Client: City of Aurora

Overview

Florescence: a state or period of flourishing. Designed for a new Recreation Center in Aurora, CO this project balances concepts gathered from the community, careful integration with the architecture, and component-driven complexity. The project is intended to foster a sense of discovery and intrigue as visitors use the space while relating to human scale and accessibility. A total of 3,000 sqft of project surface area covers the walls, railing, and ceiling of the atrium. This immersive artistic experience results from intense collaboration with the architects and the city.

This project is an abstract ecosystem, representing the ever-changing geographic and cultural landscape of Aurora. While the built environment physically expands into the vast prairie, this community remains interconnected and diverse. Nature-inspired forms are allowed to grow, attach, and disperse in the wind, interacting with the architecture, activity, and users of this exciting space.

Goals

It was important for this project to be an immersive experience; an all-encompassing thematic journey through the space. We worked closely with architects, stakeholders, and the community to create a piece that was representative of the everyday users of the space. We used accurate 3D models of the space and parametric design to create an integrated project that also had the tolerance needed for such a large scale. The result was a site-specific piece that was able to be installed despite several unplanned building changes. We pride ourselves in our ability to modify the project as building designs change and update.

Process

Conceptually, there are two main ideas that are driving the work, blended together and integrated into the building’s architecture.

Life Cycle / Growth / Development / Change: Aurora’s landscape is growing and changing, from the built environment to the flora that grows throughout the rolling hills. Our intention is to mimic patterns found in both human activity and the natural world to develop our own artistic ecosystem.

Nature and Community: As a city, Aurora is geographically expansive, while its community is diverse and connected. We intend to represent diversity through multiple color transitions. These colors work cohesively as a composition and allow for individuality in each tone. The openness of the community can be compared to a vast prairie landscape. Its ecosystem, like its community, is interconnected.