2018
embrace me tree house
This tree house was entered into the Arch Triumph award contest. Result pending. We use repeatable low-cost wood studs and recycled cedar wood for decks, to create this exploratory play space. It can double as a dining pavilion for adults. It simulates a forest. Cables may be added for a wind harp effect deepening the nature-filled experience. The tree house may incorporate a tree or stand without one; it is equally impactful alongside a forest, in a backyard, or in the middle of an inner city playground, to connect kids back to nature. Copyrighted, 2018.
2015
ripple garden
A shade structure and rain collector for a wellness center 
We propose clusters of fabric structures to create shade and collect rainwater into reflecting pools at the center of each pod. They are made with a basic aluminum frame, 3″ diamter aluminum poles, and Sunbrella fabric.
Inspired in part by animals that live and hang from trees, as well as their habitats. Three types of canopies vary in height, radius, and color, to create kinetic spaces beneath for healing cancer patients. The goal was to use fabric in a unique and architectural way–here the structures protect from harsh sun light, while collecting rain water. The structures also loosely resemble flowers at various stages of opening and closing away from the sun.
2015
chasm lighthouse
A lighthouse archetype re-imagined and a memorial to the Concordia victims
Chasm lighthouse, on Giglio Island in Italy, esplores the edge of solidity and transparence, darkness and light,while memorializing the Concorida shipwreck. The lighthouse is a contemporary reimagining of an ancient nautical form, which reveal the porous bordres between land and sea.
The sculptural monument is meant to pay tribute to the 32 lives lost at the site, and contains an information center about the shipwreck.
The seeming tear in the lighhouse shaft synbolizes the tragedy while showing the inner guts of the structure–steel pipe, stairwell, platforms–that in turn upholds the floating glass and aluminum beacon of light. the beacon’s red roof resembles sails of a boat and the saturated color signifiees that the memories of loved ones live on. Red-roofed shading pavilions and poppeyes reinforce the connection between earth and sky. The sea of poppeyes at the base of the “torn” concrete also resonates with loss and hope.
Visitors weave in and out of darkness on an upward reflective journey, due to the two widening “cracks” in the walls. By Valerie Schweitzer
2016
holocaust memorial bologna
“A Passage from Barbs to Souls” by Valerie Schweitzer AIA (2015)
From Descending Bodies, To Ascending Skeletons, and the Void in between
With an economy of means, we attempt to make the passer-by stop and remember the mass murder that occurred in the concentration camps and the individual lives lost.
Please See Holocaust memorial page
“And the Dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto the Divine who gave it”. –Eccesiastes 12:7
“Memory is the scribe of the soul.” –Aristotle
citations:
2017, bubble shade
Citation at www.futureofshade.com by Architizer and Sunbrella, 2017 (For shop drawings see Bubble Shade category) By Valerie Schweitzer. Visualization by Hacken Li
2015
two hollows gate
A gate-like structure marking the new entrance for Folkets Park in Sweden, encourages city dwellers to appreciate the marvels of nature while lounging, circumambulating and gazing. By Valerie F. Schweitzer AIA (2016)
Two Hollows allows for the gathering of park-goers on its playful steps and internal chambers, that couple as exhibition space. The two wood structures resemble the often overlooked but marvelous tree trunk, even mimicking its shedding of bark and regrowth. (wood is one of the most sustainable of building materials in Sweden)
Nine feet wide in diameter each hollow lends itself to fun exhibitions that can hold several viewers at a time.The glulam structural rings in each of the two hollows evokes the rings within a tree trunk that marks its age. By Valerie Schweitzer, visualization by Mary Cocozielo
Memorial Concept