Emma Flathouse

Passage

Year: 2024 Design & Honor Awards | Category: Student Project

‘Passage’, located on South Carolina’s Hunting Island, immerses visitors in interactive experiences about the island’s ecology and history. The three structures – Visit, Learn, and Observe engage the public as they pass through the site. Environmentally conscious design utilizes bioretention swales, geothermal and solar power, and local materials. The project applies COTE strategies to responsibly respond to the barrier island’s erosion and natural disasters. Zero-carbon, equitable, and resilient design is implemented and displayed in order to educate users on sustainable design strategies in order to reinforce the responsible connection between humans and the natural spaces we inhabit.

Design Challenge

By connecting people to Hunting Island’s nature and culture while modeling resilience, Passage responds responsibly to the barrier island’s challenges with sustainable strategies. The project’s goal is to engage visitors through place-based interactive learning.

The program has three separate structures named for their primary functions. Visit introduces Hunting Island’s history, culture, and landscape through a gallery and community event space with offices for park employees. Learn provides educational day camps focused on the low country ecosystem for children and young adults to attend and lead. When classrooms are not in use, researchers can utilize the space. Observe is an observation deck offering optimal views of the vast marshland and wildlife. Moving from forest to open marsh, the journey centers on the user experience of the site’s various aspects to encourage exploration.

Project Information

Student(s)
Emma Flathouse

School
Savannah College of Art and Design

Project Location
Atlanta, Georgia

Completion Date
6/7/2023

Professor
Brent White