The Oasis
Sharswood Philadelphia, PA
Western Facade View
Set within a dense Philadelphia neighborhood lacking accessible green space, The Oasis presents itself as a solid presence along the street. Its exterior draws from the local architectural vernacular while abstracting it with mass timber, allowing the building to register as both familiar and distinct. This outward expression conceals the project’s true center, creating a clear threshold between the city’s intensity and the interior world beyond.
Concept - Blurring nature and structure
Initial Sitelines Study
Section and Circulation Exploration
Structural Slab Form Development
Roof
Second Fl.
Ground Fl.
Basement Fl.
Western Facade Contextual Relationship
Plan Axon
N
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Moving inward, the building opens to a concealed garden, shifting the experience from enclosure to release. The structure frames views, light, and movement in a way that slows the body and reorients attention toward nature. The mass timber framework is deliberately expressed, evoking the sensation of walking through rows of trees and reinforcing the garden as a spatial and sensory refuge within the urban fabric.
Main Hall & Garden Section
The project is organized around an exposed structural system where tectonics guide both form and experience. Physical models and sectional studies informed the relationship between structure, enclosure, and circulation, allowing abstract ideas to translate into material clarity. Through this approach, The Oasis becomes not only a place of retreat but a study in how structure can shape atmosphere, movement, and spatial continuity.
Hidden Garden
Section Model Lighting Study
Structural Section
1. 12" Parapet
2. 12" Wood to Masonry Ties
3. 6" Air Gap
4. 12" Reinforced Masonry Ties
5. 3" Steel Rods
6. Triple Pane Low-E Glass
7. Insulated Triple Glass Mullion
8. 18"x12" L Shaped Bracket
9. 3/4" Thin Brick Cladding
10. Liquid Applied Weather Barrier
11. 3/4" Plywood
12. 3 1/2" Mineral Wool Insulation
13. 2"x6" Plywood
14. 4" Concrete Slab
15. Plastic Vapor Barrier
16. 2" Rigid Foam Insulation
17. 6" Gravel Fill
18. 6 3/4" Timber Girder
19. 6 3/4" Purlins
20. 5 PLY CLT Floor Slabs
21. 8" Concrete Slab
22. 3/4" Vinyl Flooring
23. Drip Edge
24. Weep Tube
25. Mortar Collection
26. Preamsembled Termination Bar
27. 6 PLY CLT Structural Wall
28. 3 1/2" Mineral Wool Insulation
29. 3" CLT Connection Brackets
30. 5 PLY CLT Floor Slab
31. 8" Mineral Wool Insulation
32. 1/2" Coverboard
33. Roof Membrane
34. Metal Coping
Main Hall Street Facing Wall Detail
Interior View Towards Main Entrance
Section Model
Main Hall Mezzanine
Final Model
Main Entrance View