Concentrum

Unitarian Universalist campus in Tucson, Arizona

The Concentrum is a proposal for a new Unitarian Universalist chapel and campus located in Tucson, Arizona. The site is within a natural wash with eastern views to Pusch Ridge and demands ethical treatment. The Concentrum aims to unite the Unitarian Universalist beliefs with the architectural concept through a single downward radial slope that guides the user along a linear sequence of gardens and program, concluding at a recessed communal plaza. The natural water runoff of the site is preserved and channeled into the center of the plaza, acting as a central hearth for congregation and meditation.

Water flows in and around the wash's topography at four specific ridges on the site. The water runs down those ridges and converges at one naturally-occurring point; a focal point. From this focal point, the campus radiates. Like a ripple in water, the buildings concentrically disperse with equal hierarchy, with its walls conforming to the ridges themselves.

Although the site will be dry throughout most of the year due to the natural desert climate, the site dynamics will activate from July to August during monsoon season, the time when we recieve most of our rainfall for the entire year.

Growth over time showing how rainfall and other natural phenomena slowly reclaim the site.