine landscape
from inside the building. This project takes
its starting point in the themes: experiential
architecture, tectonics, light pollution and
Dark Sky, and through an integrated design
process with a focus on the integration
of aesthetical, functional and technical aspects
the final design proposal is developed.
The vision of this project is to establish a spiritual
connection between the human and the
universe through the architecture, because
it for decades has been affected by the increased
light pollution in the metropolis. The
final design proposal is based on a combination
of visible y-shaped columns that due
to their form direct the eyes towards the sky.
Thus the construction will be the element of
staging the phenomenon Dark Sky and establishing
the connection between the human
and the starry sky through the skylights
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defined between the construction elements.
A variation of the columns and the distance
between them provide different views of
the starry sky and in interplay with the displacements
in the building volume creates
an interesting flow through the building with
variating experience, allowing visitors to
choose their own path of experience when
moving around in the centre. Dark Sky is a
phenomenon that must be experienced in
darkness, which limits the sense of sight or
directs it towards the sky, and therefore the
other senses are addressed to help guide
people through the centre and improve the
experience of the stars through acoustics.
Furthermore, this project aims to come up
with the critical regionalism answer on the
local architecture, so the new visitor centre
still will be rooted in the site, while moving
forward. This has been done through the innovation
of the traditional gable roof found
in the Nyord City and the purpose of different
well-known materials, which together
should create the wanted atmosphere and
put a focus on Dark sky and the establishment
of the connection between human
and the universe through the architecture.