periscope tower punctuates oceanside pavilion of columns by found projects & atelier noirs

columnating: a highway rest stop and sculptural intervention

Situated along a highway by the ocean, Columnating by Found Projects and Atelier Noirs is an intervention of three parts, centered around a porous roadside pavilion. As an open framework, the project is defined by a rhythmic field of columns positioned beside an idyllic parking lot to reimagine a rest stop as an artful public intervention. The pavilion builds upon the site’s existing structural grid but transforms it into a new spatial system defined by structural and sculptural columns made of steel and concrete.

Rhythmically arranged in varying densities and materiality along the grid, the columns offer multiple scales of interaction and open up to the natural landscape from all sides. Amid them, the configuration facilitates movement, frames coastal views, and shades seating areas. An aluminum roof overhead integrates mirrored and frosted panels, punctured by a periscope tower that captures shifting reflections and perspectives.

all images by Atelier Noirs, Miaojie Zhang

found projects & atelier noirs configure a system of columns

Columnating establishes a porous field condition, allowing for a free-flowing relationship between built elements and the surrounding landscape. The pavilion’s defining columnar system plays with scale, function, and hierarchies to create a spatial language that invites engagement in multiple layers. Small, slender steel columns provide the lightest structural support, maintaining a sense of openness, while medium-sized concrete columns establish a stronger rhythm throughout the space. Larger columns integrate seating elements, doubling as benches or tables, fostering impromptu gathering spaces.

Los Angeles-based Found Projects, together with Shanghai-based Atelier Noirs, ground the site with a curved concrete retaining wall that subtly rises and extends around the oceanfront facade. With a sculptural character, it echoes the undulations of the topography and the waves of the ocean in an abstract form.

Found Projects and Atelier Noirs complete Columnating

a periscope tower infuses an experiential layer

Adding an unexpected experiential dimension to the traditional rest stop, Columnating features an optical intervention that appears as a large concrete column within yet rises through the roofline to reveal a periscope tower. Inviting commuters to look beyond their immediate surroundings, the device reflects distant landscapes through its mirrored interior. Together with the reflective aluminum surfaces of the columns and the roof, the periscope reinforces a sense of expanded perception.

a rest stop conceived as a sculptural public intervention

defined by a rhythmic system of columns

Found Projects and Atelier Noirs integrates shaded seating

an aluminum roof integrates mirrored and frosted panels that captures shifting reflections

a curved concrete wall marks the edge of the site, gently rising to echo the terrain

the periscope reinforces a sense of expanded perception

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project info:

name: Columnating

architect: Found Projects | @found.projects, Atelier Noirs | @atelier_noirs

photographer: Atelier Noirs, Miaojie Zhang