Terra Pura competition

The connection between man and nature is inextricable, no matter how man strives for progress, he still returns to natural sources. Nature is the beginning from which over the centuries people draw inspiration, creating new architectural styles. Undoubtedly, they reflect both the achievements of scientific and technological progress and spiritual convictions. New views, new inventions allow a person to create life around him. The peculiarities of the nature of the place, climatic conditions, cultural and historical peculiarities of the people dictate the forms of formation of the architecture of recreational zones. The influence of natural appearance on aesthetic education, the formation of living values. The ability to preserve nature today for future generations is one of the most important tasks of this project.

The concept of my project is based on the historical and social perception of the environment and reality. As it is already known, the first Homo Sapiens came from Tanzania, and human spiritual self-expression began at the dawn of mankind, in the era of the primitive system. Deep knowledge of nature was and is knowledge of oneself in the surrounding world. Nature taught, nature enriched, nature fed people. She was everything to them, therefore the development of primitive society is inseparably linked with the environment in which people were. Nature not only provided livelihoods, but also gave impulses for spiritual and, as a result, cultural transformation.

The building is located on the western slope of the crater, a hundred meters from the main road that runs along the entire perimeter of the crater. A small exit leads to the building, where there is a parking lot on the way to the building. It is located at some distance so that a person does not have a conflict of nature and external influence on it in his head. On the way to the building itself, walking a short distance on foot, the visitor will be able to mentally switch from action to contemplation.
The position of the building is slightly displaced, it does not look directly to the east, but rather is directed towards the center of the crater. This position provides more panoramic coverage.

The idea of the project was the use and creation of caves by ancient people, the ability to obey nature and landscape. The caves served as a shelter from bad weather and a predator, and sometimes had ritual functions. They played a huge role in the life of ancient people. In this project, I invite visitors and tourists to return to a time when man was a part of nature, not dominating over it, in other words, to the times of our early ancestors. Descending the stairs to the lower level and being there should provoke involuntary emotions in people and awaken memories of the human past and the unity of man and nature, plunging into the primitive world at a subconscious level. The structure and different heights of the ground gives the effect of the natural origin of the cave. The effect of digging space and arranging it is directly related to the experience of ancient people.

The upper part of the building is a platform for viewing the surrounding nature. The main idea of the upper part was a tower (20 square meters). It was decided to combine the tower and observation decks in order to create the effect of growth and culmination. Gradually rising, all new views will open up in front of a person. The shape of the building is directly related to the viewing decks. Rising upward, the structure expands, increasing the breadth of visual perception. The building itself is in close contact with nature, setting a person in the right mood. It expands from the grandeur of nature, thereby entering into a dialogue with it. The design of the building is organic and lightweight. With its weightlessness, it does not dictate its own conditions, but harmoniously coexists with the environment. From the outside, the building does not give a hint of the presence of a person, all functions and rooms of people are shifted underground, thereby preventing him from dominating nature, but being only its guests.

Programme

All rooms and spaces are made in accordance with the competition area programme, respecting the size of it.

Going down to lower level, a person enters the reception area, which is located in the center, between two passageways. There he will be given the necessary information and he will have a choice in which direction to go. If he goes to the right, then there he will be able to freshen up, buy the necessary equipment or just relax in the shade. In the refreshment area, the seats are part of the building, as if carved in the cave. With the help of constant contact with the ground, the seats will provide the necessary coolness on a hot day. The location of these rooms and the stairs up on different sides of the building does not give a chance for congestion, and also relieves the flow of people. To improve this situation, a second staircase was made to enter or exit.

On the left side there will be the stairs up to the platform for viewing nature. In total, there are 2 platforms with an area of 50 square meters each, and at the very top is the tower itself. The highest point of the building.

Construction and materials

The main materials were selected based on the history and development of the region in Tanzania. The materials are environmentally friendly and do almost no harm to the environment. In addition, the simplicity of the building design does not require huge time and material costs for its construction and can be built with the help of local equipment and local professionals.

The structure of the upper part of the building is based on the hyperbolic paraboloid principle. All beams are straight, at different angles, which gives the effect of expansion and contraction. The structure is well ventilated due to the distance of 60 cm between the beams. This part of the building will be made only of timber, which is quite widespread in eastern Africa. Acacia wood is used both in construction and furniture decoration. It is easy to process, strong and durable. In addition, the tree itself grows quite quickly and is not endangered. The wood has a light, beautiful texture. Since there is a distance between the beams for a 360-degree view, a long intermittent shadow from the structure will fall on the viewing decks. The shade will not only cool and save from the sun, but will also cause the visitor to directly associate with the forest, where the shadows of long tree trunks fall from the sun, bringing a person even closer to nature.

The lower part is more solid and massive. As mentioned above, the lower area of the building is a cave, and its monolithic rammed earth walls give the character of strength and antiquity. Rammed earth is one of the oldest materials on earth, and is also very characteristic for this area. Since ancient times, people have used clay as the main building material for their homes. When properly dried, it is also very strong and durable. To circulate air inside, holes were made in the facade on both sides, as well as walls that are lower than the height of the ceiling.

Concrete will be used for the foundation, since it is more durable when it interacts with moisture and groundwater. During rain, drains will be used, which, using a drainage system, will remove excess water outside the building.