UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CAMPUS | UUC

While water was once a nourishing feature in the landscape, it now exists as an erosive force, as vegetation that allowed the water to fully penetrate the ground has disappeared. The design seeks to create a reclamative landscape by placing a series of check dams throughout the area to slow water down as it traverses the site. In return this will permit vegetation to flourish, and allow the congregation to immerse themselves in a heightened natural environment where they can contemplate, celebrate, and question. In addition to slowing water down, the dams also create platforms that support the buildings, lofting them above the desert floor. In this way, these dams become rafts that lift the program away from the immediate topography, allowing it to independently respond to environmental factors like sun and view. Each building is tuned to focus in on the natural landscape that surrounds the site, some offering public views and some offering more private views to allow for contemplation. The design culminates at a nature chapel north of the campus (shown to the right), where one can fully immerse themselves within the nature the check-dams create.