"Wild: past participle of to will, self-willed"

-Thoreau



the building does not belong to you. it does not concern itself with
your needs, your wants, your hopes.  it is offended by any
pre-classified notion of what you think it should be or could be.  it
has no desire to conform to any defined or suggestive program: bizarre,
normal or any combination of the two.  it assumes that any predetermined
notion of how you will inhabit the space will only contribute to a
diminished experience.

rather, it more generally seeks to evoke deep within you a passion for
its wild nature.  the kind of wild that frees your mind and ignites
ideas.  instead of falling into cycles of recreated experiences, the
building assumes that through the sensations of its behavior you will
generate new ideas about the external world that spark spontaneous
reflection and innovation.

sprawled along vertical surfaces of the urban landscape, the building
reaches for stable soil below while bracing itself against existing
infrastructure and its cousin structures inhabiting the same site.
overwhelmed by the heat of the city, the building desperately opens its
pores in anticipation of the coming rain.

the rain collects in the pockets of its skin.  when the weight of the
water becomes too great, the building drops the excess, keeping just
what it needs to stay cool until the next rainfall.  In contrast to the
droplets of water continuously released from the clouds above, the
building releases water from its surfaces less frequently and in greater
volume, creating a storm of a different scale.

this storm within a storm is one example of how the building amplifies
the experience of natural phenomena, illuminating the subtle but
incredibly wild qualities of the world we inhabit; qualities that have
increasingly become hidden to us by modern development and a growing
industrial society.