Team 9: ECI/Hyer / Alaska Center for the Environment

Passage

This team is interested in the art of experience. They are interested in what happens in our perception when confronted by an all-white field traversed by a single black line.

The white field is elevated to table height, which becomes a black ice table. The black oil floating within reflects the Northern sky. Oil and water, together yet apart, forming an ever-changing mirror image. Ancient life compressed into oil floating atop a container of frozen water; a magic emulsion mixed with light to glow in the colors of the rainbow.

A black-ice table attracting the earth is an enclosure that defines our boundaries. These boundaries are constant. The activities within the envelope are constantly changing.

We intend to emphasize our limits by creating a feeling of enclosure through the use of snow and ice. The make-up of snow changes considerably throughout the course of a day. Ice on the other hand remains relatively constant. Natural and artificial light will be used as the changing element in contrast to the ice. Careful considerations for crafting snow will be taken so that it may or may not change in state.

ECI/Hyer

ECI/Hyer, Inc. is a full-service architectural firm founded in 1981. Their architecture, shaped by Alaska’s vast resources and opportunities, is at once exploratory and environmentally-based. The firm thrives to create practical and inventive solutions in every setting, from the urban Anchorage bowl to remote villages.

Alaska Center for the Environment

The Alaska Center for the Environment is a non-profit environmental education and advocacy organization, whose mission is to enhance Alaskans’ quality of life by protecting wild places, fostering sustainable communities and promoting recreational opportunities. ACE advocates for sustainable policy on behalf of over 6,000 Alaskan members.