Competition 2024
Echoes of Stillness
Hospice + Chapel along the Skunk River Trail
Set along the Skunk River Trail in Ames, Iowa. It approaches end-of-life care through stillness rather than urgency, shaping spaces that support presence, light, and connection to the prairie landscape.
A cross-shaped plan establishes quiet order, guiding movement as procession rather than circulation. Corridors extend toward daylight, while courtyards bring air, sun, and seasonal grasses into daily experience. A chapel offers space for solitude and reflection.
Constructed with a timber frame and wrapped in aging wood shingles, the building pairs material restraint with passive environmental strategies. The architecture does not attempt to resolve grief, it creates space to hold it.
SITE PLAN
SECTION
1. Entrance 2. Reception 3. Shared Dining 4. Shared Kitchen 5. Lounge 6. Courtyard 7. Chapel 8. Nursing Station 9. Break Room 10. Storage 11. Supply Room 12. Restrooms 13. Private Therapy Room 14. Doctors Office 15. Patient Room 16. Group Therapy Space
PATIENT ROOM
FACADE + STRUCTURE
SECTION + ASSEMBLY
01 Cedar Shingle Facade 02 Glulam Beam 03 Glulam Frame Structure 04 Fiber-Cement Panel 05 Oak Interior Finish 06 Steel Profile 07 Insulated Glazing 08 Radiant Heated Slab
Visualisations
