HELIOS

STRUCTURE. SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA. 2015

Designed for the traditional weekend Cal Poly Design Village Competition of 2015, the shelter accommodated a team of six Southwestern Community College students. It draws its particular shape from the competition’s theme “Clockwork,” by returning to the tradition of telling time through solar tracking. Each arm of the structure functions as a window for the sun to enter the shelter at three distinct times of the day; morning, afternoon, and evening.

The design process consisted of workshops and presentations from several student proposals, where out of all that presented my proposal was selected to represent the school. Within a period of two months, we were able to build it, disassemble it, and transport it. Once we arrived at the Poly canyon site we quickly assembled it for the team to spend the night over. The next day we presented the project to the judges and visitors. After a weekend of traveling and carrying the structure, our team HELIOS was awarded the THEME CLOCKWORK award for the best interpretation as well as the BEST OF SHOW award.