Separate We Share

Tourism has a tendency towards the destruction not only of its subjects and their ways of life, but a destruction of itself. Separate We Share endeavors to create a shared, immersive experience for the tourist while acknowledging the perverse gaze of tourism. The rice terraces and their surrounding scenery are meant to be viewed, but the culture of the Ifugao is not best translated through voyeurism — it requires all senses.

This project proposes a structure to house 6 tourists and 2-3 local families simultaneously. While the ground plane is dedicated towards immersion and interaction between these groups, the living, viewing, and storage spaces are arranged such that each group retains a private space, sharing a dwelling not through sight but through smell, sound, and interlocking space.

This project looks to the traditional form and materials of the Ifugao hut as a framework for the contemporary tourist experience. The open ground level is the place of socializing and interaction where tourists and locals can sit together to share a meal and exchange stories after dark. Heavy stone walls fluidly divide the space to create an intimate, enclosed environment for interaction.

Because of the "X" that the extended roofs and ladders create, the programs for local and tourist individuals interlock, allowing for shared sounds and smells without the perversion of vision. While much of Separate We Share is concerned with the view of without, there is an equal amount of care in creating an intimate space for selective interaction and privacy between locals and tourists, allowing the tourists to give back to and support the Ifugao culture, not destroy it.