Thinking Cube Oxford
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
– Henry David Thoreau, Walden
A Forest Offering
The Thinking Cube. A platonic timber cube, created for a polymath, a maverick, and maker, this bespoke sanctuary carves out a place for thinking within a quiet woodland setting.
Dissolving Boundaries
Inside, the architecture explores the paradox of comfort and exposure, inviting you to slow down, breathe deeply, and embrace the sounds of the woodland. The thinking cube hovers above a sea of wild ferns, with the intention of suspending mind and body, prompting a deliberate state of mind.
The Experience
At its heart, the Thinking Cube creates a platform for contemplation of many layered philosophical, ideas, manifested in our concrete reality and defined and delineated with a highly detailed and conscious tectonic intention.
A Pinwheel of Possibilities
Developed as a pinwheel in plan, each “element” of this concept is dedicated to an experience or functional element:
The Hovering Walkway: A single path floats above the forest floor, leading towards two parted walls—a playful portal to possibility, no doorway is signified, the language is one of journey.
Cantilevered Glazing: A singular galvanized window projects out from the façade, dissolving the boundary between our thinker and the forest.
Deck: Conforming to the golden ratio, it pays homage to fractal fern geometry and the forest’s natural mathematics.
Immersive Plunge Pool: Cantilevered into the canopies and ferns for forest bathing, offering a moment of stillness within the woodland.
Reaching Skylights: Galvanised steel portals that funnel daylight into secondary spaces, preserve the simplicity of the facades, and retain the feel of an abstract object.
A Heideggerian Lens
In the spirit of Heidegger’s essay on Building Dwelling Thinking, this is far more than just a zero energy structure; it’s the embodiment of an idea where dwelling becomes an active, mindful and authentic experience. Architecture and forest stand side by side—co-conspirators in promoting human reflection, creativity, and as we hope - the quiet stoking of ideas. The singular space attempts to re introduce a certain raw reality and the concept of the ‘now’, through an existential confrontation with the woodland. This is achieved through its considered detailing, layered meaning and the unique singular static idea of an object suspend in space.
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