Ghent, New York, USA
Having as a primary goal, enhanced awareness and respect for the beauty of nature, Studio Joseph creates a site-specific sculpture and place of engagement, named Sensory Journey, located at the Hudson Valley, New York sculpture park, Art Omi.
The Sensory Journey project has recently been awarded a 2023 American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
As visitors walk through Sensory Journey, they encounter a series of interactive elements and spaces to gather.
The pavilion frames views, provides shade, and a place to picnic.
However, beyond the pragmatic, it is a place of playful encounters focusing the senses on the beauty of nature.
The experience goes beyond vision to olfactory, haptic, auditory, and tactile experiences and is fully accessible to those with wheelchairs or mobility issues.
The pavilion consists of three material and functional components. First, 126, 4×4-inch, 10-foot-high posts, stained black.
They are organized into a 3-part pathway that leads from the woods to an open meadow.
The wood frames create an armature for sensory experiences that can be collective or personal.
The 125-foot path runs on the east/west compass points for solar orientation. Second, the fire pit relates to the seating and table, fostering a sense of social bonding amongst neighbors, classmates, and new friends.
The Art Omi staff conducts educational classes for children and social events at the pavilion. Thirdly, there are four types of sensory experiences.
They are custom-fabricated metal elements dispersed into the wooden structure.
Green: A gathering of pipes that hover over herbs. Blue: Periscopes aim at the trees and the sky, focusing on the forest and the sky.
Coral: wind chimes swing from the joists.
Yellow: 30-foot lengths of pipe with horns at either end, one above, hung from the joists, and one below ground.
They allow visitors to talk with each other through this surprisingly low-tech invention.
Sensory Journey is a simple, very low-budget project for a non-profit art education center. It was painted and constructed in part by the studio.
The architects made this project due to the commitment to community learning, inspiring environmental awareness, and human equity, with respect for all people no matter their unique way of experiencing the world.
Project: Sensory Journey
Architects: Studio Joseph
General Contractor: Southside Design and Build
Client: Art Omi, Inc.
Photographers: Alon Koppel Photography
