STATION 7: ORCHARD

Biblically, the first place humans inhabited was a garden, Eden. In this garden was a tree that provided sustenance and forbidden knowledge. The importance of trees is reflected in the mytheme of the sacred tree, a structural component in many myths in many disparate cultures. This mytheme is highly pervasive because of the importance of trees in human society. They provide food, shelter, and perform many functions in the life cycle of the environment. The ability to climb trees allowed early humans to escape ground predators and take shelter. Trees are linked indelibly to human life and culture.

This station functions as an orchard, a shelter of life offering sustenance. Its layout creates a central oasis surrounded by seven tower-like structures. Each tower contains a tree growing from the exposed soil in the center. Each of these towers serves not only as the facilitator of life, but as a marker of life's existence and its eventual absence after death.

Ideas of enclosure permeate the form of this station. A sense of shelter comes from being in an enclosed space. Enclosure creates rules of movement and procession within a space. This is important for instilling an atmosphere of order and peace. A tended garden is more inviting than a patch of wild brambles. Thus, enclosure is the cultivation of life through and within a system of instilled order.