Pluvial
Pluvial relies on a synesthete’s relationship to rain and how said relationship can inform our approach to our senses by creating an environment prone to sensory symbiosis.
Throughout this experiential space, rain and its evocation are being used to trigger all senses in a symbiotic way.
A vocabulary of stimuli is developed, with the declination of a pattern based on Voronoi tessellation in different features, the sound and scent of rain, as well as the touch of water.
Tessellated columns guide the visitor to the reception and rhythm the entire space. All visual features originate from the same tessellated pattern, also used in the measuring of rainfalls and to virtually model raindrops.
Motion sensitive rain curtains let the visitor wander within the space without getting rained on.
The Underpond is the open space situated beneath the Pond. Its purpose is to offer refuge to the visitor and help them connect with themselves. They can walk, rest, meditate, explore, the space’s use is defined by the visitor.
The Sensory Journey (in the east wing) starts in almost complete darkness before each sense is brought back, first with touch, then sound, smell, and sight. The visitor ascension of the journey leads him to see the rain origin point before moving on to the Pond.
Duality is underlaying in this project, often through materiality and light. Balance and symbiosis within the senses is made more evident by introducing a subtle cohabitation between extreme opposites.