To dome or not to dome

As I began to explore the entry of my building, I began to have some doubts about the dome that covers the commons for the Savanna small learning community (SLC). I explained before my desire to diffuse the purity of the dome by creating a nested split-dome structure (which I also think is cool in and of itself), but my entry sketches seem to show that the dome is still too bold of a form– particularly as it lines up with the entry court.

So I began to play with the form. As I’ve said before, I want the Savanna commons to evoke the character of the Oregon White Oak, the signature species of the Oak Savanna, but does this need to be as literal as a dome? And does it need to be as apparent from the exterior as the interior? My new thinking is to simplify the form (and hence the structure, whew!), while playing with dome-like forms on the interior as light distributors in the space.

(look, photoshop makes digital trace paper!)

And some better landscaping doesn’t hurt, either.