flowing. towering. translucence.

On Suttle Lake, Sisters, OR, The Wanderer Seasonal Restaurant displays blue parametric walls protruding through the space that capture the glittering essence of historic glaciers that once inhabited the lake. This parametric form separates and unites the dining experience with the cooking and test kitchen space as well as the outdoors towards the lake.

All materiality speaks to the site’s bold colors and textures during the autumn season. Rich warm leaves contrasted with the cool of the lake.

The volumetric forms take inspiration from the local morel mushroom. The project started with a focused specimen study of the morel and silicone prototyping for the parametric wall feature. The meandering directions of the morels surface, the translucence of its squishy walls, and the depth of its surface guided the parametric exploration.

This project focused on taking heavy inspiration from the site. An integration of poetic narratives written throughout the term guided our design work. These poetic narratives capture the overall feeling of being in the space, exploring all the senses:

Site - A crunch beneath her feet, dried fallen autumn leaves, shriveled and curling at the edges, and a softness, the breathing forest soil, spongey and springy. Tall and proud, the kings of the forest stretching through the mist surround her, a breach in the clouds and radiant streams of morning sunlight soften the arms of dripping sap covered needles, gleaming with warmth, fizzing in the misty air, like sparkling honey golden hair. Frigid fingers of a breeze prickle her skin, a deep breath of cool crisp air fills her body with the sharp scent of pine and fir, a wisp of refresh. Then the subtle lapping of water on the sandy shore, opening her eyes, she gazes across the steel blue lake, clear, vast, calm, as flat as paper. A singing bird, the trickle of the creek, the pair of ducks swimming by, a snow-capped mountain beyond, a valley where a colossal glacier once sat. Beauty, serenity, the outland.

The Morel - A canyon, a series of ridges, meandering like river channels. Pockets of translucent space, hugging each other closely, collapsing into each other’s shapes, tugging on each other’s walls, a stretched honeycomb structure. Deepening into shadow, darkness, depth, contrasted with the shared light above. Inside the canyon, dark shadows consume us, but around us the walls light up, sun comes down and through the translucent membrane, permeable to light and moisture alone. Rich forest brown, in tone, in smell, and in taste. Spattering in a pan, the morel shrinks in plumpness, cavities depress, oils coat the outside. Wilted, oily, chewy, much like meat; rich like the forest, buttery, supple, and soft. Design inspiration: depth, light and shadow, contrast, composition.

Prototype - Tall thin rubbery walls tower above, organically meandering like rivers, wiggling to the touch like a bowl of blue jello. Inside the canyon below dark shadows consume us, but around us the walls light up, sun comes down and through the translucent membrane, permeable to light and moisture alone: Inside the depths of the surface of the morel mushroom.

Atmosphere - A sizzle, a crackling, hot oil in a pan, the rhythmic chopping of metal meeting wood, the schump of a pepper’s flesh being sliced in rounds, a bubble a boil a splash of hot water.

The chatter, the clinks, the festive appraise, the footsteps clamor, the melodic hum of voices.

A twinkle overhead, a light or a star? shining high up in the forest ceiling. A wall that seems to glow, light pierces through.

Turning to the window, the bathing warmth of golden sun cascades down our faces, soft warm woods surround us.

Above us, the pattering of a brief soft rain coming to join us for dinner.

Stepping outside, the clouds breaching, the sun peeking hello, shutting the door behind and only the sounds of flittering songs flying above, the lapping of water, the crinkle of wind through the leaves. A deep breath. Tranquility.

Materiality - Autumn by the lake, a landscape of color. Deep tranquil blues, smooth glass. Vibrant ice, glowing. Fluffy soil brown, velvet soft. Rich rusty orange, crinkly. Bursts of bold golden leaves, the gleaming sun. Charcoal grey, a pile of wet basalt. Sandy creams, the lakeshore. A building of the season.

Plan - Waiting to be seated; Walls translucent, a hint of a figure beyond. Around us, Spaces that seem to become one another, tugging this way and that; Light streaming through them, set to life. Smooth walls, with a glow following, flow us through the space to our seat. We glide across the floor, like ducks on water through a river’s channel and arrive into the warmth of the sun.

Spatial Essence of Ice - A glow. A vibrant icy blue, quite chilled to the touch. Up, up, up, gazing up, towering, a top that disappears around its bend. And beyond and through the frost, a shape a shadow a figure, gliding with faded movement. Smooth and flowing, a surface meandering through and across the space, out it continues towards the water. People looking up, people peering through, people gazing out. Awe and ice.

What I love about this project: the awe-inspiring essence I was able to create through form and material of the parametric blue walls. I’ve created an artistic dining experience unlike any other that could have people saying “you’ve got to go to that glacier restaurant, what a fascinating atmosphere! I can’t wait to go back.”