NEST establishes a framework for open ended discovery and exploration within the planned Children’s Garden area of the University of Tennessee Botanical Gardens. Our proposal supports the “Elements of Nature” theme by creating spaces with physical and experiential elements inspired by the natural environment & geography of East Tennessee.
The program brief asked for proposals to respond with an accessible solution within a limited budget. NEST creates opportunities from these constraints. Working within the given parameters, NEST is composed of three clearly defined components: LANDSCAPE, WALL, and SHELTER. This restrained kit of parts limits the complexity of the construction process and combine to minimize the impact of the proposed treehouse and accessible ramp to the children’s garden site. The WALL consists of a single row of 4×4 cypress posts which weave through the children’s Garden landscape. This wall serves to retain a new LANDSCAPE, a planted berm which serves as the base for an accessible ramp. The wall also serves as the primary structural component for a new SHELTER which cantilevers 5 feet above the children’s Garden landscape. The organization of these components allows for different spaces of discovery to overlap horizontally and vertically within the garden. The spaces created range from an open field to a protected ridge. Enclosed spaces range from a sunken den to an elevated nest. How these spaces are used is open to interpretation, limited only by the imagination of a child.
