Water Lab | Freshwater Education Center

Location: Brunot Island | Pittsburgh, PA

Located on along the edge of the Ohio River on a post-industrial island, the Water Lab serves to increase awareness about river ecology and the city’s history.  The building is seamlessly divided into a Welcome-Reception area, Gallery spaces, and private usage and administration, and hangs over the water to connect the mainland with the surrounding river. While playing with indoor-outdoor space through its metal fin facade, the main body of the building is made of fabric-cast concrete, which breathes a new life into the material so that it will respond uniquely to the passage of time. 

Made in collaboration with Stephanie Smid