ESCAPE HASH Pavilion would connect people in personal ways as so many of us have a relationship with social media in our daily lives. The hash symbol with its use in hash-tagging being an object unto itself as sculpture represents our modern times (for good and bad); where data is turned into meta-data; where information is categorized and made searchable; where so many find their voices amongst the billions of souls vying to be seen and heard. The form is inscribed within a rhombohedron which gives it its slant of 7 degrees on both the x and y axes. I did this because the vertical members of the hash sign are slanted while the horizontal members aren’t. The structure sits on 4 concrete plinths. Openings between them allow people to walk inside. They are bench height and double as benches to sit on. The design is made up of 8 straight members (members that connect to the base) and 16 L-shaped members, trapezoidal in cross section. These members intertwine to form hash signs on its four sides and on the top. The members would be made from glue laminated timber (Glulam) from sustainably managed forests. Glulam is composed of wood laminations bonded together with durable, moisture-resistant adhesives. The glulam members would be slotted to accept flanges for bolted connections. The bolts would be countersunk. A pattern of circles from these bolts add to accentuate the intertwining forms.
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