LAD Projects Book by Flavia Heupel

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 1

Expressions of Excellence

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 2

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 3

The Global Practice of LEO A DALY Selected Projects: 199 7–2 009

Expressions of Excellence Gregory K. Hunt,   

L A D Abu Dhabi Atlanta Austin Beijing Bryan Chicago Dallas Denver Fort Worth Hong Kong Istanbul Honolulu Houston Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Moscow Omaha Phoenix Sacramento San Antonio San Marcos Tampa Tianjin Waco West Palm Beach Washington, D.C.

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:20 PM

Page 4

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 5

Contents

Foreword Leo A. Daly, III FAIA, RIBA, RAIA

Introduction Benjamin Forgey, Architecture Critic

North Terminal, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Arlington, Virginia

156

Santa Monica

166

Omaha

176

Denver

188

Hong Kong

196

Washington, D.C.

204

Hong Kong

214

Los Angeles

224

Dublin

232

Theatre Arts Building Cheung Kong Center

Hong Kong

Santa Monica College First National Tower

Omaha

Carl T. Curtis National Park Service Leatop Plaza

Guangzhou

M贸stoles (Madrid)

Research and Training Facilities Repsol YPF, S.A.

Roadway Canopies

Center for Leadership Excellence Lockheed Martin Corporation

Midwest Regional Headquarters

Denver International Airport Cheung Kong Center Footbridge

Bethesda

The Nassif Building Research and Development Facility New Opera House Huawei Technologies

Shenzhen

Reptile and Insect Interpretive Center Lied Library Los Angeles Zoo University of Nevada Las Vegas

Las Vegas

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center

Washington, D.C.

102

World War II Memorial

Washington, D.C.

120

National Conference Center

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels The Chancery of the Embassy of Italy

Project Credits

243

Acknowledgements

250

Los Angeles

132

Photography Credits

251

Washington, D.C.

144

Publishing Information

251

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 6

Foreword

I feel blessed to have had the life I’ve led. My professional work has afforded me the privilege of working with some extraordinary people, including my longtime friend, the late sculptor Robert Graham. At his recent funeral, I found myself reflecting on a friendship that flourished over  years, my collection of his sculptures and our mutual passions for art and architecture. Designing the magnificent bronze doors for The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, the site of his funeral was Robert’s last great public commission. It was the realization of this great Cathedral that gave us the chance to work together. At  feet tall and  feet wide and weighing , tons each, the huge doors proved an exacting challenge for our architects and engineers who used state-of-the art software to integrate them into the building’s design. Robert also challenged us by defying California’s code for public buildings, insisting that the doors swing inward, rather than outward, in order to welcome the faithful in a traditional and hospitable manner. As the executive architect for the Cathedral, we are proud to have led a team of over  specialized consultants with whom we collaborated to resolve these and other challenges over the duration of this monumental project. Achieving excellence in design and its execution requires constant collaboration. I am truly grateful to the thousands of clients that have entrusted us with their projects and to the many consultants with whom we have worked. I am also grateful to the talented employees who make L A D a success. As I write, the firm consists of , professionals, in  offices worldwide with completed projects in  countries, all  United States and the District of Columbia. My grandfather, Leo A. Daly, Sr. established L A D in  in a small office in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. From these modest beginnings the firm grew rapidly, achieving an enviable reputation for client service and design excellence. When my father,

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 7

Leo A. Daly, Jr. joined the firm in , he continued to broaden our areas of expertise and strengthen our commitment to innovation. He also broadened our horizons by committing the company to large, complex projects both in the U.S. and abroad while spearheading energy conservation committees that established guidelines by which the architecture and engineering industries practice. Under his stewardship, the firm rose to national and international prominence as one of the first architectural practices to pioneer the use of interdisciplinary project teams, integrating planning and interior design as well as civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering. When I assumed leadership in , I was fully dedicated to our unwavering commitment to design excellence, effective project management and technical innovation. So, when I asked Gregory K. Hunt, FAIA, Founding Dean of the School of Architecture at Marywood University, former Dean of the School of Architecture at Catholic University of America and former Vice Chairman of my firm, to undertake writing this book and selecting the projects, I was delighted when he chose a diverse collection of buildings produced over the past decade. The result is Expressions of Excellence, featuring  distinctive projects that best illustrate the diverse creative approaches to achieving design excellence within L A D. Benjamin Forgey, architecture critic of The Washington Post from  to , wrote the book’s illuminating introduction, and I thank both Ben and Greg for their contributions to this book and their dedication to our mutual love of architecture.

Leo A. Daly III, FAIA, RIBA, RAIA Chairman and CEO

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 8

Introduction

Benjamin Forgey, Architecture Critic, The Washington Post, - If you happen to arrive at Omaha’s Eppley Airport on a clear winter night, as I did, quite a sight awaits as you drive into town. In the distance, framed by even rows of trees newly planted along both sides of wide Abbott Drive, the shining top of a very tall building indelibly marks your progress toward the center of the city. Consciously designed as a signal of Omaha’s reviving downtown, this inner-lit guiding beacon stands well above a cluster of earlier office towers. Indeed, in the dark of night the alluring form seems almost disembodied, as if it were somehow floating in celebration above the riverside city, like a tall, improbable balloon. In the daytime, of course, you can see the beacon clearly as the apex of the carefully calibrated composition that is the First National Tower, at  ft. high ( m) one of the tallest buildings in the central United States. Completed in , the building was designed in the Omaha and Washington offices of L A D and is, quite rightly, featured in this book. Metaphorically, the beacon and the book share certain attributes. Namely, both are intended to call attention to high quality design and to architecture’s role in the larger scheme of things. Like most books devoted to the work of a single architectural firm, this one is aimed in part at potential clients, and also is sure to find an important long-term audience in the design directors and ambitious young professionals within the firm itself. With nearly , architects and engineers spread through  regional offices, this large, established architecture, engineering, and interiors firm has committed itself to an intensified focus on excellence in design. Examining  projects that the firm considers to be representative of its best work since  (with the great majority coming after the turn of the st century), the book is an integral part of this internal design push. “Now we’re telling everybody everyday about the Design Excellence program, we’re preaching inhouse,” sums up chairman Leo A. Daly III.

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 9

INTRODUCTION

The Daly firm is unusual in American architectural practice for the consistency of its ownership. It was founded in Omaha in  by Leo A. Daly Sr., with leadership passing from father to son two times—in  to Leo A. Daly Jr., and again in  to the present chairman. The centrality of authority, however, in some ways belies the firm’s actual operating chart. There is, in the words of the current chairman, “well-organized financial management to measure performance” of the individual “profit centers,” but in design matters the regional offices enjoy a great deal of independence. This decentralization of design decisions has clear advantages, in terms of knowledge of local clients and conditions. But it also presents formidable challenges to a systematic, firm-wide program of design excellence. In a company so large and dispersed, it is no easy task—even in the electronic age—to insure that design quality consistently remains the top priority in every job, far and wide. To overcome such challenges, the firm has instituted a system of semi-annual, retreatlike meetings of the regional design directors. Overseen between  and  by Gregory K. Hunt, FAIA, the firm’s former vice chairman and director of design (and former dean of the Catholic University School of Architecture and Planning), the conferences rely principally on a tool familiar to all architecture students—the good old design critique. In Hunt’s words, “These sessions among peers can be highly probing and critical, but in the end they’re constructive. They foster a culture of top quality design.” This book, then, is a sort of interim report on a continuing process. The  projects include both built and unbuilt designs, and vary widely in building type, size, and location. In this they fairly represent the firm’s broad spectrum of work around the world. Four of the projects, however, remain separate from the book’s main theme. These are the completed works for which the Daly firm provided extensive services as the executive

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 10

architect. Each of these prominent undertakings—an embassy chancery, a cathedral, a major airport extension, and a war memorial—is notable in its way. But because each was designed primarily by another architecture firm, as a group these works speak less to L A D’s design goals than to its technical and administrative capabilities. These are considerable. For instance, no one familiar with the nuanced complexities of design politics in Washington, or the difficulties of the low-lying site, or the exemplary stonework of the World War II Memorial as constructed on the National Mall, would underestimate the contributions of the executive architect. Nonetheless, the heart of this book resides in the  projects authored primarily by teams of L A D architects led by the firm’s regional design directors and their teams. A characteristic that fairly leaps from the pages that follow is the absence of a readily identifiable corporate style. There is, in the main, a generalized commitment to modernity, to the expression of contemporary values with contemporary materials and techniques. Even so, the range of expression is extremely broad, from the almost sui generis monumentality of the  Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington to the strange yet apt biomorphic form of the  design for a new Reptile House at the Los Angeles Zoo. Such diversity, of course, reflects the firm’s decentralized design structure. “We’re really a practice characterized by multiple voices, rather than a single, unified design approach,” is the way Hunt puts it. But the stylistic variety also echoes broader cultural trends, in particular the increased complexity of today’s architectural programs and the expressive freedom of modern architecture as it has been revitalized in the last two decades. Certain thematic consistencies pull together many of these otherwise diverse designs, however. A broadened concept of urban context is fundamental to almost all of these Daly designs. So, too, is a commitment to use individual buildings (or, in some cases, clusters of buildings) to shape or enhance spaces for public gathering. Other interwoven themes INTRODUCTION

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 11

INTRODUCTION

include a willingness to use metaphor as a starting point for design, a concern for sustainability, a desire to create human-scale spaces for work and relaxation, and a consistent, often artful, attentiveness to the fundamentals of structural and mechanical engineering. Actually, the engineering side of the Daly enterprise—a large part of the business since World War II—may be somewhat underrepresented in this book, at least in terms of aesthetic expression. Fortunately, though, there are the low-lying canopy structures for the new ground transportation network at the Denver Airport. Comprising gently arched, tensile fabric coverings stretched over a muscular yet graceful pattern of structural steel columns and trusses, this much-needed addition combines engineering and architectural elegance. It stands succinctly on its own, while complementing the architectural vocabulary of the main terminal. Two campus projects manifest today’s expanded approach to context. The  Theatre Arts Building for Santa Monica College is, appropriately, modest in size and scale, but manages in sophisticated ways to reinforce existing and planned circulation routes and to provide intimate, beguiling new spaces for students and visitors to gather. Its spirited design, encompassing a lively, asymmetric profile and wily floor plans along with vivid contrasts of colors, textures, and materials, enhances the campus and provides a fitting new connection to its surroundings. Although larger and not so finely tuned, as a whole, the  Lied Library uses similar stratagems—massing divisions, contrasts of shape and materials, alluring points of entry—to accomplish many of the same goals for its setting in the campus heart of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Noteworthy is the innovative deployment of an industrial-scale automated book retrieval system as a sort of engaging kinetic sculpture at one end of a high-ceilinged main reading room—an atrium-like space nicely illuminated by controlled natural lighting from above.

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 12

Sometimes, in reality, architects just get stuck with a banal context, and such is the case with the Nassif Building, a renovation project located in a thoroughly boring single-use office district in southwest Washington, D.C. Not only that, but the building itself is an undistinguished s box taking up an entire city block. In their competition entry, Daly designers strove with some success to transform these conditions—replacing badly proportioned façades with sophisticated curtain walls, enlivening deeply recessed corners with sculptural, conical forms for public-spirited uses, and other changes major and minor. Reviving urban harbors and riverfronts has been a preoccupation of post-industrial cities for more than two decades. It is hardly surprising, then, to find several waterside projects in this book, ranging from small and simple to huge and extremely complex. And, it should be noted, from the ordinary to its opposite. On the ordinary side of the scale is the  regional headquarters building for the National Park Service in Omaha, situated on the recently cleared west bank of the Missouri River. This is a crisply designed three-story office pavilion whose one gesture in the direction of poetic contextualism—wavy glass walls on the longitudinal sides of the ground floor—does not read particularly well from a distance or up close. The building shines greenly, however, being the first in the state of Nebraska to achieve the coveted Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The workspaces, not incidentally, are at once economical and splendidly suffused with natural light. At the other end of the spectrum are two big, bold projects on opposite sides of the globe—a phantasmagorical opera house on the edge of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, and a lively new conference center alongside Dublin’s River Liffey. Both are multi-use halls and both are highly unusual—the going word is “iconic”—in form. As it happens, neither has as yet been built. INTRODUCTION

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 13

INTRODUCTION

The  Hong Kong project, conceived as a giant egg framed by mixed-use structures, is striking not only in its form but also in its ambitiously scaled new public spaces both inside and outside the egg. As with all designs of such size, one has to wonder how these huge spaces would feel in three-dimensional reality. Would they overpower the human body, and make the spirit feel small, or would they exhilarate the senses, and make the spirit expand? More of the former than the latter, would be my guess. By raising such questions the project calls to mind the vast geometric imaginings of Étienne-Louis Boulée, the visionary neoclassicist of the late th century. The analogy is both cautionary and honorific; but, either way, there is no mistaking the conceptual grandeur of the Hong Kong design. One somehow feels on firmer ground with the Dublin project, perhaps because it is neither as vast nor quite as complex. The building’s connections to the water’s edge seem more convincing, and its interior circulation spaces, punctuated by freestanding, sculptural conference rooms, seem more enticing. The equally conspicuous geometric form—a wrapping of the package that is in principle, if not in form, very like many a Frank Gehry building of the last  years—seems more grounded in its particular setting. This is a matter both of scale and metaphor. Based on ancient dolmens familiar in the Irish countryside, with an appealing skin of translucent and transparent glass panels, the faceted shape can be seen as a surrealistic lifting of a Stone-Age form into Space-Age reality. The transformation is at once startling and apt, creating an icon that strangely fits its given place. Metaphors come in small packages, too, of course, and the design for the Reptile House in Los Angeles is a neat case in point. With its sinuous form and scaly reptilian skin—overlapping metal panels designed with the aid of omnipresent computer technology—the building directly suggests qualities of its animal inhabitants. And it does so with rare good humor.

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 14

Modernism of a more straightforward kind characterizes the two research and development projects featured here—the Repsol Technology Center completed in  near Madrid, Spain, and the Huawei R&D Facility, an unbuilt project designed in  for Shenzhen, China. Reflecting the absence of an existing urban setting, both are wellplanned, self-contained groupings of buildings and landscapes that, in a sense, create their own contexts. The Repsol complex is an attractive, tried-and-true exercise of sensible site planning and modernist geometries, providing excellent spaces for work and gathering. The Huawei complex, on the other hand, forcefully asserts its self-containment, utilizing a pinwheel pattern of long, rectangular buildings to frame an enchanting series of covered courtyards. With its interwoven patterns of circulation, its variety of spaces and interior landscapes, its careful attention to capturing natural light, its adept handling of immense scale, and its promise of intense stylistic consistency, this design is the industrial equivalent of the culturally visionary Hong Kong Opera House design. An outstanding example of architectural excellence in the service of client needs is the  design for a leadership training institute at Lockheed Martin’s corporate headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. The conventional response, favored initially by the firm’s managers, would have been to stack a residential tower for visiting trainees above the auditorium, class rooms, break-out spaces and other conference facilities. But after intensive consultations with Daly designers the client opted for a better idea: Separate the functions into discretely connected building masses. The advantages of this “pavilion strategy” are manifold—it proved to be both more economical to build and also more user-friendly. A meditative, inwardly focused setting gently underscores the educational mission. Teaching rooms and gathering spaces are enhanced by natural light, with the added amenity of controlled views of water and landscape. The appealing modernity of the architectural expression INTRODUCTION

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 15

INTRODUCTION

—featuring sharp planes, clear geometries, and contemporary materials—imbues the whole with a subtly forward-looking atmosphere. Above all, the added elements come together with the existing s headquarters building to create a cohesive sense of place. Skyscrapers? Yes. Three. A diverse trio. The  Cheung Kong Center in Hong Kong quite admirably encompasses many of the themes in this book. One might think that inserting yet another skyscraper into Hong Kong’s vigorously clogged skyline would not present much of a contextual problem . . . and one would be wrong, in this case. The Daly team (along with Cesar Pelli as design consultant for the skin) had to account for two of the more iconic towers of the last two decades—I. M. Pei’s Bank of China on the one side, and Norman Foster’s Hongkong and Shanghai Bank on another. With its non-confrontational, foursquare shape and richly tapestried curtain wall, the Cheung Kong tower slips elegantly between its famous neighbors. Furthermore, from its lower levels the building addresses the city’s sloping terrain and complicated circulation systems with aplomb. The curved pedestrian bridge (designed in collaboration with Ove Arup engineers) is a sweet addition to the cityscape. The unbuilt Leaptop Plaza skyscraper, a  competition design for one of China’s myriad new development districts, is likewise sheathed with an elegant skin. Here, though, the tower is shaped with gracefully distended side elevations and a top of unfolding steel “petals”— inspired, say the designers, by a lotus blossom. Appropriate to its prominent position in a planned new town, the tower is dramatic in form, yet remains appealingly understated—an appreciable trick. The structural engineering here is not loudly on display, but nonetheless is strongly implicit. By contrast, the First National Tower in Omaha recalls skyscrapers of an earlier day with its stepped-back massing—the one outright nod to nostalgia among these  Daly

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 16

projects. This was in tune with the client’s strongly expressed desires, say the designers, yet the end result is not a simple repetition of the old pattern. Rather, it is an ingenious, if not thoroughly harmonious, blend of the traditional and the contemporary, of stone-clad vertical piers and glass and metal curtain walls. The massing and fenestration are quite complex, with verticality emphasized on the eastern façade—the one primarily visible from the airport—while vertical and horizontal elements are subtly counterbalanced on the other three sides. Rather awkwardly, a multi-level above ground parking garage serves as the building’s base on the western facade. The public is well served, however, by the high, glazed winter garden and outdoor plaza on the northern edge of the site, and of course by that inner-lit beacon at the top. Just as it stands impressively alone at the end of a soft, long lawn, the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center near Catholic University in northeast Washington, D.C., also stands somewhat apart from the other projects presented here. Deriving from the late Le Corbusier, its powerful, limestone-clad volumes play against one another in dignified asymmetry. The wing-shaped copper roof is a stroke worthy of the master himself, a strongly suggestive culmination to a noble, three-dimensional composition. The cultural program did not attract a significant audience, so today the building, sad to say, stands in a curious limbo as to its ultimate use. But the architecture is proud, and undoubtedly will hold until the right users find it. Or, in the poetic way that splendid buildings sometimes do, it finds them. So, there you have it. A rather complex story rich in twists and turns, and ups and downs. This book can perhaps best be thought of in two ways. It is a measuring of design achievements, and a manifesto of aspirations. INTRODUCTION

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 17

INTRODUCTION

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 18

FM_10-13-2009:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:18 PM

Page 19

The Global Practice of LEO A DALY Selected Projects: 199 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2 009

Cheung Kong Center

Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China Urban Context

The 62-story Cheung Kong Center is located on a corner site in the prestigious Central District (Central) on the north shore of Hong Kong. Situated at the intersection of Garden Road and Queen’s Road Central, one of the city’s major commercial streets, the 2.38-acre (0.96 ha) property was once the site of a Hilton Hotel, a public parking garage, and Beaconsfield House, a 1960s government office building. The site overlooks Chater Garden to the northeast, one of Central’s most popular public parks, and is surrounded by buildings of varying age, scale, and architectural character. St. John’s Cathedral (1849), the oldest Anglican church in southeast Asia and one of the city’s most historic edifices, lies to the immediate southwest and is adjacent to the threestory former French Mission (1917), a neo-classical brick building currently the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. Across Queen’s Road Central to the northwest is the Art Deco former headquarters of the Bank of China and its neighbor to the immediate east, the 590-ft.-tall (180-m) headquarters of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank (1985) by Norman Foster. To the east across Garden Road is I.M. Pei’s Bank of China Building (1990), the tallest building in Asia until 1992 at a height of 1209 ft. (369 m). The two linked high-rise glass towers of Citibank Plaza (1992) are directly south of the site along Garden Road. Design Challenges

The client, Cheung Kong Holdings, Ltd., a large property development and strategic investment company, wished to create a landmark corporate headquarters of timeless design that would stand out from Hong Kong’s aesthetically disparate skyline, whether viewed from within the city or from Victoria Harbour, especially at night. The challenge for the L A D-led design team was to create an elegant, simply profiled building

form that would afford both the maximum allowable building area and column-free floor plates. Because the building site was at a major urban intersection, the new headquarters also had to provide various civic amenities at its base. In addition, the steep slope of the site— a 20-ft. (6.1-m) grade change from St. John’s Cathedral down to Queen’s Road Central— required the building’s design to include connections to the surrounding pedestrian walkway system. In meeting these challenges, the design also needed to follow the Chinese practice of feng shui (space creation in harmony with the environment). Civic Amenities

The Cheung Kong Center’s design organizes the steep topography of the site on three levels, each with its own distinct character. Along Queen’s Road Central, for example, a lower landscaped plaza provides access from the north to the main lower lobby entrance. Open to the public, the plaza is furnished with benches and features a tall granite wall whose surface is awash with falling water to dampen the noise of passing vehicular traffic. Beneath the building is a sub-grade parking structure HONG KONG

CHEUNG KONG CENTER

Ce nt ra l oa d ’s R Q ue en

with six levels that accommodates more than 1,000 vehicles for both tenants and the public. Along the sidewalk at the edge of the car park are a post office and public restrooms. A cascade of broad stone stairs and a bank of exterior escalators bring pedestrians to the middle level, located nearly 20 ft. (6 m) above Queen’s Road Central. The northern portion of this level is designed as an “urban balcony”, offering vistas along this major thoroughfare and over Chater Garden. Feeding the water wall below is a large pool with fountains that produce soothing ambient sounds to counter the clamor of the lower street traffic. A motor court accessed from Garden Road brings vehicles directly to the tower’s upper entrance and also leads to the car park below. Paths to a system of raised pedestrian walkways serving City Bank Plaza, Chater Garden, and other neighboring areas also occur at this mid-level. At the third and highest level of the site is Cheung Kong Park, created by the building owners to be a welcoming natural environment for the enjoyment of all. Lushly landscaped with native plantings, a lily pond, and other small water features, this green oasis is located

Garden Road

along Battery Path, the pedestrian link between St. John’s Cathedral and the former French Mission. Functionally integrated with these important historic landmarks, Cheung Kong Park is a verdant retreat from the hectic pulse of the city and generously enhances the pedestrian realm of Hong Kong Central. Building Design

Cheung Kong Center has become one of the city’s preeminent and most easily recognized structures. Its maximum height established by the glide path between the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank and the Bank of China, the center stands in powerful compositional and aesthetic contrast to its two prominent highrise neighbors. Square in plan, minimalist in exterior profile, and rising to a height of 928 ft. (283 m), the Center is designed as an extruded glass prism within a layered skeletal grid of exposed stainless steel. Principles of feng shui were employed to determine the building’s plan shape, site orientation, chamfered corners, and reflective glass skin. Orienting the building’s square plan parallel to Garden Road rather than Queen’s Road HONG KONG

Central gave occupants of office floors on two sides outstanding views of Victoria Harbour, while those on the other two sides have vistas toward the west or The Peak, the highest mountain in Hong Kong. The Lobby

The base of the Cheung Kong Center is designed as a fully transparent, two-level lobby to be entered from both the north and the south. Glazed with high-performance Viacron with 100 percent light transmittance, the large enclosing walls were custom-fabricated. This highly transparent zone rises to a height of 53 ft. (16 m) above the lower street lobby and allows multiple views of the landscaped tiered gardens to the southwest as well to the surrounding buildings and streets of the city. To limit the imposition of multiple perimeter columns on the lobby, all upper exterior loads are transferred to eight outer super-columns by means of a two-story transfer truss placed at levels four and five. The central elevator core is clad in backlighted sheets of green-tinted textured glass arranged in vertical rows alternating between

CHEUNG KONG CENTER

Typical floor plan: high zone

flat panels and “V-shaped” projecting bays, producing a luminous interior that is at once aesthetically arresting and sumptuous. Accent strips of dichroic glass mounted over fiber optic lighting form the outer edge of the projecting glass bays and glow with an array of changing colors when illuminated. At the upper lobby level, two pairs of private express elevators, sheathed in fritted glass to expose the cabs, become freestanding animated sculptural elements when in use. Ceiling panels, column covers, and window mullions in stainless steel, along with granite and marble floors and trim (in hues of gray and green) complement the color and textures of the central core to create a visual symphony of refined finish and material elegance. Structural System

To achieve both speed and economy in construction, structural engineers Ove Arup and Partners Hong Kong Ltd. designed an inner core of concrete and an outer structural frame of concrete-filled circular steel tubes placed on a 23-ft.-7 in. (7.2 m) grid. Flexible, column-free floor plates averaging 18,500 sq. ft. (1,720 sq m) HONG KONG

in area result from core-to-window wall distances varying from 36 ft. to 49 ft. (11 m to 15 m); these are spanned with steel beams carrying composite steel-and-concrete structural deck. At each of the tower’s four corners, floors are cantilevered some 18 ft. (5.5 m) from inset perimeter columns, enabling the exterior glass skin to follow the building’s chamfered corners without the imposition of any corner columns. Office Environments

To provide state-of-the-art office environments for all the building’s occupants, a 16-in.-high (400-mm) raised floor system allows for the flexible distribution of power, telecommunications, and data cabling. The raised floor also accommodates the building’s “Totally Adaptive Air-conditioning System” (TAAS), which gives building occupants direct environmental control of individual office spaces. The floor system also allows for efficient and cost-effective modification of internal office layouts to accommodate organizational changes. To admit as much natural light as possible, floor-to-ceiling office heights of 9 ft.-10 in. (3 m) are standard. At the exterior wall, the column

CHEUNG KONG CENTER

grid may be subdivided into two offices, each 11 ft.-10 in. wide (3.6 m) with its own openable window, as required by law. Curtain Wall as Tapestry

The L A D-led design team created facades of interwoven grids and spatial layers for the skin of the tower which produced a tapestry like effect. Cesar Pelli & Associates and H.M. Brandston & Partners, Inc., consulted with the design team on the creation of the curtain wall. The exterior column bays are subdivided with vertical mullions spaced on 7 ft.-10 in. (2.4 m) centers. Each bay, in turn, is horizontally organized into four window components: two operable windows, each 2 ft.-6 in. (758 mm) wide, one on either side of the columns; and two nearly square fixed vision glass panels. Rectangular spandrel glass panels follow the same subdivisions. Glazing consists of silver-coated, laminated glass treated to achieve maximum transparency and light transmittance, sound attenuation, and typhoon resistance. Because both the vision and spandrel panels have the same exte-

rior coating, the entire glass skin is undifferentiated in the reflectivity of its surface, except on the mechanical/refuge floors where louvers or woven metal mesh enclosures occur. Semicircular tubes of polished stainless steel are paired at each exterior column face, adding vertical emphasis to the façades and increasing surface area to reflect light. At the top and bottom of the spandrel glass panels, small stainless steel cylinders are suspended approximately 12 in. (305 mm) away from the plane of the window glass and span horizontally between projecting brackets. These projections appear to float between the vertical window mullions and provide added depth and shadow to the building elevations. High-intensity, adjustable uplights—mounted on brackets extending 4 ft. (1.2 m) from the column covers at every other floor—further embellish the façades as projecting stainless steel elements and HONG KONG

provide illumination at night. Layers in Light

Both the profiles and layers of these stainless steel façade components contribute significantly to the tower’s tapestry-like exterior. The exterior surfaces are all fabricated of stainless steel with a “linen” finish because of its greater reflectance, the first architectural use of this finish on a high-rise in Hong Kong. Interwoven in an external tartan grid, the outer surface, like the glass within it, shimmers with changes in natural light throughout the day. To ensure its distinctive contribution to Hong Kong’s illuminated shoreline at night, Cheung Kong Center further incorporates an extensive system of fiber-optic lighting into the building façades. More than 12,000 emitter lenses placed at the intersections of all horizontal and vertical mullions of the façades appear

as individual “stars” of light. Computer-controlled and capable of changing color and light patterns, this integrated lighting system gives the building a shimmering appearance when seen from a distance, as the lenses twinkle within the floating tapestry of the curtain wall. At the top of the tower, special studio lights reflecting across the underside of the roof ’s dramatically sloped soYts produce a nighttime halo. Urban Poise

At street level, the Cheung Kong Center seamlessly merges its dramatic lobby spaces with the exterior civic amenities created around it. Along the city’s visually vibrant skyline, it displays a quiet poise and elegance within a relaxed exterior. In both cases, the Center demonstrates corporate beneficence toward the city and its citizens.

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 30

First National Tower

Omaha, Nebraska Urban Redevelopment

L A D, established in Omaha, Nebraska, in , has a long and distinguished record of built work in that city and its environs. When selected by the City of Omaha in  to serve as master planners for the Downtown Northeast Redevelopment Plan, the firm brought to the task its extensive knowledge of the city’s rich architectural heritage and of the potential for growth of that -block area. The resulting plan was based on thorough analysis of the characteristics of open space patterns and streetscape designs that have been found to enhance the pedestrian experience in successful urban downtowns. Downtown Campus

Within the redevelopment area is the nine-block campus of the First National Bank of Omaha, which has been serving the city since its establishment in . Recognizing L A D’s demonstrated design and planning expertise, the bank commissioned the firm to provide full architectural and engineering services for a new -story headquarters building. First National’s decision to construct a signature high-rise in downtown Omaha was both visionary and pivotal, as this project would ultimately serve as a catalyst for considerable new financial investment in the city center. Completed in , First National Tower immediately became Omaha’s primary architectural landmark. At a height of  ft. ( m), it is the tallest building in the upper Midwest between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. With nearly  million sq. ft. (, sq m) of floor area, it forms the heart of the bank’s downtown campus. Design Constraints

To create a striking skyscraper that would not only assert First National’s corporate identity but also invoke the history and key urban elements of downtown Omaha was the

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 31

East

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 32

North

design team’s great challenge. The client desired a headquarters with strong visual solidity rather than abundant glass; maximum views for the occupants; and large, column-free floor plates to accommodate modular office planning. Wishing to avoid overly idiosyncratic building forms, the bank also favored more conventional external profiles in the creation of its landmark tower. To accommodate these requirements while also respecting the scale, character, and urban grain of the neighborhood, the design team undertook a comprehensive analysis of the fullblock site at the intersection of 16th and Dodge Streets, including studies of the form, scale, proportions, and colors of the disparate surrounding buildings. To the north, across Dodge Street, lies the First National Center—a -story tower completed in  that served as the bank’s earlier headquarters and continues to house related banking functions. In contrast, the -story Brandeis Building, formerly one of Omaha’s grand department stores, presents a richlydetailed Second Renaissance Revival façade to the southern side of the project site across OMAHA

West

Douglas Street. Additional surrounding buildings include a hotel to the north, a federal courthouse to the west, and several multi-level parking garages. Various massing strategies were investigated through the construction of numerous smallscale physical models to arrive at the most harmonious building form for the site and its immediate environs. Interlocking Volumes

The final plan aligns the tower’s longitudinal axis parallel to Dodge Street, Omaha’s principal east-west thoroughfare and a reflection of the city’s historical growth westward from the Missouri River. As illustrated most explicitly on the north and south elevations along Dodge Street and Douglas Street, respectively, the building’s form consists of a number of interlocking volumes of varying heights, plan dimensions, and surface treatments. The lower seven-story base, clad in a warm-toned granite, contains building lobbies, delivery and mechanical areas, and a multi-level parking garage for  cars. The effect of the distribution of these service areas

South

Dodge Street

16th Street

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

Douglas Street

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 33

FIRST NATIONAL TOWER

Low-rise floor plan: floors 8-18

Mid-rise floor plan: floors 19-37

Ground floor plan

High-rise floor plan: 40th floor

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 34

is that the building’s exterior is largely opaque at its base, except for the glass-enclosed Wintergarden on the north side of the building. The essentially planar character of these lower floors visually grounds the building to its sloping site and mediates between the tower’s great height and the lower roof lines of its neighbors. Above this base, the building’s mass is arranged in four tiers with each higher tier smaller than the one below it. These upper levels rise with bilateral symmetry on the east and west façades and with asymmetrical massing on the north and south elevations. The first tier includes the largest floor plates, which occupy the lowest  floors. The second tier begins with the first major building setback at the th floor level. A third major volume is defined by the next setback, at the building’s th floor. Rising five stories in height above this level are executive offices, curved in plan and sheathed in a distinctive glass curtain wall to maximize views, along with two mechanical floors. The uppermost zone of the building contains the main mechanical plant and introduces a series of OMAHA

projecting vertical stone fins whose serial repetition and deep shadows add a strong sculptural quality where the building meets the sky. Translucent wall panels extend between these piers and when illuminated at night from within, this building crown becomes a distinguishing and highly visible urban lantern. Building Skins and Fenestration

Proportionally, the building’s exterior is twothirds glass and one-third granite, with the spandrels suppressed to produce a decidedly vertical emphasis. As the tower emerges from its stone-clad lower zone, it is surfaced in three separate skins characterized by a consistent bay spacing (both horizontal and vertical) but varying in their material treatment to produce different façades on the city skyline. Most of the building’s exterior features a system of granite piers spaced at -ft. (.-m) intervals. These correspond to structural steel columns placed within the thickness of the exterior wall to maximize the usable floor area. In the first skin system, floor-to-ceiling curtain wall panels are placed between the granite piers. Factory-assembled, the panels consist of vision

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 35

FIRST NATIONAL TOWER

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 36

glass divided by a vertical mullion and spandrel components that add horizontal articulation in each window bay. A second skin system occurs on the upper, curved portions of the north and south façades (floors  to ) where the same curtain wall components are employed but the granite piers are omitted, resulting in a continuous glass curtain wall surface. As further expression of the overall interlocking of building volumes, this glass skin extends down to the building’s base on all four façades, producing a different effect on each side. On the north and south, the glass skin appears as a glass tower positioned behind two other façades, while on the west it appears as a projecting volume articulated with paired aluminum piers, and on the east as a shorter glass tower serving as a backdrop for a dramatic full-height façade. A third skin system appears on the east façade, where the outer granite piers taper inward toward the building’s top to create triangulated segments. Forming the northeast and southeast corners of this façade, the glass skin frames this tapering surface, and the composition of the central window bays results in OMAHA

the tower’s most pronounced expression of continuous verticality. On the west elevation, a narrow three-bay-wide glazed volume containing conference rooms produces a more subtle expression of vertical continuity. Because the building’s rhythmic fenestration occurs within an overall composition of varied layered volumes, distinctly dissimilar views appear to observers in different parts of the city. Spatial Variety and Structure

The building’s massing scheme yields floor plates of different sizes and configurations, producing interior spaces with quite diverse layouts. For example, conference rooms with splayed walls occupy the two reentrant corners of the east façade and offer generous views toward the northeast and southeast. Further, the several setbacks in plan create a vertical zone of large conference rooms on the building’s west façade, each provided with generous natural light on three exposures and panoramic views of the city. As required by the client, interiors are column-free, a result achieved through a steel and concrete structural system allowing - to -ft.-long (.-m to -m) spans from

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 37

FIRST NATIONAL TOWER

the interior structural concrete core to the outer glass line. Employment of a  ft.- in. (-m) plan module further contributes to maximum flexibility of tenant space planning. Contrasting Lobbies

Two ground-floor lobbies serve the central elevator core. The building’s main canopied entrance is into the north lobby from a spacious entrance plaza at the corner of Dodge and th Streets. Provided with expansive views of the plaza and neighboring buildings, the north lobby also has a shallow, barrel-vaulted ceiling enhanced by custom-designed pendant light fixtures. Another entrance occurs along th Street, where one may pass through a tall loggia to access the north lobby or the more contemplative south lobby. With high windows facing Douglas Street, the south lobby features a large sloped surface of polished black granite washed by a thin sheet of water that falls into two long, tiered basins. The sounds of falling water, the changing patterns of sunlight through the day, and the informal, open seating create a place of repose adjacent to the elevator core.

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 38

Civic Realm

Where the building meets the ground, it does so with a site design intended to enhance the civic realm of downtown Omaha. The entrance plaza provides engaging amenities, including trees, polished granite benches and planters, and a fountain with a geometric array of  water jets that can be programmed to music. As part of the architects’ original master plan for the bank’s nine-block campus, the landscaping of the plaza extends across th Street to create additional open public park space with fountains and sculpture. Readily accessible from the entrance plaza is the ,-sq.-ft. (-sq-m), seven-story-high Wintergarden, intended to serve as a space for social events and civic functions. Constructed of exposed steel and glass, and flooded by abundant natural light during the day, the Wintergarden is dramatically illuminated at night to reveal its structural skeleton, tall bamboo plantings, and the varied interior surfaces. Displayed on the solid masonry rear wall of this otherwise totally glazed volume is a five-story-high terra cotta Neo-Gothic façade preserved from the uppermost floors of the OMAHA

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:06 PM

Page 39

FIRST NATIONAL TOWER

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:07 PM

Page 40

Medical Arts Building that previously occupied the site. Viewed through the Wintergarden’s tall canted walls of glass supported by tubular steel bowed truss members, the façade is an impressive architectural artifact showcased in a highly contemporary enclosure. A large curved wooden structure rises from a black granite basin of water to support an upper balcony overlooking the entire space. Symbolizing the role of river craft in the settlement of Omaha, this boat-like form and an adjacent granite plane serve to screen a series of stone stairs and glass ramps connecting to lower-level walkways. The walkways pass beneath adjacent streets to link the tower to other parts of the bank’s campus. Colorations and the City

Efforts to harmonize the building with its urban context extend to the choice of materials and colors. The stone cladding of the base and vertical piers is of “Moonlight” granite from Spain, selected for its rose and beige highlights that repeat the color palette of Omaha’s many limestone buildings. Dark green Nor-wegian “Emerald Pearl” granite accents the lowest surOMAHA

faces of the building’s base where it joins the ground and provides an elegant finish at this public level. When polished, this granite appears nearly black, a reference to the fertile black soil of the prairie. The cream and brown marble of the lobbies and common spaces echoes the Roman travertine of the First National Center across Dodge Street. Finally, the glass and warm-gray painted aluminum in the curtain wall system, chosen for their reflective responsiveness to natural light, vary their coloration through the day to evoke the changing shades and surface of the nearby Missouri River. Urban Scale

First National Tower introduces a new scale of building to downtown Omaha, one designed with superimposed plan variations aggregated in distinct profiles from base to parapet. This massing strategy, coupled with the granite, glass, and aluminum elements of the building’s façades, creates an eloquent high-rise corporate headquarters that adds a distinctive architectural presence to the city’s skyline.

FNTpp30-41:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:07 PM

Page 41

FIRST NATIONAL TOWER

LTPpp42-49:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:09 PM

Page 42

Leatop Plaza

Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China International Metropolis

The city of Guangzhou, the capital of China’s southeast Guangdong Province, lies about  miles ( km) inland from the South China Sea, within the northern portion of the Pearl River Delta. Once known as Canton, the city has for thousands of years been considered China’s “Southern Gate” and one of the country’s most important centers of foreign commerce. To its established role as a center of trade, finance, and culture, Guangzhou has now added prominence in communications, science, and technology. Given China’s extraordinary economic growth in recent years, the city is poised to become the region’s premier international metropolis. International Design Competition

In , Guangdong Leatop Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd. sponsored an invited, twostage international competition to elicit design proposals for Leatop Plaza, a new high-rise office building to be located on a prominent site in Zhujiang New Town, a .-mile-long (-km) new central business district designed to link Yanling Park with the Pearl River. At the core of the new district is a .-acre (-ha), multi-level civic center called Central Square, a linear park constructed above extensive underground public spaces, including retail facilities, parking, and urban transit systems. Landmark Structure

Because Leatop Plaza would serve as the main headquarters for the Guongdong Provincial Communications Group, the competition stipulated that the building be a landmark tower with innovative architectural design and state-of-the-art communication and building systems technology. In accordance with the maximum allowable floor area ratio, the structure could provide approximately . million sq. ft. (, sq m) of space above grade.

LTPpp42-49:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:09 PM

Page 43

LTPpp42-49:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:09 PM

Page 44

The client required flexible office space for the headquarters as well as additional leasable tenant space. The building program also included restaurant and dining facilities, a bank, retail space, flexible conference facilities, parking for  cars, below-grade fallout shelters, and pedestrian connections to the nearby underground transit systems. Site Plan and Landscape

The nearly .-acre (-ha) site for the building is situated in the northeast section of Central Square and is conveniently located near an underground transit station. With both its northern and western boundaries facing park space, the site enjoys significant visibility and—as one of two parcels aligned on opposite sides of the park’s northern entrance —it has been reserved for a pair of signature high-rise structures. The design places the building within a circular plaza surrounded by gardens that act as buffers to the public sidewalks at the site’s perimeter. Smaller circular gardens and a monumental fountain serve as focal points within this extensively landscaped exterior precinct. GUANGZHOU

To minimize the impact of automobile and service vehicles on these verdant spaces, a single ramp at the site’s northeastern corner provides access to the lower parking levels, the loading dock, and other service facilities located on the second sub-level. An underground parking structure on adjacent property to the east may also be accessed from this lower level. A circular drop-off terminates a curving entry drive and brings vehicles to the building’s main south entrance. Plan Geometry and Organization

Square in plan, the -story tower is organized around a central service core and column-free floor plates for maximum space-planning flexibility. Symmetrical reentrant corners increase the number of corner offices with spectacular views and enable each of the four façades to be treated as distinctive compositional entities within the building’s overall form. In accordance with the principles of feng shui, entrance to the building lobby is available from either the main entry facing south or a secondary entry facing east. The -ft.-high (-m) lobby, designed to maximize visual

Office floor plan: level 28

Leatop floor plan: level 51

LTPpp42-49:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:09 PM

Page 45

transparency and natural light, is enclosed with floor-to-ceiling glass curtain walls on all four elevations. Each of these sizable glass planes extends a horizontal distance of  ft. (. m) between pairs of corner super-columns, thereby eliminating the need for additional groundfloor perimeter columns. Within the expansive lobby, the building’s core is treated as a centering composition of translucent surfaces—a luminous center evoking the stem of the sacred lotus flower, the metaphor chosen for the design of the building’s exterior profile. Sheathed in acrylic panels with a laminated bamboo veneer backing, these wall planes cast a warm, even glow when illuminated from behind, and the pronounced fibrous structure of this native grass presents a variety of graphic patterns throughout the lobby. The first below-grade floor level is accessible from the lobby by means of escalators or elevators, and is occupied by food service facilities and other commercial spaces. These extend beyond the perimeter of the tower above and the level is linked by walkway to an underground parking structure immediately to the

LTPpp42-49:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:09 PM

Page 46

east. Six “light courts”—each two stories high—are distributed around the floor’s primary circulation path to introduce natural illumination to this lower level. Glazed to separate them from the lobby, the light courts are planted with bamboo at their base and provide unique interior focal points as well as upward views of the exterior from below. Conference rooms ranging in seating capacity from  to  people occupy the entire floor directly above the lobby. This double-height floor features the same lustrous core enclosure system as the main lobby. All rooms enjoy natural light and generous views of the landscaped Central Square beyond. The next two-thirds of the building’s height are reserved for leasable oﬃce space while the top one-third is occupied by the corporate headquarters of the Guangdong Provincial Communications Group. Building Profile and Envelope

Guangzhou, often called the “City of Flowers”, enjoys a climate in which flowers bloom all year long. Appropriately, Leatop Plaza takes its design inspiration from the lotus blossom—a GUANGZHOU

Buddhist symbol of purity, enlightenment, and perfection. Like the petals of this revered water lily’s bud, the enclosing facades of the tower are gracefully curved in vertical section to create a unique profile. Reaching a height of  ft. ( m) at its crown, the tower terminates with a prism outlined by four open skeletal steel “petals,” forming, in effect, a distinctive tall lantern on the city’s skyline. Reflecting the sun during the day and illuminated with lightemitting diodes at night, these multi-storied vertical frames contrast with the inward-curving wall planes that appear to be woven between them. The skin of the building is a unitized system consisting of metal panels integrated with lightly reflective vision and spandrel glass. The design team chose low-iron glass to achieve the highest clarity, and spandrel panels of the recessed shadow-box variety for added visual depth. Metal panels and projecting vertical fins are platinum in color. The fins are set within pearl-colored mullions at the column grid to accentuate the building’s height and to cast varying shadow patterns across its exterior wall surfaces with the daily passing of the sun.

Canteen level floor plan

LTPpp42-49:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:09 PM

Page 47

LEATOP PLAZA

Conference level floor plan

Though gentle, the curvature of the façades in section is visually arresting because of the reentrant corners. Here, each building face is perceived as an independent curved plane and the corners themselves become complex intersections defined by subtly changing curve and taper along the full height of the building. When illuminated at night, these corners further emphasize the curvature of the adjacent façades. Structure

Square floor plates with sides that vary in length from  ft. to  ft. (. m to  m) give the building its undulating profile. Castin-place concrete core walls and a concrete beam-and-slab system are used throughout, with lateral stability provided by outrigger trusses connecting the core walls with the exterior walls at the four upper mechanical floors. Perimeter columns at -ft. (.-m) intervals follow the curved profile of the vertical section at each floor. At the first upper mechanical floor, the cumulative gravity loads of each outer wall are transferred to four twostory-high perimeter belt trusses that are sup-

LTPpp42-49:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:09 PM

Page 48

ported by pairs of super-columns placed at the interior corners of each lobby faĂ§ade. Iconic Form

The design for Leatop Plaza aims to create a distinctive silhouette amid the plethora of high-rise structures that will eventually surround the new Central Square in Zhujiang New Town. Like the lotus blossom, the towerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elegance of form and profile is achieved through a refined visual equilibrium free of the superficial.

GUANGZHOU

LTPpp42-49:Layout 1

3/2/09

3:09 PM

Page 49

LEATOP PLAZA

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 50

Research and Training Facilities Repsol YPF, S.A.

Móstoles (Madrid), Spain Facility Consolidation

Since , Repsol, an international oil and gas conglomerate headquartered in Spain, had been conducting its research and development in three different locations. In , the company decided to consolidate its dispersed facilities by building a new corporate campus, and retained L A D to develop the master plan, architectural design, landscape plan, and conceptual interior design for the project. Repsol Chairman, Alfonso Cortina de Alcocer requested that the new facilities be designed by L A D with functional efficiency and flexibility capable of serving the company for four to five decades following its completion. Technology and Education

The program required the creation of two separate but related building complexes: a stateof-the-art petrochemical research and development facility, the Repsol Technology Centre, or CTR (Centro Tecnologico Repsol); and the Superior Institute of Energy, or ISE (Instituto Superior de Energia), a postgraduate institute for advanced education and training for employees working in various parts of Europe and South America. In addition, the client wished to award research grants to faculty members and postgraduate students at the Rey Juan Carlos Technical University (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos), located just southeast of the new corporate campus. Site

The new Repsol YPF complex (the name was changed in ) is located in an emerging technology park in Móstoles, a city . miles ( km) southwest of Madrid, and is intended to serve as a major catalyst for Móstoles’s economic expansion. The site was chosen for its visibility along one of the region’s major highways, its proximity to a technical

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 51

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 52

university, and the presence of a nearby train station for commuting employees. The .-acre (.-ha) property is situated on an elevated land parcel along the northern edge of the national A- highway where it intersects the north-south M- highway. Set within a vast horizontal landscape of undulating topography and shaped by former agricultural use, this raised landform is a prominent feature of the terrain. In response, Repsol’s master plan treats the site as a large platform for a campus-like arrangement of horizontal buildings, parking areas, and formally ordered exterior spaces and pedestrian walks. Campus Plan

The two major components of the project— the Superior Institute of Energy (ISE) and the Technology Centre (CTR)—are situated at the western and eastern ends of the site, respectively. Beyond the main entrance gate, an internal north-south roadway bifurcates the site and leads to small, decentralized employee parking areas. The roadway then joins a continuous perimeter service drive that may also be accessed directly from the M- highway. Shuttle bus service for commuters using the MÓSTOLES

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 53

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 54

nearby train station is provided by the company. The CTR, the larger of the two facilities, has a separate VIP drop-off and visitor parking area immediately south of its main entrance. North of the CTR, in the northeast corner of the site, are a number of utilitarian structures, including a power plant, warehouses, and a series of specialty pilot plants have been designed by a local Spanish architecture firm. The structures have enclosures of dark color and are connected by continuous perimeter skeletal steel screen walls to form a strongly defined edge to this portion of the Repsol YPF campus. Under-ground, full-height enclosed passages between the warehouses and laboratories of the CTR provide all-weather secure access to materials and a protected means of moving them into the laboratories. Exterior Spaces

In both components of the campus, buildings are configured to create exterior spaces either for employee use or to screen utilitarian service drives from public view. A broad east-west walkway connecting the two sides of the campus draws its inspiration from the pedestrian MÓSTOLES

ways along the Paseo de la Castellana, one of Madrid’s most memorable grand avenues. For relaxation and contemplation, employees have use of a variety of outdoor spaces of differing scale and character, arranged with large expanses of carpet-like grass, low plantings, and several water features. Throughout the campus, hardscape includes granite terraces, paved courtyards, and tree-lined brick walkways. Surface parking areas, each covered with white steel canopies, are designed as shaded exterior rooms for employee vehicles and treated as minimalist structural frames in the verdant landscape. Because the site was formerly a large olive grove, the landscape plan incorporated the conservation and replanting of more than  venerable olive trees, in either ordered rows or more informal patterns.

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 55

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 56

The Superior Energy Institute 56

(Instituto Superior de Energia, or ISE) The Superior Energy Institute (ISE)

The first completed building in the complex, the two-story ISE opened in  and forms the western edge of the campus. Occupying , sq. ft. (, sq m), it was developed by the Repsol YPF Foundation to oﬀer advanced degrees in energy-related fields of science and engineering, and was meant to be the premier European institute for the study of energy. Plan Configuration

The L-shaped building contains lecture halls, seminar rooms, student workstations, faculty offices, and a small library. To meet future increases in enrollment in the institute, the building is organized to allow easy expansion of either or both wings of the L. Framed by the two wings of the building, a courtyard is screened from the highway to the south and a busy north-south road immediately to the west. Views of this relatively secluded landscaped area are afforded from several classrooms and faculty offices, as well as from a spacious cafeteria. Because the courtyard faces north and east, it receives even, natural light throughout the MÓSTOLES

Ground floor plan

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 57

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

Second floor plan

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

MÓSTOLES

4:19 PM

Page 58

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 59

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

day and permits the adjacent building façades to be made largely of glass. Sculptural Forms

The -seat lecture hall, located at the intersection of the two arms of the L, is enclosed by windowless exterior walls that are skewed in plan and outwardly sloped in section, resulting in a sculptural form highly visible along the building’s most public face. Entrances to either side of this volume lead to the central lobby—a two-story void having views to the exterior courtyard and a scuptural freestanding steel staircase with illuminated glass risers. To enhance opportunities for informal communication between students and faculty, the wide circulation spine serving the classrooms on the ground floor of the north wing has moveable seating, generous proportions, and views to the outside. On the second floor above these classrooms, glazed roof monitors admit pools of natural light along the central axis that organizes rows of student computer workstations. From a distance, the roof monitors appear as a series of small pyramidal forms against the sky.

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 60

Interior Material Palette

The Institute’s interiors are a study in contrasts, combining the lustrous with the matte, the natural with the machine-fabricated, and the colorful with the muted. In assembly spaces such as the cafeteria and main lecture hall, flush-faced laminated maple paneling on walls and ceilings provides textures and tones that contrast with floors of polished terrazzo and flame-finished granite. Elsewhere, ceilings are of plaster or perforated aluminum, and railings combine cantilevered glass with stainless steel tops. Throughout, walls of yellow-gray Spanish limestone or white plaster are interspersed with accent colors of soft yellow or bright red-orange. The resulting interior spaces are characterized by clean lines, visually varied materials, and elegant yet durable finishes. Exterior Massing and Façades

The ISE’s exterior consists of simple, rectangular limestone-clad masses with large surfaces of curtain wall. These glazed walls, planar and full-height, are detailed as taut membranes set within the stone surfaces surrounding them. Thin, white mullions—set against nearly black MÓSTOLES

vision glass and slightly lighter spandrel glass— subdivide the façades into rectangular patterns with a distinctly horizontal emphasis and a sense of visual repose. The projecting, gently curving glass wall of the cafeteria, along with the sculptural form of the lecture hall — sheathed in white aluminum panels detailed with a pattern of deep horizontal reveals— assume strong volumetric presence within the building’s exterior composition.

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 61

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 62

The Repsol Technology Center 62

(Centro Tecnologico Repsol, or CTR) The Repsol YPF Technology Center (CTR)

As an international company involved in advanced petrochemical research world-wide, Repsol YPF required a research building that would provide well-equipped labs for individual researchers, foster good communication among employees, and create a work environment that was both comfortable and inspiring for all personnel. The major functional requirements of the ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) CTR included well-serviced, safe, and flexible laboratory spaces; offices for  scientists and support staff; and a number of two-story pilot plants for new product testing and development. In addition, the building program required meeting rooms, a -seat auditorium, a library, and kitchen/dining facilities. Plan Configuration

The technology center’s plan consists of two main wings of laboratories and offices in an Lshaped configuration. A third wing consisting of a linear organization of pilot plants extends parallel to the lower leg of the L and is separated from it by an exterior courtyard. As with the MÓSTOLES

Ground floor plan

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 63

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

ISE, this design parti allows the CTR to easily undergo future expansion when required. At the juncture of the two main wings is an entry forecourt in the shape of a roofless exterior rotunda. This leads to the main lobby and the building’s primary east-west circulation axis—a two-story-high space with an upper balcony level—awash with natural light along its entire length. Three straight-run stairs crafted of bent metal plate stand freely within this spatial spine and lead to the upper balcony. Adjacent to the cylindrical entry space are a small research library, executive oﬃces, and the auditorium. At the west end of this central circulation spine, a second building entrance is designed to carry the axis outside to join the central exterior walkway, organizing the entire campus—an alignment that reinforces the building’s important position in the overall site plan. Laboratory Design

Laboratories are stacked in two-story blocks along either side of shared interior service corridors. These spines, directly connected to the continuous below-grade service corridor by

Second floor plan

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 64

changes in both size and function. This flexibility arises from the use of planning modules that are  ft.- in. x  ft.- in. (. m x . m). Each laboratory has its own variable climate control system, including sensor-controlled artificial lighting for energy conservation. Building Circulation

both stairs and service elevators, are designed for the transport and storage of all toxic and hazardous materials, resulting in both efficiency of material deliveries and increased worker safety in case of chemical explosions. Because all major utility lines are distributed in these inner service zones, laboratories may be modified or significantly reconfigured with minimal disruption to neighboring spaces, a significant advantage in contemporary laboratory design. With a concrete structural frame and steel roof construction for long spans, the laboratories are designed to readily accommodate MÓSTOLES

Circulation between the various parts of the building on each floor occurs in wide, naturally illuminated hallways positioned along the outside walls. Offices for scientists and staff consist of open, flexible cubicles located along the hallways just outside the laboratories. This space planning strategy promotes greater interaction among building occupants, allows scientists and technicians to leave their laboratory environments when undertaking deskwork, and enables all personnel to enjoy plentiful natural light and broad perspectives of the landscaped surroundings. The large expanses of glass used in the exterior walls of the hallways give both offices and laboratories views to the exterior—a rarity in most research buildings. Importantly, laboratories also receive borrowed natural light from

these circulation spaces by means of transparent or translucent wall panels in their demising partitions. Strategically placed at main hallway intersections are break areas for employees. Along with a number of glazed perimeter meeting rooms located next to major stairwells, these provide occasions for serendipitous interactions, an employee benefit that has been lauded by the client. Glass enclosed walkways connect the upper levels of the two east-west laboratory wings both for efficient circulation and to further

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 65

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

increase employee interaction. Fabricated of exposed steel structural sections, these pedestrian bridges modulate the scale of the planted exterior courtyard they span and become additional in-between spaces for personnel. Dining Facilities

The technology center’s dining facilities are removed from the main building and housed in a separate two-story structure with outwardly sloping, black glass walls with white horizontal mullions. In exterior profile, the dining hall is designed to resemble the profile of the white ISE auditorium at the opposite end of the campus. With its faceted geometry, non-orthogonal wall planes, and ascalar façades, the dining facility’s prismatic volume creates a powerful sculptural image along the main face of the technology center complex. Inside, the light-filled, two-story central dining space is clad with a combination of maple paneling and stainless steel surfaces. An upper balcony with additional dining facilities overlooks this main space and accesses a small outdoor terrace on its north side.

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 66

Interior Material Palette

Upon entering the CTR, a visitor is immediately aware of high quality materials, reflective surfaces, and an emphasis on color, texture, and pattern. A two-story interior wall of polished, variegated Irish marble continually bathed in changing natural light from above becomes a focal point of the building’s lobby. Along the CTR’s main east-west circulation axis, polished granite flooring defines the primary circulation space, while carpet sets off the adjacent office cubicles. This central circulation spine is further defined by a full-height exterior wall of glass overlooking an exterior linear courtyard, sculptural stairs of metal, occasional wall surfaces of Spanish limestone, and colors than run from black and gray to accent hues of white and red-orange. Office and lab spaces use modular furniture systems for maximum functional flexibility, and all interior finishes are fireproof. Aluminum panels, glazed and removable, serve as the laboratory partitions along the circulation hallways. Adjacent office cubicles are defined by freestanding movable metal storage units, and ceilings are of modular aluminum panels MÓSTOLES

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 67

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 68

with integral lighting and air distribution components. All curtain wall framing is anodized aluminum to provide easily maintained, reflective metal surfaces throughout the technology center’s interior. Exterior Massing and Façades

As with the ISE, the exterior of the CTR is a composition of rectilinear masses of Spanish limestone with contrasting surfaces of black glass curtain wall. Reveals in the stone-clad surfaces, spandrels, and white mullions are arranged with an emphasis on the horizontal to give the entire building complex greater visual harmony with its extended site. Large expanses of both curtain wall and limestone along the façades are utilized selectively as a backdrop for more three-dimensional articulations of form. Along the CTR’s south wall, for example, three stairwells stand as distinctive vertical masses— a counterpoint to the pronounced horizontality of this public face of the building. Abutting the stair towers, which are important circulation nodes of the building, are the common meeting rooms. These are sheathed in the same curtain wall as the main building, MÓSTOLES

RPLpp50-69:Layout 1

3/2/09

4:19 PM

Page 69

REPSOL RESEARCH AND TRAINING FACILITIES

but have projecting white mullions to further emphasize the compositional role of the horizontal. The east faces of these glass sub-towers carry stainless steel sunscreens that add a projecting and textured outer layer to the façades. Similar screens are used elsewhere around the building, their woven surfaces and shadow patterns bringing additional visual texture to the surfaces they adorn.

Holistic Campus Design

Although the CTR and the ISE differ greatly in size and function, the two building complexes are of a consistent two-story height, creating predominantly horizontal compositions in the landscape and giving building occupants optimal visual connection to the surrounding grounds. They also share similar exterior materials, fenestration patterns, coloration, and building scale to achieve a harmonious whole. Spaces for large gatherings such as ISE’s auditorium and cafeteria, and the CTR’s dining facility, are treated as idiosyncratic volumes

sharing a non-orthogonal form language. Although the exterior materials of the varied structures are limited to the same palette of stone, glass, and steel, subtle differences in sunshading devices, mullion patterns, and material coloration prevent aesthetic monotony. Thus, passersby on the highway glimpse the clearly articulated forms and profiles of the Repsol YPF campus as distinctive architectural interventions that appear comfortably positioned in the countryside amidst the aged olive trees that have long adorned the site.

Center for Leadership Excellence Lockheed Martin Corporation Bethesda, Maryland Institute for Leadership Excellence

Lockheed Martin Corporation, one of the world’s largest aerospace, defense, and technology companies with more than , employees, is engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, and integration of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The company’s primary professional development program is its Institute for Leadership Excellence—a five-level core curriculum that is mandatory for employees at various leadership levels. Participants attend a one-week series of intensive presentations and classes at Lockheed Martin’s corporate campus in Maryland while having opportunities to network with colleagues from the company’s various business areas. With the need to provide a more capacious and state-of-the-art teaching facility for this important Institute, the company commissioned L A D to design its new Center for Leadership Excellence next to its existing national headquarters building. Lockheed Martin requested that the new ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) executive training building complex be a unique learning environment, exhibit a relaxed atmosphere and reflect the innovation and technology central to the company’s mission and future. The program required new meeting and classroom spaces, short-term housing accommodations, and some additional space for its on-campus technical facilities. Site

Lockheed Martin’s existing headquarters—a three-story, ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) building constructed in —is located within Rock Spring Park, a prestigious -building corporate office park situated at the intersection of two spurs of I- in Bethesda, Maryland. The company’s .-acre (.-ha) site is screened from adjacent highway traffic by dense trees along its north and west boundaries and features a landscape characterized by

Ground floor plan

BETHESDA

CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE

softly rolling grass lawns, clusters of flowering trees and a large retention pond. Program and D e s i g n C o n c e p t

The functional program for the new training center includes a private hotel, corporate conference center and auditorium. Structured parking for  cars and new space to accommodate the company’s expanded Information Technology department are also provided. Initially, the client favored a program/cost model not unlike that of a convention hotel prototype—a guestroom tower sitting atop a podium containing the common functions. However, the scale and massing of the existing headquarters building—a low edifice set in park-like surroundings—suggested that a pavilion configuration would be more site-sensitive. Preliminary cost studies also demon-

strated that this design approach would be more economical. By eliminating the need to stack the various program functions vertically, the structural alignment of gravity loads would be avoided and the independent structures could be more optimally designed for their respective uses. Site Constraints and Building Configuration

The property configuration and required setbacks required that the new building complex be situated northeast of the existing headquarters in an area occupied by a site retention pond. A new subterranean concrete vault was installed to provide primary on-site storm water management, allowing the pond to be reconfigured as a formal reflecting pool. An existing service drive along the eastern edge of the site was modified to serve as a sepa-

rate and secure access road to the new complex. The main program elements—lodging, conference center, and auditorium—are arranged in a pavilion-like complex of three differently articulated volumes organized along a central circulation spine. Designed to gain optimum functionality, each component is given a distinct architectural identity within the whole. L o d g i n g W ing

An eight-story-high lodging wing with  guest rooms, ground floor dining and support facilities, is positioned at the eastern end of the complex to screen the training center from the adjacent commercial development to the east. This simple rectangular block contains a conventional double-loaded arrangement of sleeping rooms on the upper floors. Guest

rooms—all with private baths and built-in desks with data ports—are equally sized and feature wall-to-wall exterior glazing to provide ample natural light and views of the surrounding landscape. Additional common facilities include fitness and recreation rooms on a lower level, and ground-floor functions that include a business center, dining room, and “Great Room”—a large, open space designed for informal gatherings and social events. Located at the southern end of the wing and adjacent to the main building lobby, this flexible space features a floor-to-ceiling glazed wall facing a landscaped terrace, and the central reflecting pool located immediately to the west. Preceded by a granite-paved drop-off area, the lodging block is the first structure encountered from the entry drive, and serves as the main entrance to the tripartite grouping of pavilions. Conference Ce n t e r

The conference center is a large horizontal pavilion placed between the auditorium and the lodging facility, and consists of classrooms, BETHESDA

smaller breakout rooms, and support facilities arranged on two levels in a U-shaped configuration. Three levels of parking accommodating  cars are placed beneath this pavilion, accessed by a rear service drive. The event space—an open, -ft.-high (.-m) central volume—serves as the Institute’s largest gathering place for receptions, ceremonies and related conference functions. Primary access to the upper conference level is by escalators that rise through this main space and bring visitors to a walkway that overlooks the space below. A continuous skylight runs along the northern wall of this space, washing its surface with natural light throughout the day. With its northern edge aligned with this skylight, the upper walkway is held back from the classroom wall, enabling light to penetrate to the first floor and giving added visual emphasis to the rear wall of the event space. A majority of the instructional rooms in this portion of the center have large floor-toceiling glass walls that face the event space. These are detailed with butt-joint glazing to produce smooth, flush surfaces while different frit patterns in the glass achieve diverse levels of

transparency and modulate the views of, and from, the rooms they enclose. Centered on the room’s north-south axis is a -foot-long (.-meter) floor-to-ceiling curtain wall of point-supported glass braced with fritted structural glass fins. From the outside, this transparent plane appears to float behind a large opening in the granite-clad exterior wall of the pavilion—a spatial cavity that contributes additional visual depth to the pavilion’s building façade. While the curtain wall opens the interior to expansive views across a reflecting pool toward the landscaped grounds beyond, the space between it and the outer stone wall is used to provide discrete access to a full-width exterior “Waterfront Plaza” that hovers just above the reflecting pool. Auditorium

Immediately west of the conference center, and connected to it with a low-ceilinged pre-function space, is an auditorium with seating for . The smallest of the complex’s three pavilions, the floor plan of this major assembly space departs from the right-angled geometry

CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE

of the other building components by introducing walls skewed in plan to shape the layout of the room’s terraced seating. Dominated by one long wall that parallels the northwest property line of the site, the auditorium’s interior follows a “V”-shaped configuration focusing on a wide projection wall behind a fixed stage. Stepped seating with fixed casework tables carried on brushed stainless steel legs are arranged on ten tiers beneath three independently floating ceiling panels with an acoustical plaster finish. Primary Circul a t i o n

After passing beneath an impressively cantilevered entrance canopy on the east façade of the lodging wing, one enters a double-height hotel lobby with reception desk and adjacent elevator core. From this initial space of arrival, a continuous two-story-high space constitutes the primary circulation spine of the training center and leads directly to the central event space. Here it continues along the southern perimeter of this central volume, passes alongside its glazed portal, and terminates at the prefunction space of the auditorium.

Second floor plan

BETHESDA

CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE

BETHESDA

CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE

As the spine passes by the granite-clad exterior wall of the event space, linear skylights admit light from above and wash the interior granite wall surface with changing patterns of sunlight. The auditorium, programmed to furnish additional meeting space for those working in the existing headquarters building, is also positioned to be easily accessed from this other structure by means of a covered walkway. With a metal panel roof supported from a single row of columns along its western side, this linear passageway ramps down to follow the slope of the site, and passes over the reflecting pond before entering the pre-function space of the auditorium. The cantilevered roof structure allows the glazing of the east wall (as well as oblique views of the building across the reflecting pool) to be completely unimpeded by columns. In contrast, a low band of glass extends along the entire west wall of the walkway just above the floor level to introduce natural light at the juncture of floor and wall.

Building Façades

The exterior wall surfaces of each of the three pavilions consist of metal panels, stone or glass and vary in their scale-giving textures. The windowless auditorium is clad in a composite aluminum panel system installed in a “stack bond” pattern with an -foot (.-m) horizontal module. The north surface of the conference center consists of a preformed, pre-finished metal panel system with a -in.-high (mm)-high horizontal module defined by ½-in. (-mm.) reveals that add greater linear textures to the wall surfaces. The -foot-long (.-m), granite-clad south exterior wall of the conference center— designed to be the most monumental façade of the complex—repeats the horizontal module of the auditorium but utilizes stone panels of alternating lengths composed in a “running bond” pattern. As a visual counterpoint to the revealed depth of the granite façade, a contemporary aluminum cornice—thin, sloped and cantilevered—floats lightly above this massive stone plane where its profile meets the sky. Recessed, light-emitting diodes extend along a

metal sill at the top of the stone wall and illuminate the underside of the cornice at night. On either side of the central portal that occurs in this dominant exterior plane, three narrow horizontal apertures of vision glass, each -in.-high (-mm.), are cut through this -ft.--inch-thick (-mm.) wall to admit strips of sunlight to the interior. With sloped stone heads and sills, these window are illuminated at night with internal light-emitting diodes that produce continuous bands of light along the façade. In strong contrast to the metal and stone skins of these two pavilions, each façade of the lodging wing is entirely clad in horizontal bands of vision and spandrel glass. These utilize a conventional curtain wall framing system, but because the glazing runs across the outside face of the mullions and is detailed with butt joints, a continuous, flush horizontal surface is achieved in these bands. With the exception of the entry, all glass surfaces of the building have varying horizontal frit patterns to produce different degrees of transparency, translucency, and opacity. While the spandrels are essentially

opaque, for example, sleeping rooms have veiled views of the outside. Six-inch (mm.)-deep vertical aluminum fins varying in height are affixed to each façade and create syncopated patterns of shadow and texture.

row of Nuttal Oak trees follows the sidewalk along Rockledge Road, the approach drive, and additional areas of lawn, shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses surround the new buildings.

Landscaping

Colors, Finishes, and Profiles

Sited in the northeast corner of Lockheed Martin’s headquarters property, the ensemble of buildings that comprises the new Center for Leadership Excellence is oriented on a southeast-northwest axis and borders the expansive lawn that exists between the northeast face of the headquarters building and the road. The Center’s impressive granite façade now ends this vista, acting as a major site wall and giving a greater sense of enclosure to Lockheed’s corporate campus. The reflecting pool in front of the Conference Center, which diminishes in width along its main axis, reinforces the primacy of this wall as it reflects its image throughout the day. The new lawn southwest of the pool is bordered with light bollards and rows of River Birches and Honey Locusts with extensive beds of perennials planted beneath them. A new

Exterior colors and finishes of the Center’s wall surfaces range from a silver-gray (matte metal panels, window mullions, and projecting fins) and gray (Luna Pearl polished granite) to clear vision glass with white horizontal ceramic frits and spandrel glass with similar frits and solid white inner coatings. Throughout the Conference Center’s interior, laminated glass walls with similar visual characteristics (in this case silkscreened with graduated lines) are employed to enclose the instructional spaces and to define the main event space. Together, the abundant use of glass to delimit these interior spaces; the cantilevered laminated glass railings used along the upper-level walkway; stainless steel column covers; and the central glass curtain wall with its structural glass fins, produce an array of elegant profiles and reflective surfaces.

BETHESDA

The subdued color palette of whites and grays—with brighter colors introduced by specific finishes, accent walls, and furnishings— is coupled with the sensuous properties of metal, glass, and polished stone to produce a building based on two fundamental attributes of applied technology: functional rigor and aesthetic spareness. P l a c e s o f I nspiration

With a design that focuses on the possibilities of the future rather than the accomplishments of the past, the architecture of Lockheed Martin’s Center for Leadership Excellence is intended to create a relaxed atmosphere by being as weightless and unobtrusive as possible. Users are meant to experience two types of spaces that celebrate the minimal and avoid the extraneous: those for the interaction of people, which serve as a medium of communication; and those promoting interaction with the landscape, which serve as a means of reflection. It is these two experiential realms that are intended to be places of inspiration for those who visit this complex.

CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE

Research and Development Facility Huawei Technologies

Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China International Design Competition

Through an invited international competition, L A D was selected to design a new research and development facility for Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., a global telecommunications company with more than , employees and headquartered in Shenzhen, PRC. As the latest addition to the company’s extensive research compound in Shenzhen, the building is intended to occupy a -acre (.-ha) site on a central and highly visible part of the Huawei corporate campus. Tapestry as Metaphor

Inspiration for the design of the . million-sq.-ft (,-sq-m) building comes from the metaphor of a silk tapestry. That is, the tapestry is conceived as a three-dimensional structure that weaves together several paired strands: existing buildings with new buildings, buildings with landscapes, work functions with places of social interaction, and individual employees with their colleagues. As a composite whole, the building also may be considered an aggregation of four interwoven neighborhoods, each arranged around a covered courtyard, and containing an independent circulation core, reception space, meeting rooms, and laboratory and office facilities. Primary Strands

The primary strands of the tapestry are the modules for laboratories and offices. These are designed as -ft.-wide (.-m), column-free spaces flexible enough to meet the everchanging functional requirements of the company’s research and development projects. The modules are assembled in either single- or double-loaded plan configurations, depending on adjacency requirements and varying departmental densities. Given the nature of the research conducted within this facility—much of it involving intensive

South East

North West

SHENZHEN

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FACILITY, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES

Ground floor plan

Landscape concept plan

computer workâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;expanses of windowless wall surface in the modules keep unwanted daylight to a minimum. However, each module does have one fully glazed enclosing wall with integral light control to provide daylight when deemed desirable by the occupants and when required for alternate space utilization. Glass-enclosed walkways with continuous views of the exterior landscaped grounds form the outer edge of each module. These walkways are the primary circulation paths through the building. When modules are doubleloaded, a common linear spine provides flexible delivery of mechanical services to all laboratories and offices.

Courtyards and Social Interaction

In the last quarter-century, computer technology has transformed most daily work from being an interactive activity among several individuals to one of individual efforts carried out alone. Given an era of high mobility and virtual relationships among employees who may be working at a distance, the nature of “belonging” in a company environment has been significantly redefined—often radically so. In recognition of the need to supplement long hours of solitary computer work with opportunities for social interaction, the design for the complex creates four interior landscaped courtyards to serve as neighborhood squares. These are positioned at the crossroads of the building’s walkway system, where they serve as the primary means of orientation within the building. Open communicating stairs occur as vertical circulation nodes within the courtyards and are strategically positioned next to bridges that connect the laboratory and office modules at various levels. The landscaped courtyards also function as extended lobbies for the elevator banks that serve the various modules.. SHENZHEN

Arranged in a pinwheel ordering system around a central food preparation area, the squares contain dining, meeting, and key circulation functions for the complex. Seating for dining and relaxation is commodious, and meeting rooms are arranged in multi-level, freestanding glass structures surrounded by water or landscape allowing these common areas to play an important social function for the facility’s , employees. Woven Landscapes and the Four Seasons

Hovering over each courtyard is a glass roof consisting of fritted glass and sunshading elements that admit natural light in fragments patterned to evoke the pixels of a computer screen. The courtyards are differentiated by height, color, quality and intensity of light, and also by landscaping and water elements. In addition, interior plantings offer a marked contrast to outside vegetation beyond the courtyards. For example, the south facing Winter Court has lower light levels and cool colors in summer—a perceptual contrast to the warm gardens outside. Similarly, the Summer Court—characterized by bright light, warm

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FACILITY, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES

colors, and lush vegetationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;counterbalances the cold of its northern exposure in wintertime. The main entry to the building is through the Spring Court, enabling staff and visitors to experience an interior landscape that symbolizes the growth and renewal of the company. Experientially compatible with these indoor realms are extensive outdoor courts and gardens that provide environments for moments of repose and reflection during the typically hectic schedules of the workday. Tapestry and Campus

The current Huawei campus is set within a lush landscape and features structures built in a range of architectural styles and form languages. Surrounding the site of the new facility are a production facility to the north, a large warehouse to the northeast, office blocks to the east, and housing to the south. To the west, across Wu He Avenue, is the site of a future hotel complex. To harmonize with the disparate aesthetics of the existing campus buildings, the new research and development facility makes explicit references to certain silhouettes (such

as overhanging roof forms) and wall materials (such as stone), and establishes a new context in which they may be viewed in relation to one another. The primary strands of the building plan are woven outward into the landscape, and the landscape is extended onto the stepped roofs of the building modules and into the interior courtyards, weaving a three-dimensional tapestry of stone, glass, and verdure. Sustainable Design

Environmental responsibility—a pressing worldwide concern—is an integral objective of all L A D designs. A global company such as Huawei Technologies considered the construction of its newest facility an appropriate opportunity to deploy innovative technologies in support of sustainable design concepts. To that end, the large glazed roof areas over the interior courtyards are designed both to provide natural daylight in some areas and to reduce solar gain by converting sunlight into stored energy (via photovoltaic cells) in other areas. The intentionally random patterns of sunlight and shadow reaching the courtyard interiors resemble those produced by the SHENZHEN

canopy of a tree, another metaphor employed in the roof design. A system of gutters formed by the roof structure is used to harvest rainwater, which, in turn, is treated and circulated through the various water elements that animate the interior courtyards. These water elements (waterfalls, pools, and linear basins) are also part of an internal evaporative cooling system to minimize energy consumption during the summer. An induced natural ventilation system in the courtyards further reduces cooling costs while introducing fresh air. Living roofs of native grasses for the rooftops of the stepped laboratory modules mitigate heat gain, capture rainwater, reduce glare on adjacent glass walls, and present pleasant landscaped surfaces when viewed from upper-level circulation paths. Form Language and Materials

The building’s exterior form language consists of rectilinear bars that thrust outward from the interior courtyards into the landscape. With stone walls devoid of fenestration or floor-toceiling glass walls enclosing circulation paths, these rectilinear bars are the highly legible, flex-

ible, and cost-effective building blocks for the entire facility. Varying the lengths and sectional profile of the laboratory and office modules, as well as the heights of the courtyard roofs and the opacity or transparency of the wall planes, achieves a rich aesthetic with a minimalist architectural grammar. In conjunction with the horizontal and boldly cantilevered glass courtyard roof structures, the exterior forms become a true tapestry to create a distinctive new building for a dynamic research campus.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FACILITY, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 90

Lied Library Univ ersity of Nevada, Las Veg a s Las Vegas, Nevada A New Paradigm

No longer programmed to be a place of hushed silence, today’s university library often serves as a dynamic campus gathering spot for students, faculty, and staff. In this new paradigm, the library not only offers ready access to knowledge and information but also accommodates contemporary student learning and living styles with sophisticated electronic information access, comfortable seating, and extended hours of operation. When the Lied Library on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’s -acre (-ha) main campus opened in , it was hailed as just such a facility—both a superbly functional library and a new campus social hub. Site Significance

Centrally located on a corner site and across from the main classroom complex, the ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) library is easily reached by anyone in the university community as well as by the general public. Shaded exterior meeting places along the curved southeast corner of the building provide generous seating and places of respite for passersby. UNLV’s current master plan reflects the library’s importance by organizing all future building zones and campus growth around this core facility. Information Commons

Pivotal to L A D’ design concept is the creation of a central “Information Commons”—a grand five-story-high atrium surmounted by a curved roof of exposed steel trusses and metal decking. Beneath this roof of revealed construction, library patrons can work at computers that are grouped in cherry-clad media stations arranged under curved, perforated metal canopies that echo the roof and define the individual workplaces. On the north and west sides of this dynamic, light-filled spatial nexus are staff stations, work areas,

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 91

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 92

and reference facilities, along with a variety of reading spaces and stacks for books and periodicals. Wayfinding to these essential functions is both efficient and spatially enriching. The southern side of the atrium features a two-story-high transparent glass wall that showcases the library’s innovative book storage and retrieval system, a robotic mechanism capable of finding and delivering a given book to the circulation desk in fewer than six minutes. The automated system—the third one installed in the United States at the time of the building’s construction—provides efficient space-saving storage for less frequently used books and is capable of accommodating . million volumes when fully expanded. In conjunction with traditional open-stack shelving, this fully mechanized system ultimately enables the library to store a total of  million volumes without the need for building expansion. The two-story-high supporting framework of bright blue steel, the perfectly ordered stacked storage bins of white, and the precise, rapid movements of the mobile yellow crane together form a large kinetic sculpture on view to all within the Commons. LAS VEGAS

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 93

LIED LIBRARY

Ground floor plan

Third floor plan

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 94

Massin g

Lied Library’s exterior massing is the result of a design strategy that treats key programmatic functions as distinct components in both plan and elevation. Curved roof and wall profiles of differing radii and size recall the geometries of several existing campus buildings yet produce a uniquely identifiable structure. Exterio r M a t e r i a l s

Exterior materials—essentially limited to concrete masonry, metal, and glass—reinforce the building’s varied massing and introduce differing scales of visual texture. Split-face concrete masonry units echo the exteriors of several newer buildings on campus, provide a rich textural quality when struck by the sun, and wed the building to its site. Large lightweight zinc panels, laid in an offset joint pattern, produce a reflective skin that seems to float above heavier concrete units used where the building meets the ground. Glass is featured either as large wall planes for maximum transparency or as small punched openings in walls that are primarily solid surfaces.

LAS VEGAS

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 95

LIED LIBRARY

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 96

Interior Profiles

The building’s interior also consists of expressive profiles and varied surface textures. For example, to avoid large expanses of painted drywall, canted wood panels of contrasting color, stainless steel railings, and limited surfaces of split-face concrete block introduce wall compositions of visual richness and tactile variety. An internal circulation spine connecting the two main entrances, on the north and east sides, forms a diagonal axis through the building. Major vertical elements consisting of stairs, elevators, and escalators are located along this route, as are the central circulation desk, a -seat, -hour study café, and a university teaching/learning center. Environ m e n t a l R e s p o n s e

Programmatic functions are arranged in direct response to the environmental forces of the desert climate that characterizes the site. Functions that need little or no natural light— such as workrooms, the book storage wing, and media resources—are placed on the south or west sides of the site, with only small windows to minimize insolation and therefore LAS VEGAS

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 97

LIED LIBRARY

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 98

cooling requirements. North-facing reading areas on the upper two floors are accessed by passing through open stacks and enjoy unimpeded vistas of the distant horizon through generous window walls. By arranging these spaces along a gentle curve and segmenting them into smaller reticulated spatial units, these reading bays assuage the scale of the north wall and produce a visual rhythm in counterpoint to the lower solid walls of the building. Perforated metal screens projecting from the space between these bays bounce sunlight to the interior and provide additional surface articulation to this long metal-clad wall. On the east faรงade, additional projecting sunscreens offer effective sun control, their resulting shadow patterns constantly shifting with the diurnal path of the sun. D a ylight Harvesting

The building owes much of its highly sculptural quality to the harvesting of daylight both to reduce energy costs and to provide the interior with varying levels of natural and reflected sunlight, whether from the sunscreened glazing of the east faรงade or from upper-level clerestories. LAS VEGAS

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 99

LIED LIBRARY

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 100

100

Extensive computer modeling during the design phase has allowed changing daylight conditions to be electronically monitored and accommodated. In addition, all interior lighting is designed to furnish appropriate light levels for computer use. C a mpus Icon

Intended to serve as a center of knowledge and learning for the next ď&#x153;ľď&#x153;° years, the building has been designed with integrated power and data systems to accommodate the inevitable changes the future will demand. In keeping with the traditional role of this building type on the American university campus, Lied Library is a dramatic signature building for the Univer-sity of Nevada, Las Vegasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one that combines a technologically adaptable and flexible environment with generous and welcoming areas for study and social activity.

LAS VEGAS

LIBpp90-101:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:48 PM

Page 101

LIED LIBRARY

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 102

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center

Washington, D.C. A Legacy to be Celebrated

As early as , Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit, then bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and a board member of Pope John Paul II’s personal charitable foundation, advocated the need to preserve the legacy of a church leader many considered one of the greatest teaching pontiffs in history. Although a building resembling a presidential library was considered initially, the Pope himself requested that such a project focus not on his specific papacy but on the relationship between faith and culture—particularly on the theological, sociological, and cultural implications of contemporary Catholicism. Cultural Center

As architect for the proposed Cultural Center, L A D worked closely with both the Holy Father and Cardinal Maida to design the building while developing its program. Guided by the Pope’s wishes, the project was defined as a contemporary cultural center that would include an Intercultural Forum dealing with religious dialogue and a Museum of Faith focusing on the tenets of Catholicism. Program functions would range from display galleries, orientation theaters, and interactive exhibits to a chapel, contemplative gardens, and study facilities for resident scholars, creating a variety of spaces that would both communicate the historical traditions of the Catholic Church and assess their meaning in contemporary culture. The center would be a building that would examine, teach, and inspire. Site Selection

As one of the church’s most widely traveled pontiffs, Pope John Paul II considered several potential locations for the facility, including Rome, Italy; Krakow, Poland; New York, New York; and South Bend, Indiana. Ultimately, the Pope chose Washington, DC, acknowledging that, as the cultural crossroads for the st century, it was the most suitable place

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 103

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 104

ad Harewood Ro

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

104

for the study of Catholic teachings in the new millennium. Moreover, the city’s upper northeast quadrant along Michigan Avenue has long been home to a number of religious institutions, including the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a major destination point for visiting Catholics from around the nation and the world. Within the shrine’s immediate environs are the campus of The Catholic University of America (the only university in the United States chartered by the pontiff ), the headquarters of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, and several religious residential communities. A -acre (.-ha) wooded parcel immediately west of the university, formerly the site of the Augustinian House of Studies, was selected for the new center.

Site Plan

The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, positioned on its site with a generous front setback of grass, is a layered composition of interlocked geometric forms crisply framed against the sky when viewed from Harewood Road. ComWASHINGTON, D.C.

bined with an extended approach drive and a tree-lined pedestrian sidewalk, this frontal view immediately announces the center’s institutional importance. Visitors approaching the building from the east experience perspectives that shift from frontal to oblique, and the building’s scale unfolds gradually as the eye engages a multiplicity of forms, shapes and textures. Parking, restricted to the rear of the site and masked by the building itself, is arranged in landscaped terraces that follow the land’s downward slope to the south. Walking trails originate along the building’s southern end, wind through dense wooded areas, and lead to bucolic places of respite and contemplation. Building Organization

The ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) Cultural Center is organized on four levels, three of which are accessible to the public. The lowest (and largest) floor is essentially below grade within a stone plinth that houses the center’s permanent exhibits. These exhibits are arranged in five galleries, each focusing on a theme related to papal history, religion and technology, the role of

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 105

POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

105

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 106

106

community service, religious faith, or imagination. The galleries feature interactive exhibits that employ computer and audiovisual technology and are designed for hands-on learning. In addition to a special Children’s Gallery, this base level contains two small orientation theaters, a café and bookstore/giftshop, administrative offices, and a -seat auditorium. All service functions are discreetly accommodated at the southwest corner of the base level, with access from the rear parking area. A colonnade of high, lightweight steel frames (eventually to be fully shaded by vines) marches rhythmically along the western edge of the plinth and defines a pedestrian sidewalk from the parking area. The ground, or main, floor consists of a -ft.-high (.-m) entry rotunda, a main hall and information desk, a large open exhibition space, and the Papal and Polish Heritage Room—a space dedicated to exhibits related to John Paul II’s pontificate. Large exterior terraces to the east and west visually extend the primary interior spaces of the main level and may be used for outside assemblies and ceremonies. WASHINGTON, D.C.

Ground floor plan

Lower floor plan

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 107

POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

107

Second floor plan

The second level is reserved for the display of rare artifacts—some of the church’s most treasured pieces of art and history from the Vatican Museums, the result of an historic agreement with the Pontifical Commission establishing a unique collaborative exhibition exchange program with the Vatican. Accessed through a spacious lobby, this exhibition floor contains an open and highly flexible central gallery space that receives natural light from both the east and west. At the south end of the floor, a more secluded space, with two oblique walls pierced by small window openings, provides intimate viewing for special exhibits. The Intercultural Forum

Located on the third floor is the Intercultural Forum—a “think tank” for renowned visiting scholars of theology, philosophy, history, and culture, who explore the interrelationship of religion and contemporary life. Completely isolated from the building’s public spaces, this level accommodates private offices for the scholars, a dining space, and a small research library. A circular, glass-enclosed conference

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 108

108

Third floor plan

room occupies the top level of the cylindrical entry rotunda, with access to a curved exterior perimeter terrace. In plan, this special meeting space—of a smaller diameter than the outer enclosing cylinder—is set within the rotunda form to allow natural illumination from skylights to spill down to the entry floor below. Terraces along the east and west sides of the top floor provide exterior space for walks and views of the surroundings. Spatial Voids

Spatial voids are introduced in the floor plans to separate certain functions from the main public spaces and to provide visual connections between floor levels. At the lowest level, for example, an exterior courtyard—tall, narrow, and lined with ginkgo trees—isolates the administrative offices from the galleries and is designed to allow daylight to enter both offices and the main public circulation spaces. Recalling a cloister walk in a monastic complex, the Ginkgo Courtyard—open to the sky and with a walkway of stones representing the “Steps of the Fishermen”—is a landscaped room of repose and contemplation. WASHINGTON, D.C.

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 109

POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

109

Within the building, a three-story atrium isolates the auditorium to the west of the lower lobby and introduces a vertical connection between the center’s three public levels. From the second floor lobby, visitors may look down into the entry rotunda to the east or into the west atrium. The most prominent void contains the sloped walkways that connect the lower three floors of the building. Extending along the building’s five-story-high, west-facing curtain wall, this central volume—flooded with natural light—is punctuated by pairs of exposed

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 110

110

concrete columns joined by cross beams supporting the gently ramped walks. Choreography of Movement

The main public entry sequence begins at the north side of the building. After passing through the tall, light-filled entry rotunda, visitors enter the main lobby space, where they encounter an interior volume of generous height and extended lateral dimensions, granting vistas to both upper and lower levels as well as to the outside. A rich variety of spatial experiences created by interlocking voids follows. From the lobby, for example, visitors may choose to explore the ground floor exhibits or to access other levels by taking the elevator or by following the sloping walkways. Perhaps the most dramatic and constantly changing views are experienced along these elongated paths of movement, which occupy the heart of the building; indeed, they are meant to be the primary means of circulation. Framed by concrete columns and bordered with cantilevered glass railings, these inviting gentle slopes seem to float through space and light. WASHINGTON, D.C.

Light

Natural light enters the building through apertures of varying proportions, with glazing of different types and colors. From the luminous, full-height wall of sandblasted glass facing the Ginkgo Courtyard on the west to the dominantly horizontal subdivisions of the ground floorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s east-facing curtain wall, large glazed surfaces provide abundant light as well as planes of varying visual textures. To control eastern light entering the long gallery on the second level, windows are configured as long horizontal slots with projecting exterior stone elements that also lend greater solidity and texture to the faĂ§ade. In contrast, the solid surface of the sculptural entry rotunda is interrupted by a curved composition of horizontal bands of clear and colored glass shaded by projecting aluminum sunscreens. At the base of the rotunda cylinder, large sheets of clear glass form a transparent lower zone that offers visitors a view of the reflecting pool, lawn, and chapel as well as of the distant woods bordering the site to the south. Fenestration also includes several small orthogonal openings randomly positioned in

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 111

POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

111

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 112

112

otherwise opaque outer wall surfaces of limestone. On the interior, the size and proportions of these apertures are reversed: the windows— of colored glass—are framed by white splayed surfaces whose angled depths glow with soft light during the day. All window openings—whether of clear, colored, or sandblasted glass—are meant to capture the changing light of the day and to give the building a lantern-like glow at night. Materials

Throughout the building, materials have been selected for their durability and sense of permanence. The lowest level—clad entirely in local fieldstone—lifts the center above its sloped site and emphasizes its overall horizontality. The building’s primary forms, in contrast, are distinctively sheathed in either verdigris copper or brushed limestone. Granite surfaces are introduced at the rear of the building to provide compositional elements of contrasting color and texture. Within the central circulation zone containing the walkways, columns, and beams of exposed architectural concrete add a syncopated WASHINGTON, D.C.

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 113

POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

113

structural rhythm and become primary spatial reference points to visitors moving through the building. Complementing the interior walls of natural stone, these load-bearing elements assert their tectonic importance with formal rigor and expressive clarity. Interior wall finishes range from handrubbed plaster walls with integral color and vertically corrugated verdigris copper panels on the south elevator core to accent walls of limestone and Verde Oliva granite. This array of wall finishes, along with floors of Spanish granite, create appropriately proportioned interior spaces with differing scales and material textures. The Role of Water

Historically, water has been a powerful symbol of life in the church (baptism and renewal), and both its visual and acoustic presence are important elements of the entry process. A long and narrow reflecting pool is integrated with the stone paving of the eastern terrace and is a major feature of the entry sequence to the building. Animated by the wind and reflecting ephemeral shifts in sky and sunlight, this shallow body of water adds dynamic vitality to the

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 114

114

visitor’s experience of the main plaza. Bordering the entry drive near the building are two shallow water basins supplied by a wall fountain aligned with the central axis of the larger reflecting pool. The Chapel

To emphasize its status as the building’s only sacred space, the two-story chapel is separated from the center’s main building mass by a narrow enclosed walkway. Designed to be an experiential interlude, this glass-roofed connection is entirely glazed on its north side, presenting changing views of the reflecting pool, building, and exterior grounds as one enters and leaves this sanctuary for prayer and contemplation. Nearly cubic in proportion, the chapel’s interior receives natural light from window openings of diverse size, shape, and placement, including an “L”-shaped aperture at its northeast corner that is set just above the surface of the reflecting pool. Sparingly furnished with custom-designed wooden seats, the chapel’s interior consists of a wood ceiling, plaster walls sprinkled with gold dust to reflect light, and a stone floor. WASHINGTON, D.C.

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 115

POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

115

All are rendered to produce a fitting sense of tranquility. Volumetric Composition

Externally, the building is a sculptural arrangement of articulated forms and planes placed on a one-story-high fieldstone plinth. Differing size, height, and geometry create independent profiles for four primary volumes that are interconnected by the space-defining planes of walls and roofs. Two of these volumesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;vertical blocks that are essentially opaqueâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;contain service spaces (restrooms, stairs, elevators, and mechanical spaces) and form the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s northern and southern extremities. Perimeter wall elements with varying degrees of transparency form the central rectangular body of the building. On the west side, enclosing walls that are skewed in plan introduce exterior profiles that contrast with the orthogonal, reposeful nature of the central form. The cylindrical volume of the rotunda, which is partially engaged with the central rectangle, and the cubic chapel, which is disengaged from it, are perceived as independent forms when viewed from the east. A slender,

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

116

WASHINGTON, D.C.

5:53 PM

Page 116

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 117

POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

117

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 118

118

-ft.-high (.-m) cross of steel, gilded with gold leaf, is the dominant vertical element on the east façade and the building’s only external religious icon aﬃxed to the building’s exterior. Surmounting this formal composition— and introducing an entirely contemporary interpretation of the classical cornice line—is a wing-shaped roof clad in patinated copper. Proportioned to present the thinnest of edges on its long sides and supported with a row of freestanding columns of minimal dimension, the roof forms a floating canopy of striking horizontality where the building meets the sky. A New Institution for the Third Millennium

The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center is designed both to present and to examine the beliefs and the enduring traditions of the Catholic faith. A facility for scholarly study, a museum of art and artifacts, and a place for contemplation and introspection, the building meets these diverse programmatic challenges with a contemporary architectural aesthetic that fittingly marks the Third Millennium in the nation’s capital. WASHINGTON, D.C.

JP2pp102-119:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:53 PM

Page 119

POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

119

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 120

World War II Memorial Washington, D.C. Authorization

In May , President Bill Clinton signed Public Law - authorizing the establishment of a World War II Memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs. This was to be the first national memorial dedicated to those who served during that war and the first to recognize the commitment and achievement of the entire nation. The project’s design and construction was assigned to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), an independent federal agency responsible for the realization and maintenance of American military burial grounds and monuments. A Site of National Significance

After a thorough analysis of potential sites, intensive debates, and numerous public hearings, the ABMC received approval from the National Park Service, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission to construct the memorial on a .-acre (-ha) parcel on the National Mall. One of the nation’s most significant cultural landscapes, the mall is the central east-west axis of the city’s monumental core and is itself a designated national landmark. A World War II Memorial erected on the chosen site—at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, midway between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument—would need to be respectful of, and sensitive to, these revered structures and the surrounding natural landscape. National Design Competition

In the spring of , the ABMC engaged the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to conduct an open, two-stage national competition to solicit design concepts for the memorial. From  concepts submitted during Stage One, a -member Architect/Engineer Evaluation Board selected six proposals for further development.

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 121

121

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 122

1 22

At Stage Two of the competition the team of architects, landscape architects and sculptors led by L A D was unanimously declared the competition winner.

The formal centerpiece in the initial competition entry and the source of its formal geometry was the Rainbow Pool, a Baroque arrangement of two superimposed rectangles joined with semicircular apsidal ends. Located just east of the Reflecting Pool and measuring  ft. x  ft. (. m x . m), its north-south long axis was oriented parallel to th Street. This smaller pool, named for the rainbows that often appeared in its original spray of water jets, had languished in disrepair for many years and was to be reconstructed. The initial design called for an ovalshaped Memorial Plaza to surround this central water basin. The plaza,  ft. long and  ft. wide (. m by . m), was to be framed at either end by two semi-circular colonnades, each consisting of  columns  ft. tall (. m) and nearly 7 ft. in diameter (. m). The freestanding columns represented the  states, WASHINGTON, D.C.

17th Street

Initial D e s i g n C o n c e p t

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 123

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

123

including Hawaii and Alaska, which were not states at the time but were affected by the war. Their collective presence would symbolize the unity of the country during wartime. The columns, fluted to evoke Classical architecture but lacking bases and capitals, alluded to the dominant form language of the nation’s capital but with an abstracted vocabulary. Behind each colonnade, a semicircular stone wall approximately  ft. high (. m) formed one side of an earthen berm  ft. (. m) deep and covered with white roses; beneath the berms were exhibit and support spaces for the memorial. On the western side of the plaza, water from the Reflecting Pool would fall into the Rainbow Pool as a central waterfall—providing a dynamic background for a central memorial cenotaph. The original design concept sought to

minimize the new memorial’s impact on the strong visual axis between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument by lowering the Memorial Plaza and Rainbow Pool  ft. (. m) below grade. At the same time, the colonnades and berms around the central public space were designed to convey a separating sense of enclosure.

ous government reviewing agencies eventually required several major revisions, including eliminating the massive berms (and the programmed spaces they enclosed), reducing the length of the plaza and its depth below grade level, redesigning the columns, and increasing the sense of visual openness to the surrounding landscape. As requests for additional transparency of the northern and southern ends of the plaza persisted, the design team explored a number of solutions, each based on the need for a stone retaining wall to accommodate the grade change required by the lowering of the plaza. T h e Revised Memorial Plaza

Design Evolution

In selecting the competition-winning scheme, the jury had lauded: the openness of the central space; the directionality provided by its long axis and the access it allowed to the north and south sides of the site; the sense of unity created by the colonnades; and the use of a form language recalling the classical vocabulary of Washington’s major civic structures. While attempting to retain these characteristics, vari-

To preserve the double rows of elm trees bordering the site to the north and south, both the Rainbow Pool and the Memorial Plaza were eventually reduced in size. The plaza, now an  ft. long x  ft. wide ( m x . m) oblong, is centered on a Rainbow Pool  percent smaller than the original. Both were now placed 6 ft. (. m) below the pre-existing ground level. Given the site’s poor soil conditions and its propensity to flood because of its

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

1 24

WASHINGTON, D.C.

5:58 PM

Page 124

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 125

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

125

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

1 26

WASHINGTON, D.C.

5:58 PM

Page 126

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 127

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

127

high water table, extensive and challenging engineering work was required to realize the memorial as designed. Paved in granite, the plaza is delimited on its northern and southern ends by two semicircular stone colonnades, each consisting of  equally spaced rectangular granite pillars that represent the country at the time of the war:  states, seven territories, and the District of Columbia. The pillars, each  ft. (. m) high with a -in.-wide (-mm) rectangular void in its midsection, are linked by a stone balustrade with an integral sculpted rope of bronze, symbolizing the nation’s “unprecedented unity” during this period. Individual pillars carry two bronze wreaths, each  ft. (. m) in diameter. One depicts oak leaves to represent the industrial might of the nation, the other features wheat spears as a symbol of the country’s formidable agricultural productivity. Sloped walkways follow the enveloping curves of the two colonnades and rise symmetrically toward their center, terminating in ft.-high (.-m), four-sided stone memorial arches. Aligned with the north-south axis of the plaza, the arches represent the two major

theaters of the war: the Atlantic (north) and the Pacific (south). Each structure has an oculus open to the sky and contains a bronze baldachino, a canopy consisting of four columns individually supporting four eagles whose beaks grasp a continuous bronze ribbon carrying a victory garland. C e r emonial Entrance

The ceremonial entrance to the memorial is from th Street to the east, directly on axis with the Lincoln Memorial. At a width of  ft. (. m), it is framed by pairs of stone announcement piers and -ft.-high (.-m) bronze flagpoles. On each side, a wide sloping walkway gradually descends toward the Memorial Plaza; three stepped grass terraces between them are designed to seat up to , individuals during special events. Along the side of each walkway is a stone balustrade inset with  bronze bas-relief panels. Based on archival photographs, the scupltures illustrate various scenes of America and the war, arranged chronologically from the entrance inward. They are the only pictorial narratives in the entire design.

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 128

1 28

The Fre e d o m W a l l

On the west side of the plaza, directly opposite the entrance and centered on the Reflecting Pool is the Freedom Wall. This curved granite wall, 8 ft. high (. m) x  ft. long ( m), is flanked by two waterfalls that cascade into pools on either side. Affixed to the wall are  verdigris bronze panels holding , three-dimensional gold stars. The symbol of family sacrifice during the war, each star represents  of the more than , American service men and women who lost their lives in the war. Cast of stainless steel from seven different hand-modeled moulds, the five-pointed, gold-plated stars project . in. ( mm) from the panels. The stars are randomly rotated to produce a dense pattern of variations meant to represent the individuality of each person who died. The Freedom Wall—modest in scale yet powerful in its evocations—is intended to be the true focal point of the memorial. Masking the view of the Lincoln Memorial in the distance, this experiential epicenter offers visitors a sublime place for quiet contemplation and WASHINGTON, D.C.

remembrance along the often crowded central axis of the Mall. Inscriptions

Positioned at more than a dozen prominent locations and carved into stone surfaces are inscriptions quoting presidents, military leaders, and authors. These narratives, some indelibly etched in the collective American memory, serve as cogent reminders of heroism, hardship, sacrifice, struggle, freedom, and victory—a reflection of the overwhelming significance of World War II to the nation. Water Elements

Animating the memorial’s dressed stone forms, patinated bronze sculptures, gold stars, and tiers of grass, is water in a variety of guises and sounds: cascading vigorously as waterfalls, scintillating as small plumes within the Rainbow Pool, rising as tall columns within the central pool, resting peacefully in the stone basin before the contemplative Freedom Wall. The power of moving water to mesmerize, its ability to mask the sounds of the city or to catch the sun, and its capacity to mirror an

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 129

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

129

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 130

1 30

object or visage are all effectively incorporated into the design and offer a range of sensory experiences for the visitor. The Ga r d e n o f R e m e m b r a n c e

The Garden of Remembrance, integral to the memorial but lying outside its immediate confines, is located on a small knoll overlooking the lake in Constitution Gardens just northwest of the plaza. Here, a circular wooden bench surrounds a bed of flowering annuals and is in turn surrounded by shrubs and groundcover. In this bucolic setting, visitors to the garden find a place of contemplation within the natural landscaping of a park. Enduri n g M a t e r i a l s

The National Park Service, the federal agency responsible for operating the memorial, requested that it be constructed of lasting materials and be easy to maintain. Granite, the primary material, was chosen for its hardness, durability, and innate beauty. The memorial design takes considerable advantage of these characteristics, particularly WASHINGTON, D.C.

with regard to granite’s variegated nature and its ability to be rendered in varying finishes. Vertical elements consist of Kershaw granite from South Carolina, gray with visible black crystals and a hand-produced, six-point finish. Major paving stones are of Green County granite from Georgia, with beige and black accents and flame finished. Accent pavers in the plaza are of Rio Verde, a Brazilian greenish stone; these are bordered with Moss Green stones, also from Brazil, but of a darker hue. White Mt. Airy granite from North Carolina, the same as that found in the original Reflecting Pool, is used for reconstructed coping stones, and a Californian Academy Black granite lines pool bottoms and aprons. Because of the size, quantity, and complex profiles of certain masonry elements, the stone fabricator developed a complete threedimensional computer model of the entire design and used CNC (computer numerically controlled) technology to produce the individual stones.

S i t e Lighting

The memorial’s location posed numerous lighting challenges in that it had to be compatible with the nighttime illumination of both the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Warm-colored light—subtly positioned, subdued in intensity, and computercontrolled on dimmers—accentuates each element of the memorial with layers of illumination. At night, the pathways, pools, and vertical elements are harmoniously highlighted with a reposeful yet dramatic modeling. A n Enhanced Mall

As noted by the competition jury, one of the major strengths of the winning design was that it was essentially a landscape solution. Crafted with extraordinary skill, precision, and dedication, the World War II Memorial’s composition of stone, metal, grass, and water is not only sensitively wedded to its place but also significantly enhances the landscape of the nation’s capital.

WWIIpp120-131:Layout 1

3/4/09

5:58 PM

Page 131

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

131

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:01 PM

Page 132

Cathe dr a l o f O u r L a d y o f the A n g el s

Los Angeles, California A Cathedral for the New Millenium

Following the devastating Northridge, California, earthquake of , the City of Los Angeles condemned the heavily damaged Cathedral of St. Vibiana, seat of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Rather than undertake extensive renovation and reconstruction of this th-century Spanish-Baroque edifice, the archdiocese, the largest in the country with more than  million Roman Catholics, chose to build anew. When completed in , Our Lady of the Angels was the first cathedral built for the Catholic Church in the new millennium and the third largest in the world. It was also the first new cathedral designed to accommodate the revised liturgy prescribed by the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (also known as Vatican II). Site

After reviewing a number of potential downtown sites, Cardinal Roger M. Mahoney, Archbishop of Los Angeles, and his advisory board selected a .-acre (.-ha) former parking lot along an elevated portion of Grand Avenue (the old Bunker Hill), the city’s primary cultural corridor for the arts. With a perimeter defined by Hill Street to the southeast, Temple Street to the southwest and the Hollywood Freeway to the northeast, the site was highly visible and easily reached by car and public transportation. Executive A rchitect

Cardinal Mahoney retained L A D as Executive Architect for the project based upon its experience in the design and realization of complex urban projects, as well as its  years of expertise in creating sacred spaces, including many for the Roman Catholic Church. L A D worked closely with the Spanish architect for the project, Rafael Moneo. In order to expedite the successive design phases L A D’ Spanish speaking

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:01 PM

Page 133

133

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

1 34

LOS ANGELES

6:01 PM

Page 134

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:01 PM

Page 135

Hill Str eet

Grand Avenue

CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

Temple Street

135

design professionals worked for several months in Mr. Moneo’s office in Madrid while his team worked in L A D’ Los Angeles office. As Executive Architect, the firm was also responsible for leading the project’s diverse group of over  specialized professional consultants ranging from seismic engineers to artists. Major Program Elements

The building program focused on the need for a grandly proportioned worship space for , people, with both fixed and movable seating to accommodate regular and special liturgies. Two outdoor plazas were also to be included—one large enough for outdoor worship, celebrations, and ceremonies, and a smaller one for quiet reflection—as well as a large mausoleum and a ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) Cathedral Center with gift shop, café, conference center, and parish offices. In addition, the program required a ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) rectory that would include the archbishop’s residence. Importantly, site-specific artwork commissioned for the complex needed to reflect the multicultural nature of the 

parishes that comprise the archdiocese. Finally, Our Lady of the Angels was to be designed and constructed to last a minimum of  years. P l a za and Precinct

The site of the cathedral complex is long and sloped, extending from northwest to southeast. Four major building forms—cathedral, campanile, cathedral center, and rectory—are organized around a central Cathedral Square, a .-acre (1-ha) landscaped plaza for gathering, ceremony, and contemplation. Designed to be a precinct removed from the noise and traffic of the surrounding city, the square is a composition of interwoven seating areas, fountains, vine-draped colonnades, small groves of olive and orange trees, and other abundant flora—a rich tapestry of experiential micro-worlds with a variety of colors, sounds, smells, and material textures. P l a za as Datum

Because of the significant grade change from Grand Avenue on the northwest down to Hill Street on the southeast, the plaza level is treated as the major horizontal datum for the

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

1 36

LOS ANGELES

6:01 PM

Page 136

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:02 PM

Page 137

CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

137

disposition of the primary program elements. The cathedral, fittingly, assumes the most honored position on the site, at the highest elevation along Grand Avenue. The mausoleum, with , burial crypts and niches for cardinals, bishops, and the laity, is located beneath this main structure. The Cathedral Center and rectory are placed at the southeastern end of Cathedral Square, keeping the secular functions at the same level as the cathedral itself but creating a more private sub-precinct to accommodate them. Designed around separate interior courtyards, these independent low-rise buildings clearly defer to the cathedral in their scale, massing, and materiality. The site design takes advantage of the sloped topography to provide parking for  cars on three levels beneath the secular buildings and plaza. Choreo g r a p h y o f E n t r y

The primary pedestrian entrance to the complex occurs along Temple Street, through portals incised in a thick, freestanding cast concrete carillon wall with  bells, reminiscent of Southern California’s earlier Mission-style

churches. This architectural element leads to an entry plaza set one level below the main Cathedral Square and immediately adjacent to the parking structure. Access ramps beneath vine-covered pergolas and broad, ceremonial stairs ascend to the main plaza level, initiating the choreography that leads toward the cathedral’s -ft.-high (.-m) cast bronze entry doors at its southeastern corner. A Journey to the Light

Central to the cathedral’s design are two themes pivotal in Catholic theology: the notion of the spiritual journey in life and the idea of the Light of God. After passing through the massive sculpted entry doors, the visitor begins a journey to the sanctuary within the -ft.-long (-m) South Ambulatory, a high, narrow space with a slightly inclined floor. Except for a thin sliver of skylight where the outer wall meets the roof, this entry space is nearly devoid of natural light. Mysterious in its darkness, austere in character, and welcoming in its generous length and elongated vertical proportions, the South

Ambulatory mediates between the external world of the secular and the interior world of the sacred. A series of small side chapels face this passage. Intermittent spaces between the chapels are asymmetrically shaped and configured with splayed walls, providing occasional glimpses through to the main sanctuary they spatially define. Additional chapels open to the North Ambulatory on the opposite side of the sanctuary, but here natural light enters through a wide expanse of glass that presents immediate views of an exterior cloister garden and distant views of downtown Los Angeles. In both cases, the chapels open to the ambulatories and not to the nave. This inversion of typical cathedral functional planning allows different religious uses to occur simultaneously while enhancing the tranquility of both the nave and chapels. N a ve, Transepts, and Sanctuary

At the terminus of the South Ambulatory, a turn to the right leads to the cathedral’s impressive -ft.-long (-m) nave. This ,-sq.-ft. (-sq-m) central worship space

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:02 PM

Page 138

1 38

is intersected by two obliquely shaped transepts to either side of the sanctuary—an unexpected transformation of the traditional Latin cross church organization. The plan geometries are such that few walls intersect at right angles. The transepts, for example, are configured as parallelograms, the walls of the tiered choir loft splay outward toward the congregation, and the broad steps leading to the sanctuary shift directions across the width of the nave. Although the altar is axially aligned with the octagonal baptismal font at the nave’s west end, conventional symmetries and visual alignments do not play a major role in the cathedral’s spatial organization. Indeed, the presence of so many skewed walls in plan and sloped surfaces in vertical section introduces rich spatial variety and encourages numerous perceptual shifts throughout the interior. Role o f L u m i n o u s S u r f a c e s

With a ceiling that rises from  ft. ( m) above the baptistery to nearly  ft. (. m) at the sanctuary, the cathedral interior possesses a scale and luminosity appropriate to its purpose. Massive cast-in-place concrete structural piers LOS ANGELES

form the side walls of the ambulatory chapels and rise to support nine steel trusses that span the nave. The trusses are concealed by a ceiling of geometrically patterned wood members with deep reveals, recalling the wooden ceilings of the early Californian missions. The long outer walls of the cathedral to the north and south of the nave feature two windows, each  ft. high x  ft. long (. m x . m). Consisting of .-in.-thick (-mm) Spanish alabaster panels that vary in height from  ft.--in. to  ft. (. m to . m), the windows provide an indirect source of soft, natural light that changes through the day. Light passing through the translucent milky-white alabaster reveals the natural veining of this material, producing abstract linear compositions of red, gray, yellow and green. Steeply sloping interior concrete roofs atop the chapels reach toward the luminous panels to bring daylight to these internal spaces of meditation and prayer. Because of alabaster’s sensitivity to temperature, as well as the need to isolate the cathedral’s interior acoustically, an exterior glazing system covers the alabaster. This outer layer,

consisting of laminated, chevron-patterned frit glass set in sawtooth-profiled frames clad in bronze, is designed to provide both weather protection and sun shading. At night, artificial lights placed between these two glazing systems subtly illuminate the interior while presenting arrestingly luminescent surfaces to the city and the Hollywood Freeway. Alabaster is also employed in a number of large windows positioned to introduce the same quality of light in certain chapels and in the transepts and spaces surrounding the altar. These surfaces are also protected with an outer layer of glazing and produce a similar lantern quality at night. G i a nt Cross

Hovering behind the altar on the west wall of the nave is the most prominent of the cathedral windows—a composition of two cantilevered concrete planes that intersect in the form of a -ft.-high (.-m) cross set within a glass lantern. Seen against shifting daylight through a background of alabaster sheets mounted within diagonal mullions, this primary symbol of the Catholic faith is a powerful focal point

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:02 PM

Page 139

CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

139

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

1 40

LOS ANGELES

6:02 PM

Page 140

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:02 PM

Page 141

CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

141

for the sanctuary. On the exterior, the Giant Cross Window appears dramatically suspended on the cathedral’s east elevation and serves as a sacred focus for outdoor services held in the Cathedral Square over which it presides. When illuminated at night, the window becomes a commanding visual beacon for the city. Iconog r a p h y a n d A r t w o r k

Historically, the architecture of Christian worship spaces has incorporated sculpture, paintings, and stained glass windows as integral features of church design. These elements were intentionally didactic, presenting biblical stories to congregations who could not read, and they were commonly designed by the most talented artists and executed by the most accomplished artisans. For Our Lady of the Angels, Fr. Richard Vosko was retained as the liturgical and public art consultant to create a master plan for all cathedral art. He was responsible for commissioning  different Californian artists, many known worldwide, to produce all the site-specific works. Under his close direction, each piece was based on particular theological and

metaphorical concepts, and developed with appropriate scriptural content in mind. Because the cathedral was designed for an archdiocese in which daily masses are celebrated in more than  different languages, the iconography of the commissioned art needed to be based on imagery that would be both understandable and multi-culturally relevant. For example, the ornamentation of sculptor Robert Graham’s great bronze South Doors—the cathedral’s main portal—displays not only images from indigenous cultures but also an array of pre-Christian symbols from Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America, all cast in relief. Framed within a contemporary gilded tympanum above the doors, his sculpture of Our Lady of the Angels is anything but traditional, being a simply clothed woman with bare arms, braided hair, the hands of a worker, and features that convey Asian, African, and Caucasian traits. Similarly, artist John Nara’s large interior tapestries, collectively entitled the Communion of Saints, depict  saints—canonized and anonymous individuals of various ages, ethnicities, and occupations from around the world. The  tapestries adorn the north and south

walls of the nave, some reaching a height of  ft. (. m). The artist used a combination of live models and digital imaging to derive the figures, supervising production of the digital files from which the tapestries were woven in a mill near Bruges, Belgium. Subdued in coloration and rich in texture, these wall hangings and those he created for the altar and the baptistery, impart a fresco-like presence to the bare concrete walls they embellish. I n t erior Color Palette

Earth tones predominate within, reflecting a palette of restrained richness. Adobe-colored concrete walls and floor pavers of Golden Jana limestone dominate the interior sufaces. The nave’s wooden ceiling of cedar, pews and organ casing of cherry, and the muted tones of the wall tapestries combine to contribute other surface colors and textures. Additional accent colors within the interior as a whole come from materials such as the red carnelian granite of the baptistery fonts and the Turkish Rosa Laguna marble used for the altar.

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:02 PM

Page 142

1 42

Longev i t y a n d M a t e r i a l s

The cathedral’s location in an active seismic zone atop the Elysian Park Fault required very sophisticated structural engineering and certain adaptations with materials. The building is constructed of cast-in-place reinforced concrete and sits on nearly  base isolators that allow for more than  in. ( mm) of lateral movement in any direction during an -point earthquake. To create a restful monochromatic tonality—and to invoke the adobe of early California missions—a sand-colored architectural concrete produced by tinting the concrete with iron oxide pigments is used both inside and out, and its surfaces are sandblasted to scatter reflected light. Given the building’s geometric complexity and the requirement that the cathedral have a -year life span, the design demanded the most advanced concrete technology. Because there are almost no right angles in the building, the formwork was carefully fabricated to precise specifications and held to tight tolerances. Special construction procedures such as the use of imported Danish Portland cement LOS ANGELES

LACpp132-143:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:02 PM

Page 143

CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

143

and the placement of stainless steel reinforcing bars in locations vulnerable to water penetration were employed to insure the highest quality building possible. Because concrete can assume different profiles through the casting process, the same material was used to create wall surfaces, both flat and striated. Traces of each casting—both panel joints and tie rods—are left visible throughout and become integral ornaments reflecting the construction process itself. Certain exterior wall surfaces, cast with subtly sloped vertical faces, resemble large concrete shingles and produce strong horizontal shadow lines in the sun. Along with exposed joints that reveal the building’s construction, these horizontals contribute perceptual scale to walls that reach upward more than  ft. (. m) to the sky. Bronze-clad curtain wall framing and copper roofs furnish additional longevity for the building. The Ca m p a n i l e

A strong visual marker from both the freeway and Grand Avenue is the -ft.-tall (.-m) concrete campanile on the northeast corner of

the site. Surmounted by a -ft.-high (.-m) cross, this symbolic vertical element possesses a form language consistent with that of the cathedral, its shifting form adding significantly to its strong sculptural quality. Deep cavities at the top of the tower will eventually hold  bells whose daily peal will signal the cathedral’s presence to the city. A 21st Century Cathedral

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels accommodates the needs of the contemporary Catholic liturgy in a building that both draws on the past and freely interprets its significance for the present. With a design that reflects the repose and austerity of Romanesque churches, the Gothic reverence for light, the spatial complexity of the Baroque, and the earthbound coloration of the early California missions, the cathedral embraces architectural history, cultural diversity, and st-century building technologies and creates a major new religious precinct within the city.

The Chanc e r y o f t he E mb a s s y o f It a l y

Washington, D.C. Competition Design

In the early s, the Republic of Italy, having outgrown its original facilities in Washington, D.C., chose to house its chancery and military offices together in a new building to be constructed on a site along the Embassy Row section of Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sponsored a design competition in , inviting Italy’s most distinguished architects to produce proposals for its new facility. L A D was asked to formulate a detailed functional program for the new facility, prepare comprehensive site documentation, develop design guidelines, and manage the competition. Based on L A D’ detailed program and design criteria, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs selected Sartogo Architetti of Rome as the winner of the competition involving nine prominent Italian architects (Renzo Piano, Gae Aulenti, and Aldo Rossi among them). L A D was retained as Architect/Engineer for the project and worked closely with designer Piero Sartogo to develop and refine the winning design concept. Throughout the project’s various design and construction phases, L A D ensured that the project conformed to both American and Italian laws and standards, and secured all required approvals from regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts and the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Buildings Office. Facilities

The four-story building of approximately , sq. ft. (, sq m) contains oﬃce space for diplomatic and consular representatives, the military attaché, and the Italian Cultural Institute, an organization fostering cultural exchange between Italy and the United States. For ease of public access and security, a spacious rotunda for exhibitions, receptions, and special events is located on the ground floor, along with a large conference

146

room, several meeting rooms, a lecture hall, and a library. An adjacent below-grade structure houses two levels of parking for  cars. The Building a n d t h e C i t y

Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s  plan for Washington is based on two overlaid geometric grids: a conventional orthogonal street pattern with a north-south orientation, and an organization of diagonal boulevards that connect public squares and circles containing major monuments. When the winning Italian Chancery design was announced, one of its noted strengths was its explicit reference to the L’Enfant Plan of Washington. The building’s square plan— ft. ( m) on each side—is rotated so that its ceremonial northeast façade is parallel to Massachusetts Avenue, the longest thoroughfare in the city and one of its most prominent axes. An emphatic diagonal through the square splits the building into two triangles, one housing the offices for political and cultural affairs, the other accommodating the visa offices and military staff. The bisecting diagonal, intentionally aligned on a north-south axis, strongly evokes WASHINGTON, D.C.

THE CHANCERY OF THE EMBASSY OF ITALY

147 M

Whitehaven Street

sa ch us et ts Av en ue

the L’Enfant Plan for the city as it was originally conceived: a rotated square  miles (. km) on each side and roughly bisected along its north-south axis by the Potomac River. T h e B u i l d i ng and the Site

Whitehaven Street

The .-acre (.-ha) wooded site, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Whitehaven Street, is bordered on the southeast by Rock Creek Park. The residential scale of neighboring buildings, the site’s bucolic setting amid dense trees, and the sloped topography leading to a steep escarpment along its southeastern boundary presented a challenging physical context for the building’s design. Taking cues from the city’s ordering geometries, however, the designers adjusted to these site constraints with relative ease. For example, the building is rotated so that its northernmost corner faces Whitehaven Street, presenting the Chancery’s cubic mass obliquely to the view of its residential neighbors and thereby reducing its apparent size. In addition, the sloping site was re-contoured to allow the main entrance to be at grade with Massachusetts Avenue, a strategy that lowered

148

Ground floor plan

the building’s perceived height from Whitehaven Street. The site itself and the building’s placement on it—greatly set back from Massachusetts Avenue—further reconcile the Chancery’s scale with that of the surrounding residential neighborhood. The dense woods of Rock Creek Park not only screen the Chancery from the immediate view of passersby traveling northeastward along Massachusetts Avenue but also act as a natural backdrop to its geometric profile. Typological Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n s

The original competition guidelines stipulated that the Chancery’s design be both “Italian in some manner” and compatible with its surroundings. As realized, the design clearly recalls a number of typological antecedents: an Italian villa with its geometric rigor, a Tuscan farmhouse with its resolute stance in the landscape, and a Renaissance palazzo with its atrium, deep roof overhangs, and defensive solidity. From an understanding of the genius loci of the site and the development of the building’s massing, to the selection of cladding materials WASHINGTON, D.C.

and fenestration patterns, the design reconciles these antecedents with aesthetic appropriateness while meeting programmatic needs. S p a t i a l I m plications of Geometry

In plan, the building’s fundamental organization embraces three elemental geometric shapes: the circle, the square, and the triangle. The circle, present in the three-dimensional form of a rotunda, is positioned at the midpoint of the square, creating a spatial field both symmetrical and centering. Four freestanding cylindrical elevator enclosures are positioned at the cardinal compass points relative to the center of the circle, their axial alignments introducing a subtle orthogonal counterpoint to the building’s dynamic diagonal axis. However, the Chancery’s primary spatial organization is best comprehended in section. The bisecting diagonal line is actually a .ft.-wide (.-m) vertical shaft of space. The shaft is covered with a glass dome at its second story, expands to the full width of the -ft.diameter (.-m) cylindrical rotunda at the upper two stories, and then is delimited at the roof of the building by parallel, cantilevered

THE CHANCERY OF THE EMBASSY OF ITALY

149

Third floor plan

150

WASHINGTON, D.C.

THE CHANCERY OF THE EMBASSY OF ITALY

151

overhangs a mere  ft. (. m) apart. Because the main public entrance is situated at the building’s northeast corner, visitors experience the diagonal as a major spatial event at the ground-floor level, particularly as its axial thrust visually extends through fully glazed end walls toward the dense woods beyond. The Rotunda

Rising  ft. ( m) to its shallow glass dome, the rotunda defines a resting place along the dynamic diagonal. However, in one of several asymmetries that augment the building’s spatial complexity, the center of the rotunda is shifted nearly  ft. (. m) oﬀ the axis of the diagonal. Two sets of paired, primary exposed steel girders—gently curved in section when spanning the rotunda—parallel the axis of the diagonal, reinforcing its directionality and interrupting the pure symmetry of the rotunda. These structural members, in turn, carry secondary steel sections of similar curvature and a hovering shallow lattice dome of steel and glass. The plan of the balcony along the rotunda’s perimeter on the second floor introduces yet another asymmetry: Oval rather than circu-

lar, its subtle elongation follows the diagonal axis through the building. Transparent end walls and overhead glazing allow constantly changing natural light and shifting shadows into the middle of the building, bringing nature and Platonic geometry into a memorable experiential whole. Finally, as the main public gathering and exhibition space of the Chancery, the rotunda is celebrated not only with light and space but also with color. Solid balcony rails and circular soﬃts of yellow, exposed steel structural members of dark gray, and cylindrical elevator enclosures rendered in a rose-colored Venetian plaster provide vivid interior contrasts and chromatic accents. T h e E x t e r nal Rotunda

At the second-floor level, bridges span the ends of the central spine, connecting the two triangulated sides of the building and allowing views along its full length. The larger bridge to the north contains a spacious seating lounge suspended within the spine. On the third and fourth floors, a curtain wall of glass follows the curve of the rotunda below. The elevators open

152

toward this wall, allowing employees to enjoy changing natural light and unique views of the building itself and of its surrounding landscape. These two upper floors together shape their own exterior rotunda—a cylindrical space with a transparent glass floor and a ceiling of open sky. Massing and F e n e s t r a t i o n

Recalling the historical antecedents of villa, farmhouse, and palazzo, each of the four façades is treated as a solid mass incised with windows of diﬀering sizes and proportions and arranged in varying patterns. These outer walls present more wall surface than void, emphasizing the building as mass. In addition, the walls are clad with pieces of Pietra Rosa di Asiago, a pink-hued stone from Italy. Laid like long, thin bricks, the -in.high (.-cm) stone pieces have a deep bevel at their lower edge that produces horizontal shadow lines along the entire wall surface. To emphasize the honorific status of the Pietra Rosa di Asiago, the solid portions of the diagonal void are sheathed not in stone but in cement plaster. WASHINGTON, D.C.

Square windows serve as the basic module of the building elevations and are aligned in straight horizontal rows. When combined with a lower window unit of equal width, the square module is modified to create a larger, vertically proportioned opening. Finally, in an explicit reference to double-scale window compositions used in Renaissance palazzi, these taller units are combined on the northeast and southeast façades to create larger window arrangements, recessed to a depth of  in. ( mm) and set within a field of cement plaster. Special window units with outward-sloping top lights and operable, angled side lights are detailed to deepen the thickness of the exterior walls to increase their apparent solidity. The largest opening on the northeast façade is the ambassador’s private entrance—a striking composition of verdigris-glazed panels set obliquely within the surrounding wall plane. As if to represent the steep topography of the adjacent Rock Creek Park, the southeast wall of the Chancery is tapered in its vertical section to resemble the profile of a massive buttress. The introduction of a reentrant corner at the intersection of the northeast and southwest

THE CHANCERY OF THE EMBASSY OF ITALY

153

154

façades visually enhances the independence of each wall plane, and a horizontal stone band connecting the third floor windows of the east elevation extends through this corner to serve as a scale-giving device. Another stone band, aligned with the heads of the uppermost windows, functions as a continuous horizontal datum line indicating the termination of the stone wall cladding and the beginning of a fascia of striated copper siding that rises to outwardly canted copperclad roof soﬃts at the perimeters. These knifeedged cantilevered overhangs slope along their lengths, and become a contemporary equivalent of the classical roof cornice. A Modern Con t r i b u t i o n

The Chancery of the Italian Embassy adds a boldly modern edifice to Embassy Row. With its genesis in the th century plan of Washington, D.C., and in enduring Italian architectural archetypes, its design extracts essences rather than stylistic motifs, imbuing them with a distinctly contemporary sensibility.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

THE CHANCERY OF THE EMBASSY OF ITALY

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 156

North Terminal Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Arlington, Virginia Beginnings and Modernization

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt chose the site of the original Washington National Airport in , he selected an area of mudflats on a bend of the Potomac River known as Gravelly Point, conveniently located four and one-half miles south of downtown Washington, DC. The nation’s first federally constructed commercial airport when it opened in , National Airport provided facilities that were considered the last word in airport design, from its Modernist terminal layout and aesthetic to its runway planning and field traffic control. As air travel became more common, the number of travelers passing through National jumped from , in  to one million just five years later. In response to this increase, the first major terminal expansion occurred in . A new North Terminal followed in , and, in , the -ft.-long (-m) passageway between the North and South Terminals was enclosed. By the late s,  million passengers were using the airport, and the facility needed to adapt. In , the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority, established to oversee capital improvements at both Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport, recognized that both facilities needed extensive updating. An ambitious  million modernization plan for Washington National Airport followed—one that would improve regional passenger access, increase efficiency, and significantly expand accommodations for air travelers. Architect/Engineer

The undertaking was both large and complex. In addition to designing a new -gate, ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) terminal and an air traffic control tower, the project involved relocating utilities as well as coordinating the construction of parking structures,

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 157

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 158

158

road networks, and a new Metrorail station. The Airports Authority engaged L A D as Executive Architect to manage the overall project and to oversee six major construction contracts. L A D led an interdisciplinary professional team comprised of over two dozen specialized consultants, including architects Cesar Pelli & Associates and numerous artists including Sol Lewitt and Frank Stella. Close collaboration ensured that, as the project moved from the initial schematic design through the design development and contract document phases, it met its many functional requirements while its aesthetic attributes were enhanced. Design Challenge

The site for the new terminal was narrow, constrained by runway layouts to the east and the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the west. In addition to the terminal itself, the plan would need to accommodate access roads, parking garages, and a new Metro station. These challenges were met by creating a ,-ft.-long (-m) concourse running ARLINGTON

north-south between the original South Terminal and the north hangers. Three perpendicular finger piers extend eastward from the concourse to new airline gates. Immediately to the west of the new terminal, and parallel to it, are the airport’s access roads, elevated Metro platforms, and new parking structures. The proximity and alignment of these transportation elements led to the development of Washington National Airport’s distinctive cross-section. Building Section

Washington National Airport is designed as an originating and destination airport, meaning that the majority of its travelers do not connect with other flights at the airport. For efficient passenger circulation, the terminal is arranged on three levels. An elevated roadway at the uppermost level brings enplaning passengers to a mezzanine that houses airline ticket counters and overlooks the concourse below. Stairs, escalators, and elevators bring travelers down to the concourse, where three security nodes control access to the finger piers leading to the gates.

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 159

NORTH TERMINAL, RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT

159

Washington. With the ticketing facilities located above the concourse and on the landside of the terminal, the opposite side of the concourse could provide a five-story-high glass wall framing these vistas. Not only would natural light flood the great hall but ticketing personnel and passengers alike could enjoy open views throughout the day. Repeated Spatial Units

At the concourse level, climate-controlled bridges with moving walkways link the terminal to Metrorail platforms and adjacent parking garages. Ticketed passengers arriving from this direction may thus go straight to security checkpoints without having to change levels. The concourse is also lined with shops, restaurants, and retail kiosks. From gates at the concourse level, deplaning passengers descend to the lowest level to collect their bags. The baggage claim area, located along a ground-level roadway, gives travelers easy access to ground transportation.

The Concourse

The idea of placing ticket counters on a mezzanine above the concourse was a bold one and was initially resisted by the airlines because it meant that travelers entering the terminal from the parking garages or Metro station would not first encounter the ticket counters upon arrival. The architects had studied the design of the original South Terminal, however, and wished to emulate one of its most memorable architectural features: the large expanse of glass allowing unobstructed views of the runways, the Potomac River, and the monuments of

Large-scale contemporary airport terminals tend to have two types of roof structures. The first is long-span, undifferentiated, and primarily of continuous overhead planes, exemplified by Dulles International Airport () and Kansai International Airport (). The second—short-span, differentiated, and of repeated spatial units—characterizes Stansted Airport () and Denver International Airport (). Roofs of the first type are often conceived as surfaces whose profiles evoke movement or flight, and they typically lack scale-giving elements. Roofs of the latter type introduce identifiable units that provide scale with a repetition of parts that aggregate to form the roof as a whole.

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 160

160

Washington National Airport’s concourse is structured with a series of -ft. x -ft. (.-m x .-m) square bays, each consisting of four steel columns supporting arched steel trusses that rise to form a dome-shaped roof. At the apex of the roof of each bay, the trusses are joined to a compression ring glazed as an oculus. Although the concourse domes are a deliberate reference to the domes of Washington’s civic architecture, they are also an abstract merger of classical domed profiles and the structure of Gothic rib vaults. This is most evident in the columns between the structural bays, where trusses appear to spring upward from the columns in a manner reminiscent of Gothic fan vaulting. Reaching a height of nearly  ft. ( m) above the concourse floor, the repetitive domed units provide a memorable spatial module along the entire length of the terminal. This central public space—awash with daylight from the full-height east wall of glass and from the  oculi overhead—is both spatially dramatic and uplifting. Shops and restaurants enliven this grand concourse (designated “The National Hall”) as integral retail facilities. ARLINGTON

Gate Piers

The center portion of the roof over each of the three piers leading to the passenger holding areas is raised to form an arch that allows clerestories to bring filtered natural light into these interior circulation zones. The piers terminate in clusters of nine square bays, similar to the domed forms of the main concourse but modified to create additional clerestories. Surrounded by gate seating areas, and adjacent to a variety of food vendors, these high-ceilinged spaces serve as small but inviting public squares within the terminal. The Role of the Horizontal

The impressive verticality of the terminal is always accompanied by repeated horizontal increments easily measured by the eye and intended to introduce increments of scale. The -ft.-high (.-m) east curtain wall of the concourse, for example, uses incremental horizontal units with fritted glass to control solar gain. Highly textured and subdivided into smaller units, the glass wall thus creates a continuous tapestry of light and shadow throughout the day.

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 161

NORTH TERMINAL, RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT

161

On the landside, the west elevation incorporates similar horizontal subdivisions in its window walls. Even the new control tower—the tallest airport structure—is a composition of repeated horizontal increments at its lowest levels. These transition to differently spaced parallel subdivisions to accommodate office windows and, at the top, the main control tower functions. The result is a vertical form of subtle plasticity, with discernible increments of scale throughout its height.

inserts, creating a system of rectangular grids whose position and proportions coincide with the subdivisions of the tall curtain wall. Additional terrazzo accent colors in shades of red, beige, and gray occur within some of these grids and introduce syncopated geometric patterns underfoot. Surfaces throughout the terminal are made of materials chosen for their longevity, ease of maintenance, and reflectivity. Stainless steel, for example, is used for railings and perforated balustrades and adds additional luster at the inner edge of the mezzanine level.

Color and Materials

One of the most distinctive features of Washington National Airport is the soft yellow hue of its exposed and painted steelwork, both inside and out. In contrast to the off-white color used for the window mullions and domed surfaces, the yellow chroma clearly emphasizes the terminal’s skeletal elements. To extend the visual depth of the concourse domes, the exposed inner surfaces of their profiled metal roof cladding are painted a light blue. Floors are large planar compositions of black terrazzo subdivided by stainless steel

Exterior Profiles

From a distance, the elongated terminal building appears as a dense aggregation of small domes with stepped profiles. Along the upperlevel curbside entry, an enfilade of clerestory windows, with arcuated tops constructed of steel I-beam sections, is placed at the spring lines of the domes to allow additional daylight to enter the interior from the west. The same profile appears on the east façade of the concourse, where the repeated segmented arches becomes an integral visual motif.

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

162

ARLINGTON

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 162

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 163

NORTH TERMINAL, RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT

163

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 164

164

Glass-covered canopies, similarly profiled, extend along the entire west elevation of the terminal to provide sheltered entry portals. Architectural Enhancement Program

A significant aspect of the terminal’s design is the integration of art with the architecture of the building. As part of a . million Architectural Enhancement Program for the airport, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority commissioned  individual works of art executed in a wide variety of materials, including glass and marble mosaics, stained glass, terrazzo, aluminum, cast bronze, and painted steel. Created by national, regional, and local artists, the finished works include  large medallions designed for the concourse floor,  works for the mezzanine balustrades, five murals, one bridge sculpture, two stained glass friezes on the concourse curtain wall, and one sunscreen panel on the south end of the upper ticketing level. This collaboration between artists and architects—once quite common in significant civic buildings—has produced an array of conARLINGTON

temporary artwork representing a true crosssection of styles, media, and creative processes. Fully integrated with their respective sites, these works offer artistic interludes for harried travelers and terminal employees alike and play an important role in the terminal’s design. New Designation

In February, , President Bill Clinton, in response to congressional action, authorized the renaming of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in honor of the former president.

NationalAirpp156-165:Layout 1

3/4/09

6:44 PM

Page 165

165

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:31 PM

Page 166

Theatre Arts Building, Santa Monica College

Santa Monica, California Comprehensive Master Plan

In the late s, Santa Monica College, a community college founded in , developed a comprehensive master plan to meet its future academic and physical needs. The college’s main campus—a mix of new, old, and temporary buildings—occupies a -acre (-ha) site in downtown Santa Monica, just south of Interstate , and  blocks from the Pacific Ocean, with four satellite campuses located nearby. Reviewed and revised periodically, the master plan has focused on enhancing the urban legibility of the campus, the interconnectedness of its major outdoor spaces, and the quality of its teaching facilities. In conformance with these objectives, the college commissioned L A D to design a new ,-sq.-ft. (,-sq-m) Theatre Arts Building for the campus’s award-winning theater arts program. Replacing an overcrowded, -year-old teaching facility, the new building includes a -seat theater with steeply raked seating, a proscenium stage, and a full fly loft; a smaller experimental (black box) theater; and a lobby with an adjacent box office. The building also houses classrooms, faculty offices and the costume and scenery shops. Pivotal Location

Situated near the main entrance to the campus, the Theatre Arts Building occupies a prominent corner directly across from the recently completed Humanities and Social Science Building and the Main Quad—the new heart of this urban academic precinct. The Admissions Center is located to the west of the site, an outdoor amphitheater and the International Center to the north, and the Campus Bookstore to the east. The building site also lies on the main pedestrian route between two campus boundary streets, Pico Boulevard on the north and Pearl Street on the south. Both the theater building and its site design contribute significant color and scale to this wide, tree-lined boulevard.

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:31 PM

Page 167

167

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:31 PM

Page 168

168

The Plaza

The new building is set on a slightly raised plaza at the southeast corner of the site. Generously scaled for pre-performance activities and receptions, the plaza is designed to be an experiential prelude to the interior lobby. A corner box office—a compact composition of glass, wood, and stainless steel unique to the building’s exterior—adds a visually arresting feature as the building’s subtle marquee. To create a gracious campus amenity, one corner of the plaza is curved to encircle two large existing coral trees, and a semi-circular bench at grade level provides comfortable seating beneath their shade-giving canopy. Reconciliation of Campus Grids

The present-day campus is laid out along two grids of differing orientation. The buildings and courts of the original campus, which occupies the southeast quadrant of the college’s present site, align with the street grid of the old city. As the city expanded west and north, it shifted the orientation of its streets, and the growing campus followed suit. The interface of these two alignments eventually SANTA MONICA

Ground floor plan

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:31 PM

Page 169

THEATRE ARTS BUILDING

169

produced the wedge-shaped pedestrian spine of the campus. Reconciling the two grids was a key design challenge for the new Theatre Arts Building, affecting especially the plan geometry and architectural character of the building’s most public façade. The design response was to align the southern edge of the entry plaza not with the building itself, but with the grid defined by the campus walkway and the Main Quad immediately to the south. The alignment creates a deeply recessed, semi-triangulated loggia that links the plaza to another exterior space with a dense grove of shade trees. This shaded space borders a pathway leading toward the northeast part of campus. At the rear of this spacious second public plaza is a small “actors’ garden”, a tranquil semi-enclosed exterior walled space for use by theater arts students and faculty. A strategically placed textured concrete wall both defines the edge of the campus walk

where it passes in front of the building and screens an exterior stair leading from a balcony above the loggia. This upper balcony space is also triangular, a shape generated by the subtle inflection of the glass curtain wall of the mezzanine lobby. The shifted plane of this upper glass wall, and its enframement by a dramatically cantilevered roof, make yet another reference to the campus’s two grid systems. Building Organization

The various program elements housed in the building are compactly organized to create efficient circulation patterns and ample outdoor spaces for landscaped courtyards. The main theater with its -ft.-high (.-m) fly loft is the building’s central space, with the experimental theater and ancillary functions related to both performance spaces positioned around it. Because the building functions as the major teaching facility for the Theater Arts Department, classrooms and shops are separated

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

170

SANTA MONICA

2:31 PM

Page 170

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:31 PM

Page 171

THEATRE ARTS BUILDING

171

from the central performance space by a perimeter hallway system with a separate entrance, allowing students to enter without having to pass through the theater lobby. Similarly, faculty offices on the opposite side of the building are accessible directly from the entry plaza. Choreography

After passiing through this introductory plaza, theatergoers enter an airy two-story lobby. Doors to the experimental theater are directly to the left, and to the right a wide staircase leads to the upper mezzanine and the entrance to the steeply raked main theater. Of extended height and broad prospect, the mezzanine space is defined by an inner metal-clad wall enclosing the theater and an outer floor-toceiling curtain wall of fritted glass. Bathed in natural light during the day and illuminated with up-lights at night, the mezzanine offers expansive views over the campus and access to an exterior balcony at intermissions. Along the outer wall, a row of slender, polished concrete columns rises to support diagonal roof beams, engaging the lowest edge of a

steeply sloping ceiling plane and tying back to the inner wall. The counterpoised beams and ceiling plane are painted an exuberant hue of red-orange borrowed from the flowers of the coral trees outside. The beams extend beyond the outer curtain wall to become hidden supports for the cantilevered roof that soars out over the balcony. Painted the same bright red-orange as the interior ceiling, the hovering roof is a dramatic gesture that has turned the Theatre Arts Building into a campus icon. The balconyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stage-like configuration also allows it to func-

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:31 PM

Page 172

172

tion as an outdoor performance space for the Main Quad. Folded Planes and Textured Surfaces

Many of the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior spaces, including those devoted to dramatic performance, lie beneath folded roof planes that add new geometric profiles to the campus skyline. These planes express the varying heights of the volumes they cover and, in the case of the entry sequence, reflect the journey the visitor makes from the lobby to the main theater. On the exterior, matte silver finishes, vertically striated textures, and crisp edges devoid of overhangs cohere in both form and material to create a striking industrial aesthetic. Painted standing-seam metal roofs surmount walls of corrugated metal. At the ground floor, tilt-up concrete wall panels, cast on-site with deep horizontal indentations, add a rich textural counterpoint to the verticality of the metalclad wall surfaces. The visual weight of these wall elements anchors them to the site while the roof profiles of varying slope appear to move restlessly against the sky above.

SANTA MONICA

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:31 PM

Page 173

THEATRE ARTS BUILDING

173

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

174

SANTA MONICA

2:32 PM

Page 174

TABpp166-175:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:32 PM

Page 175

The Functional and the Expressive

The theater as a place where viewers may briefly be transported to other worlds was a guiding idea for the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design. That design, in turn, attempts to capture and express the transformational nature of theater and architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;two worlds that explore the intersection of perception and reality and the dialogue between the functional and the expressive. From its exterior seating areas and brightly colored balcony roof to its array of agitated roof planes, the new home for the teaching of theater arts at Santa Monica College is designed to give this academic program greater visibility through an appropriately expressive deployment of form, color, and texture.

Carl T. Curtis National Park Service Midwest Regional Headquarters

Omaha, Nebraska Environmental Stewardship

Since its founding in , the National Park Service has been responsible for the preservation and protection of a vast array of the nation’s cultural and natural resources. The agency’s role includes providing educational programs to increase visitors’ appreciation of the scenery, wildlife, and historic objects they encounter in the national park system. In keeping with its educational mission as the country’s chief environmental steward, the Park Service desired a new headquarters building for the Midwest Region that would demonstrate the benefits of energy efficiency and sustainable design. A Paradigmatic Building

Named for Nebraska Senator Carl T. Curtis, the new headquarters for employees overseeing  parks and monuments in  Midwest states was designed to comply with the Department of the Interior’s “Guiding Principles for Sustainable Design.” In seeking proposals from architect-developer teams, the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that financed the construction and provided a long-term lease to the National Park Service, stipulated that the facility achieve a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification. The L A D architects ultimately exceeded this objective, creating a high-performance design that earned a coveted LEED Gold Certification—the first building to do so in the State of Nebraska . Riverfront: Challenges and Response

Working closely with the City of Omaha, the GSA secured a site along the banks of the Missouri River in the city’s Downtown Riverfront Redevelopment Area, pivotal to the renewal of one of Omaha’s most scenic recreational assets. As is the case in many American

177

178

cities, Omaha’s riverfront had long been the site of a variety of industrial operations, to the serious detriment of both land and water. With its ambitious renovation plans, the city hoped to attract new uses that would dramatically transform environmentally degraded riverfront brownfield sites into an array of natural attractions and civic amenities. The .-acre (.-ha) riverfront site is neighbor to a number of complementary amenities: the Qwest Center Omaha, a recently completed convention center and arena; a new restaurant and marina complex; and a cable-stayed Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge that will connect the site to Council Bluffs, Iowa, just across the river to the east. On the Omaha end of the bridge, a new plaza and semi-circular amphitheater provide outdoor accommodations for public educational programs and civic events. OMAHA

Because the site occupies a prominent position on the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail, the Park Service wished both the headquarters building and its landscape to demonstrate the agency’s environmental philosophies while enhancing the natural character of the site. To this end, the landscape is designed for indigenous plant life and will eventually be completely self-sustaining. Drought-tolerant plants native to the eastern Nebraska prairie, including cottonwood trees, buffalo grass, and black-eyed Susans, surround the building and will not require irrigation once they are established. A teaching garden has been created to describe the natural landscape and vegetation of Nebraska and to explain the Park Service’s advocacy of sustainable landscaping. Additionally, the concrete bulkhead that long marked the river’s edge has been replaced with a more natural, gently sloping bank of grass and rock.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MIDWEST REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS

179

Design Parti

Sited perpendicular to the river along an eastwest axis, the rectangular building is divided into two distinct functional zones by a thick wall of native limestone that defines a northsouth circulation axis with a two-story lobby. On the west side of the wall, a four-story component gathers the requisite elevator core, restrooms, storage, and other related functions into a main service block. A loading/receiving area, general storage, locker rooms, and a fitness room for employees occupy the service block’s ground floor. To the east of the stone dividing wall, a glazed, three-story office block extends toward the river, offering maximum daylighting and water views for all offices. With private offices, conference rooms, and storage facilities located in the building’s interior zones, the majority of employees occupy workspaces along the building’s perimeter. Translucent panels of cast glass are used as sidelights and transoms at the entries to several perimeter offices to bring light into interior hallways. They were produced for the building by a local artisan and feature surfaces textured by metal shards, as illustrated above.

Second floor plan

Ground floor plan

180

OMAHA

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MIDWEST REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS

181

182

OMAHA

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MIDWEST REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS

183

Compositional Dualities

In contrast to the taller, nearly solid service block, the eastern office wing consists of large areas of glazing set within an articulated frame of precast concrete panels on the south and east façades, or cantilevered as an enfilade of projecting glass bays on the north elevation. Punctuating the perimeter of this wing are freestanding columns that reveal its skeletal concrete structure and contribute a strong visual counterpoint to the continuous horizontal module used in the exterior glass curtain walls. On the south and east façades, the ground floor’s full-height window walls are deeply recessed to create shaded arcades to accommodate outdoor public programs related to the adjacent Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail. This treatment contrasts with projecting entrance canopies and the cantilevered upper balconies of the east façade. Additionally, fully glazed cantilevered window bays on the north façade offer maximum daylight and views while adding a syncopation of the vertical along this side of the building.

184

Transverse section

East elevation

OMAHA

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MIDWEST REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS

185

High Performance and LEED®

The new headquarters building was designed as a high-performance, energy-conscious structure from its inception. Positioning the building along an east-west axis and placing the opaque service block on the west side not only maximizes views of the river but also eliminates afternoon solar heat gain. Throughout the building, daylight-harvesting techniques reduce energy consumption. For example, abundant natural light is brought into the third floor open work space by raising the height of the five north-facing window bays and introducing clerestory windows on the south side of their sloping roofs. All curtain walls utilize low-E insulated glass. Sensors integrated with pendant fluorescent direct/indirect fixtures monitor ambient daylight and adjust artificial light output to maintain a constant light level of  foot-candles. This system produces an average  percent reduction in power consumption over standard electronic ballasts. Occupancy sensors monitor room use and respond to the need for artificial room lighting accordingly. Additional daylight harvesting is achieved by modified light shelves on

the south-facing glass walls and sunscreens that allow winter sunlight to penetrate deep into the interior spaces, while reducing heat gain during the intense summer months. In addition to sunscreens, efficient distribution and control of the building’s heating and cooling is achieved through the use of a raisedfloor system with numerous floor diffusers, enabling individuals to control temperature and airflow in their respective work areas. Additional features recognizing LEED® criteria include the recycling of construction waste, carpets made from recycled materials, utilization of construction materials produced within  miles (. km) of the site, waterless urinals, bicycle storage, and provision of several -volt electrical outlets in the parking area for recharging electric vehicles. Structural Legibility and Material Palette

Exposed cast-in-place concrete columns and beams—the structural bones of the building— serve a didactic role by reinforcing the legibility of the building’s supporting structure. Similarly, exposed steel roof joists and ceiling conduit, pendant-mounted light fixtures and a

186

limited use of dropped ceilings (confined to the inner zones of each floor) add strong visual textures throughout the interiors. In addition to extensive glass surfaces, the building’s exterior skin consists of large precast, insulated concrete panels. These are stained on the interior and left exposed, thereby eliminating extraneous drywall surfaces and both the field labor and additional building materials required to construct them. Sunshading on the south and east façades is achieved through a system of skeletal, anodized aluminum members proportioned to appear nearly weightless in contrast to their surrounding exterior precast wall panels. Reentrant corners of glass on the five projecting bays of the north façade transform them into floating spatial volumes of maximum transparency and luminosity, especially at night. The Carl T. Curtis Midwest Regional Headquarters is now a major contributor to a revitalized Missouri River waterfront. Having earned LEED® Gold Certification, it is also one of the National Park Service’s flagship buildings because of its notable achievements in sustainable design. OMAHA

187

DIApp188-195:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:37 PM

Page 188

Roadway Canopies Denver International Airport

Denver, Colorado Expanded Amenities

Since commencing operation in , Denver International Airport has witnessed steady annual growth in passenger traﬃc, and is now one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. More than  million passengers passed through the airport in , an increase of . percent over . The distinctive tent-like roofscape of its acclaimed Jeppesen Terminal has become a familiar sight for air travelers, and remains one of the city’s major architectural landmarks. In , the Denver International Airport Authority selected L A D to expand the upper terminal roadways on Levels  and , and to design improved shelter facilities for travelers who arrive or depart using local ground transportation services such as shuttles, buses, and rental vehicles. Relegated at the time to cramped, dark, and poorly ventilated spaces below the roadways, these waiting and arrival areas were considered both functionally inadequate and environmentally inhospitable. The firm brought its extensive experience in airport planning and design to bear on creating more salubrious transition areas for travelers. Welcoming Portals

The new ground transport facilities—two identical freestanding canopies—are located at Level  along the open roadways between the baggage claim areas and the upper levels of the parking garages on the east and west sides of the main terminal. Each -ft.-long (-m) structure oﬀers a welcoming arrival space for travelers, with plentiful light and ventilation, as well as shelter from hot sun and inclement weather. Consisting of steel frames painted white and covered in translucent white fabric, the canopies are not only visually compatible with the Jeppesen Terminal but also aesthetically deferential to its prominent sculptural profiles.

DIApp188-195:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:37 PM

Page 189

189

DIApp188-195:Layout 1

190

DENVER

3/5/09

2:37 PM

Page 190

DIApp188-195:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:37 PM

Page 191

ROADWAY CANOPIES, DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

191

Functional Constraints

Given the placement of the new canopies, their design had to preserve the views of the Rocky Mountains from the terminal’s upper levels as well as views of its iconic roofscape from the ground. Plans were also constrained by the layout of existing roadways, infrastructure, and surrounding parking decks. For example, the canopies were to be built on the upper levels of the parking garages; hence, the design required a lightweight structural solution, and any new support columns were restricted to bay spacings that would align with the garage columns below. Similarly, the plan had to maintain the position of existing crosswalks to the parking deck beyond the canopied area. Other constraints included the minimum -ft. (.-m) height clearance required by emergency vehicles and the need to accommodate potential heavy snow loading, snow shedding and melting, and rainwater diversion.

Steel Bones, Fabric Skin

The roof profiles, materials, and monochromatic coloration were chosen to invoke the

DIApp188-195:Layout 1

192

DENVER

3/5/09

2:37 PM

Page 192

DIApp188-195:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:37 PM

Page 193

ROADWAY CANOPIES, DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

193

DIApp188-195:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:37 PM

Page 194

194

tent-like roof of the Jeppesen Terminal without replicating its distinctive forms. Stretched over a tubular steel structure, the canopies’ fabric covering—like that used for the terminal’s white-peaked roof—is made of a lightweight, Teflon-coated fiberglass. Steel, selected as the major structural material because of its spanning capabilities, lightness, and fire-resistance, is used for both supporting and spanning members. At -ft. (.-m) intervals along the length of the canopies, clusters of four tubular steel columns and four radiating arms serve as the main vertical structure. The arms support slightly curved, -ft.-long (.-m) primary steel members that span the roadways and carry a secondary system of curved members, which function as ribs over which the fabric roof skin is stretched. The radiating arms are designed to reduce the clear span of the arcs as well as to articulate the “support” and “supported” structural elements. An integrated fire suppression system leaves all steel components exposed, producing structural “bones” that accommodate either tensile or compressive forces. DENVER

DIApp188-195:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:37 PM

Page 195

ROADWAY CANOPIES, DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

195

The design of the canopies also includes provisions for roof drainage, electrical lines, lighting, and natural air flow. Raised circular concrete bases form a protective transition for the structural column clusters and the vertical utility lines encased in perforated metal within them. A central raised roof acts as a horizontal chimney, expelling exhaust fumes from buses and vehicles below, and eliminating the need for costly mechanical equipment. As well as offering shelter, the roof is an energy-efficient membrane, its translucence creating diffuse natural light during the day and acting as a reflector at night to create a soft glow along the length of the canopies. Poetics of Utility

The use of fabric stretched over a lightweight structural frame is meant to recall a technique employed in the fabrication of early airplane fuselages, and the double curves of the roof section are analogous to the profile of a bird’s wings. The design seeks to elevate a typical utilitarian airport appendage to a higher level of serviceability, energy eﬃciency, and architectural poetry for the benefit of the air traveler.

CKFpp196-203:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:41 PM

Page 196

Cheung Kong Center Footbridge

Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China Urban Infrastructure

Permission to construct the new Cheung Kong Center at the corner of Garden Road and Queen’s Road Central came with the stipulation that Cheung Kong Holdings, Ltd., would reconnect the two ends of a public footpath that once crossed the site. Located along the southeast side of the Cheung Kong Center, the new pedestrian path takes the form of an elevated footbridge linking Battery Path at the upper level of Cheung Kong Gardens with Citibank Plaza across Garden Road to the east and Chater Garden across Queen’s Road Central to the north. As part of the urban infrastructure, the walkway has been built to form a continuous, public pedestrian-only zone connecting these major downtown open spaces. Design Challenges

The client required that the 443-ft.-long (135-m) footbridge not only incorporate specific pedestrian circulation paths but also be aesthetically compatible with the architecture of the Cheung Kong Center. The walkway design also had to accommodate the 20-ft. (6.1-m) grade change from Queen’s Road Central up to the elevation of Battery Path. Finally, given its spans over public rights-of-way, the footbridge had to be constructed without disrupting pedestrian and vehicular traffic beneath it, and no vertical structural supports could be placed on adjacent sidewalks and roadways. Tripartite Organization

Designed by Leo A Daly with Ove Arup and Partners Hong Kong Ltd., who served as structural and geotechnical engineers for the project, the footbridge is built on two levels in three distinct sections. A top walkway spans 95 ft. (29 m) from the upper Cheung Kong Gardens to the south corner of the tower. There it connects to a lower walkway by

CKFpp196-203:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:41 PM

Page 197

197

CKFpp196-203:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:41 PM

Page 198

198

elevator and glass-screened staircase, and continues for a length of 72 ft. (22 m) along the southeastern face of the towerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s base. Finally, at the northeast corner, a curved section spanning 131 ft. (40 m) crosses Garden Road. Interconnected Pedestrian Routes

Where it originates in Cheung Kong Gardens, the upper level walkway joins an existing pedestrian bridge from Citibank Plaza. Glass-covered escalators connect this juncture to the public sidewalk along the west side of Garden Road. Similarly, the covered stairs and elevator at the south corner of the tower allow pedestrians to move from the upper level walkway to the lower level and down to the sidewalk. The lower level of the footbridge spans Garden Road as a sinuous S-curve in plan. At this northern terminus, pedestrians may connect with a stair and elevator to descend to grade in front of the Bank of China Building, or they may continue along an existing upper sidewalk on the eastern side of Garden Road, cross Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Road Central and descend a staircase ending at Chater Garden.

HONG KONG

CKFpp196-203:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:41 PM

Page 199

CHEUNG KONG CENTER FOOTBRIDGE

199

en ue Q R ’s d oa l ra nt Ce

Garden Road

CKFpp196-203:Layout 1

3/5/09

200

HONG KONG

2:41 PM

Page 200

CKFpp196-203:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:41 PM

Page 201

CHEUNG KONG CENTER FOOTBRIDGE

201

Structure

The proximity of the southeast façade of the Cheung Kong Center to its adjacent property line limited the width of the walkway to 9 ft. (2.8 m). To carry the roof required for all footbridges in Hong Kong as shelter from rain, all vertical means of support had to occur within this restricted dimension. The structural solution to this limitation was to cantilever the walkway from a vertical Vierendeel frame by means of C-shaped crossframes spaced at 11-ft.-8 in. (3.6-m) intervals along the length of the walkway. The vertical members of this primary support frame are positioned only on the west side of the walkway and are placed at the same intervals to align with the spacing of Cheung Kong Center’s vertical wall mullions. Where the footbridge runs along the tower’s southeast wall, it is supported on a granite-clad concrete wall below and is tied back horizontally to the mega-columns adjacent to the lobby’s exterior wall; no supports descend to the sidewalk level. Stone-clad concrete piers furnish additional support points at the northern and southern ends of the walkways.

CKFpp196-203:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:41 PM

Page 202

202

Construction

Construction of the footbridge involved the off-site prefabrication of bridge bays 11 ft.-8 in. (3.6 m) long. These were delivered to the site, assembled in three sections extending to a maximum of 10 bays in length and lifted into place at night to minimize disruption of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Material Palette

As required by the client, the form, structure, and material finishes of the footbridge harmonize with those of Cheung Kong Center. The design employs a palette of glass, aluminum, and linen-finish stainless steel assembled in a composition limited to horizontal and vertical elements for support and supported members. Glass—used for both railings and roof on the footbridge—contributes a sense of weightlessness. The walkway appears to glide effortlessly across the sidewalks and streets with few visible points of structural support. By limiting the location of vertical roof columns to the west side of the walkway and by tapering the cantilevered members that support its floor and roof, the design pares the footbridge to its HONG KONG

physical and functional essentials, resulting in a utilitarian yet elegant structure. Screen walls of glass—slightly bowed in plan and constructed with frames and horizontal mullions of stainless steel—mirror the tectonic language of the Center’s curtain wall while masking the stainless steel stairs with granite treads behind them. These veiling glass segments accentuate the two major transition points of the footbridge: where it changes elevation at the south corner of the tower and where it connects with the lower sidewalk at the intersection of Garden Road and Queen’s Road Central. A New Benchmark

By stipulating that this new section of the city’s raised pedestrian network be designed as an integral component of the building itself, Cheung Kong Holdings, Ltd. once again exhibited its strong belief in corporate civic responsibility. The resulting Cheung Kong Center Footbridge is both a significant addition to Central’s elevated walkway system and a new aesthetic benchmark for these important pieces of Hong Kong’s urban fabric .

CKFpp196-203:Layout 1

3/5/09

2:41 PM

Page 203

CHEUNG KONG CENTER FOOTBRIDGE

203

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

Page 214

New Opera House Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China A Unique Production

This project originated with a creative collaboration involving singer and conductor Plácido Domingo, filmmaker George Lucas, and LA D. When Mr. Domingo joined the Los Angeles Opera as Artistic Director in , he expressed a strong interest in developing an artistically contemporary version of Richard Wagner’s operatic masterpiece, The Ring Cycle. As envisioned by Mr. Domingo, new and dynamic staging for the operatic tetralogy would use scrims, video images, and special visual effects. The new production would be, in his words, “unique in the land of Hollywood” and “an exciting Ring Cycle for the new millennium”—one that would be freshly staged in Los Angeles with specialeffects created by artists from Mr. Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). The subsequent involvement of an overseas co-producer who would play a major role in funding the production led to the decision that a new foreign venue, expressly designed to accommodate this and other ambitious productions, would be appropriate. With the understanding that the contemporary Ring production would eventually have its debut in this new international facility, L A D prepared a preliminary design for a new opera house to be built on the prominent Tamar site in downtown Hong Kong. Versatility of Accommodations

To accommodate a comprehensive building program prepared in conjunction with staff of the Los Angeles Opera Company, the ,-sq.ft. (,-sq m) facility is designed to meet the most stringent demands required by international opera, theater, dance, popular music and film. In addition, facilities for awards ceremonies, civic events and political assemblies are provided. The main lobby of the complex includes ample space for concessions and lounges, a well as catering facilities for dinners, special events and receptions for groups as large as ,. Additional facilities include donor rooms, also with catering

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

Page 215

215

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

Page 216

216

capabilities; a separate -seat theater for education-al lectures, demonstrations, and guest concerts; and a generous entry vestibule with a box office accessible to patrons both inside and outside the building. The main concert hall is designed with a performance stage  ft. wide and  ft. deep (. m by  m) and an orchestra pit accommodating up to  musicians. Supplemental stages, large rehearsal rooms, and generously programmed auxiliary spaces contribute significantly to the facility’s functional flexibility.

Opera houses have traditionally served as cultural and social centerpieces in cities, a role typically signified by both prominent location and notable architecture. Acknowledging this strong tradition, the new performing arts facility is appropriately positioned in Central Hong Kong on a highly visible site along the shoreline of Victoria Harbour. The project therefore presents an opportunity to create an architectural monument of international significance in one of the world’s most dynamic cities. HONG KONG

rt Road Harcou

Urban C e n t e r p i e c e

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

Page 217

NEW OPERA HOUSE

217

Situated between the -story corporate headquarters of CITIC Pacific Ltd. and the former Prince of Wales Building (now the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building), the opera house is intended to augment existing cultural facilities present in the nearby Hong Kong City Hall complex and the Academy for the Performing Arts. Further, it would be an important civic facility along a proposed one-mile-long (.km) waterfront park extending from the new Convention Center site to the east and terminating at the end of Statue Square to the west. D e sign Challenges

The primary design challenge of the project was the creation of a new civic complex that could achieve a notable architectural presence among the multitude of high-rise towers and other signature structures that constitute the crowded visual landscape of this section of downtown Hong Kong From the tectonic clarity of Sir Norman Foster’s Hong Kong Shanghai Bank () and the formal geometries of I.M. Pei’s Bank of China Building () to the sophisticated

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

repose of L A D’s Cheung Kong Center () and the dynamic roof silhouettes of the Hong Kong Convention Center () by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the city’s island skyline abounds in diverse form languages and building scales. Given the pronounced verticality and multiplicity of building profiles around the site, creating an appropriate building scale and contextual fit presented a formidable design challenge. Tripart i t e C o m p o s i t i o n

The design solution consists of three major components, each individually articulated. A central and dominant ovoid form contains the theater, lobbies, and lounges. Surrounding this form is a U-shaped office building proposed as the new headquarters for the Hong Kong government. Finally, a raised plaza covers service and parking spaces, and creates a new topographic event along the waterfront. The plaza—generous in dimension and appropriately scaled for its civic functions—is treated as a grand piano nobile for the cultural complex and as a major new public space along Hong Kong’s waterfront. HONG KONG

Page 218

T h e Ovoid

The decision to employ an ovoid as the dominant volume of the tripartite composition departs from the strategy of surmounting the primary interior space with a central, symmetrically positioned domical form—an approach that has often characterized the design of many notable civic buildings, such as the Palais Garnier in Paris, the Pantheon in Rome, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and the Reichstag in Berlin. Instead, the design relies on the extended longitudinal axis of the egg-shaped form to accommodate the functional requirements of the contemporary opera house. As revealed in the schematic north-south section, the curved volume—with its spatial grandeur and everchanging patterns of light—houses the building’s main lobby and orientation space while encapsulating the theater. The choreography that guides an arts patron from entry to lobby to seat occurs within this grand space, making use of glass elevators, open stairs and cantilevered ramps, each offering dramatic vistas of the harbor. Upperlevel lounges, restaurants, and viewing platforms of varying size are also positioned to take

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

Page 219

NEW OPERA HOUSE

219

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

220

HONG KONG

10/13/09

4:18 PM

Page 220

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

Page 221

NEW OPERA HOUSE

221

full advantage of these expansive prospects. Defined by a taut skin of transparent and translucent surfaces, the ovoid achieves primacy of form while allowing for the flexible disposition of its internal functions. This architectural parti allows all internal performance spaces to be configured independently from the outer building enclosure, thereby ensuring optimal acoustics, lighting, and seating layouts. For example, the ,-seat theater, with state-of-the-art technical accommodations, is designed as a distinct volume nested within the central ovoid form; a traditional horseshoeshaped plan is employed to achieve optimum sightlines, acoustics, and audience contact with the performers. Four tiers of box seats and balconies provide continuous, well-positioned upper seating levels easily accessed from an open-perimeter ramp system. Backstage, a U-shaped configuration houses support spaces such as dressing rooms, green room, rehearsal rooms, and exercise spaces. This allows the main stage to be flanked by three supplemental stages—one on either side and one behind—to allow for rapid set changes via large wagons or pallets. In addi-

tion, a system of mechanical lifts enables all, or part, of the stage floor to be lowered into a trap room. Control rooms are located at the rear of the theater for lighting, audio, scenic projection, subtitle projection, follow spotlights, and broadcast facilities. T h e Public Realm

The auditorium and its enclosing dome are elevated  ft. (. m) above street level and placed on a broad plaza commensurate in size with its anticipated use for civic, social, and performance events. The plaza bridges the road along the shoreline and steps down to join a proposed waterfront esplanade. Service, parking, and support functions occur beneath the plaza in flexible, warehouse-like spaces with on-grade access. Stairs, escalators, and automobile ramps enable the public to reach the raised plaza to attend performances, visit the retail shopping mall, or simply enjoy the new civic space along the water. An elevated pedestrian walkway also connects the plaza to adjacent commercial development across busy Harcourt Road. A freestanding curved canopy spanning

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

222

nearly the entire width of the plaza functions as an automobile drop-off zone and defines a forecourt to the building lobby. It also serves as an exterior assembly space for special events, allowing patrons to gather outside and enjoy views of the harbor. A large outdoor amphitheater with stepped seating and a portal-like backdrop at water’s edge is designed to be an integral feature of the city’s new waterfront promenade. Just offshore, a -ft.-high (-m) sculptural tower structured with steel cables rises from the water. Viewed from the plaza, this new landmark visually links the new Opera House with the West Kowloon Cultural District across the harbor. Archit e c t u r e o f C i v i c I m p o r t a n c e

Set upon this grand urban space, the Opera House is a memorable urban form, particularly at night. When illuminated from within, the glowing ovoid achieves iconic status amid the towering structures that surround it.

HONG KONG

Page 222

HKOperapp214-223_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

4:18 PM

Page 223

NEW OPERA HOUSE

223

Reptile and In s e c t I nt e r pre t iv e C e nt e r Los Angele s Z o o

Los Angeles, California A nalogous Thinking and Biomorphic Design

One of the most inspirational design processes in architecture involves analogous thinking—the idea that a building might evoke its function through its exterior form and profile. For example, a factory might be designed to resemble a machine, an airport terminal to impart the idea of flight. Because designs based on analogy rely on principles of association, they do not necessarily produce the same eﬀect for the observer as that intended by the designer. For the architect, however, analogous thinking often gives rise to poetically charged creativity, expanding the thought process and influencing the design’s evolution. Biomorphic design is based on the notion that a building can resemble or suggest the forms of living organisms. Indeed, the comparison of man-made objects and living organisms has long been the basis of aesthetic inquiry and of opposing theories of design and criticism—namely, “form follows function” versus “function follows form.” When L A D was awarded the commission in  to design a new Interpretive Center at the Los Angeles Zoo, the design team sought initial inspiration from an analysis of the physical characteristics of the reptiles and insects that would be housed in the facility. Given the animals’ sinuous profiles, textured skins, non-orthogonal forms, and varieties of pattern and coloration, the team adopted the concept of biomorphic design as an early context for the generation of appropriate architectural forms. Modeling: Digital and Physical

Computer technology quickly proved integral to an iterative creative process, allowing the designers to conceive unique biomorphic forms in response to the influences of site context, program, and structure. As part of this process the team also produced three-dimensional cardboard study models to investigate the building’s complex structure, particularly

225

226

the intricate structural steel framing system. Thus, both digital and physical tools contributed simultaneously to the advancement of the building’s design. Site and Build i n g F o r m

The Los Angeles Zoo, a -acre (. ha) expanse of dense trees and diverse topography in Griﬃth Park, is home to more than , animals and has nearly , plants in its different botanical collections. From the Great Ape Forest and Campo Gorilla Reserve to the Pachyderm Forest and Sea Lion Cliﬀs, the zoo’s many landscapes are appropriately configured and planted, and are linked by an extensive system of walking trails. The site of the new Reptile and Insect Interpretive Center is at a major intersection in the center of the zoo, adjacent to the Butterfly Pavilion and Aviary and near Treetops Terrace, the main food service pavilion. The site rises toward the northeast, surrounded by terrain that is steeply sloped and dense with trees and vegetation. In plan, the ,-sq.-ft. (-sq-m) building follows the serpentine boundaries of the LOS ANGELES

existing site, resulting in a plan profile that evokes the curved shapes of its inhabitants. The building’s single story, essentially a vertical extrusion of its plan, is also curved and nonorthogonal in section. The asymmetrical translation of exterior wall planes from this plan produces a fluid three-dimensional composition of concave and convex surfaces that vary in height from  ft. to  ft. (. m to . m). Given the need to provide a variety of microclimates for each exhibit, the building is intentionally windowless and hermetic. Natural light, filtered to avoid intensive sunlight, is selectively admitted to the interior through four large elliptical skylights. The treatment of the exterior skin as a continuous surface devoid of windows results in an explicitly ascalar building volume—an enclosure with a distinctive topography due principally to sloping, curved surfaces and the absence of any traditional scale-giving elements. Biomes and the Choreography of Discovery

With its unique form language and its interior hidden from public view, the building chal-

REPTILE AND INSECT INTERPRETIVE CENTER

227

lenges conventional architectural readings. A small plaza at the southern end of the building leads into a tall lobby that functions as the major orientation space. Here one experiences interactive displays providing general information on the worlds of insects and reptiles and the presentations that will follow. Visitors are then led along a path of discovery. Within the center, exhibits are organized around five specific biomes, distinct ecological communities of animals and plants living together in particular climates. Each biome— Dry Forest, Desert, Island, Rain Forest, and Leaf Cutter—is presented in a display structure standing independently within the larger building. Also biomorphic in shape, the biome structures consist of linear display cases surmounted by a vertical enclosure of curved translucent walls topped with clear skylights. Provided with direct daylight from above, the upper translucent panels act as internal lanterns illuminated by ever-changing natural light. Additional ecological habitats presenting certain species of insects are housed in more conventional wall displays. The biomes are linked on various levels by

a gently sloping floor that lets visitors view the exhibits from different perspectives. As visitors follow the ascending path, graphic displays, special lighting, and programmed audio effects combine to describe the creatures on display and their place in the natural world. At the top of the ramp, exterior doors lead to the main zoo path below. Service, support functions, mechanical systems, and staff offices occupy areas beneath the ramp and the display biomes. This placement provides the zoo’s employees safe and unobtrusive access to the animal habitats and to other building areas. A low-energy ventilation system cools the building by using a natural convection stack effect and evaporative cooling misters. Structure as Vertebrae

Analogous to the fundamental structural components of vertebrates, the building’s primary structure is comprised of a series of parallel, exposed tubular steel frames that are  in. ( mm.) in diameter and typically spaced at -ft. (.-m) intervals. These frames support a secondary system of lateral steel tubes that are

228

 in. ( mm) in diameter and that carry a standard steel girt system with flat seam insulated metal wall panels. The cadence of these exposed frames produces an emphatic visual counterpoint to the fluid curved surfaces of the building’s outer enclosure. Because of their spanning capabilities, these steel bents require few interior columns, allowing the biome enclosures to punctuate the space as the primary architectonic vessels of the building interior. R e p t i l i a n Skin

In the design for the exterior building skin, flat-seam, zinc wall panels carried on metal cleats are applied like shingles in a distinctive herringbone pattern. With their verdigris coloration and skewed geometric application, the panels are designed to resemble reptilian scales and textures—yet another analogous reference to the building’s contents. In shifting sunlight, these scales produce fluctuating patterns of shimmer and shadow.

LOS ANGELES

REPTILE AND INSECT INTERPRETIVE CENTER

229

230

LOS ANGELES

REPTILE AND INSECT INTERPRETIVE CENTER

231

Building as To p o g r a p h y

Within its natural surroundings, the Reptile and Insect Interpretive Center is intended to be a significant contribution to the architecture of the contemporary zoo, an architectural chameleon both unique and mysterious. From a distance, its sloping walls and curvilinear profiles resemble a new land form emerging at the confluence of two circulation paths of the zoo. At close range, the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s color, texture, and opacity merely hint at its function, beckoning the visitor to enter.

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 232

National Conference Centre

Dublin, Ireland International Design-Build Competition

In November , the city of Dublin, Ireland announced a design-build competition for a new state-of-the-art National Conference Center to compete with the best facilities in the world for a larger share of the international business conference market. Deemed a “vital piece of the national infrastructure,” the Center would be both a magnet for the country’s business tourism industry and a catalyst for the city’s economic growth. The competition was created by Dublin’s Department of Arts, Sport, and Tourism, which sought proposals from a consortia of developers, contractors, and design professionals. Each development team was responsible for identifying a specific building site for its proposal. Urban Expansion and Site Selection

As the city of Dublin continues to expand eastward from its downtown core toward its harbor and the Docklands Precinct along the River Liﬀey, the many acres of land currently given over to industry will inevitably undergo consolidation, forming new areas designated for commercial, residential, retail, and cultural use. Moreover, the Docklands Development Authority’s  Master Plan specifically embraces the goal of actively promoting the provision of major public buildings to act as focal points in this part of the city. Recognizing the potential for urban revitalization in the Docklands, L A D and its consortium partners selected a .-acre (.-ha) site along the north bank of the Liﬀey where it joins Dublin Harbour. The Dublin Port Truck Yard, a major facility for the transportation of goods to and from adjacent shipping terminals, currently occupies the site, a portion of the North Quay Extension that defines Alexandra Basin. Immediately west of the project site is the Point Theatre, Ireland’s renowned venue for national and international musical performances.

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 233

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 234

234

Esplanade Enhancement

Dublin is fortunate to have a continuous riverfront esplanade uninterrupted by elevated roads, railway lines, and heavy industry. At the same time, much of this pedestrian-accessible water frontage is rather narrow and constricted by roadways. One of the significant potentials of the project was the opportunity to enhance the esplanade dramatically by extension, enlargement, and enrichment. To that end, the design extends the walkway across East Wall Road into the project site, where it merges with a new public plaza fronting the center. With the new National Conference Centre as a backdrop, the esplanade would become one of Dublin’s most spectacular waterfront spaces. Site Plan

Minimal disruption to the existing truck yard—a requirement for building on this particular land parcel—is achieved by raising the entire facility  ft. ( m) above grade. Dropoﬀ, entry, lobby, and related building service functions are compactly arranged on the ground level. With the center’s long axis perpendicular to the river, its multi-faceted west DUBLIN

façade and the dramatic cantilever of its southern end create a visually kinetic backdrop for a generous public plaza with seating, kiosks, water features, and a riverfront amphitheatre featuring a floating stage. As a continuation of the esplanade to the west, a reclaimed water’s edge extends the entire width of the project site to become an active waterfront promenade lined with benches and outdoor dining areas. On the ground floor, shops, cafés, and a restaurant take advantage of their respective water views with multiangled exterior glass walls that follow varied orientations and shape smaller exterior spaces beneath the building’s hovering cantilever. To achieve visual continuity between the grand public plaza and the building’s interiors at ground level, the plaza paving material extends through the full-height glass walls that demarcate this entry zone. The Generic and the Particular

One of the major design challenges of large conference facilities that must accommodate thousands of people at a time is how to provide the requisite spaces without compromising the

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 235

N AT I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E C E N T R E

235

appropriate human scale and strong sense of place that make a building memorable. Designed to occupy more than , sq. ft. (, sq m), the Centre required large volumes for exhibition and assembly, including a ,-seat auditorium for the performing arts, an exhibition hall of approximately , sq. ft. (, sq m) and flexible banquet facilities of nearly , sq. ft. (, sq m). In addition, the complex building program

called for generous pre-function areas, restaurant and café spaces, conference and meeting rooms, television studios, and service spaces. Importantly, the building’s space planning had to consider programmatic constants as well as the changing functional demands of the future. Dolmen as Form Generator

For this new National Convention Centre, the client desired a facility that would convey both

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 236

236

civic importance and urban renaissance. The design team drew inspiration for the overall building form from Irish dolmens—the commanding prehistoric stone monuments that are found throughout Ireland’s countryside. Thought to be ancient tombs, they are assembled from two or more stone uprights that support horizontal stone capstones of great size and complex profile. Form, Profile, and Material

The metaphor of the dolmen as a form generator in this design is most clearly conveyed in the building sections. Although the major internal volumes remain rectangular in plan for optimum eﬃciency, the outer perimeters of the pre-function and conference room zones are less constrained. As a result, the planes of the exterior surface produce a building profile both geometrically complex and visually arresting. DUBLIN

Rising to the south, to a maximum height of  ft. ( m) to accommodate the auditorium, the building is enclosed by a skin that conceals all but special internal functions. Diﬀering materials define distinct spaces. On the interior, for example, cliﬀ-like walls of stone define the concourse and pre-function areas—which are covered on the outside by a “pixilated” steel-and-glass skin. Within the space of the concourse, freestanding sub-volumes containing meeting rooms are encased in walls of wood to highlight their functional uniqueness and to introduce contrasting color and texture. Building Organization

The building’s internal organization acknowledges that in the planning of international conventions, each event is considered unique. Attendance varies widely from one event to another, as does the order and importance of

the various programmed activities. Consequently, the most versatile arrangement of primary spaces is one that is linear, contiguous, and sub-dividable, with all major functions placed on a single level. Despite its geometrically complex exterior form, the building possesses an interior that is simply organized in three parallel functional zones along its longitudinal axis. The innermost zone consists of adjacent, clear-spanned spaces arranged en suite for maximum adaptability. That is, the spaces may be programmed as independent banquet, exhibition, or assembly halls, or may be combined into a single space  ft. wide x  ft. long ( m x  m). Ceiling heights in these spaces vary from  ft. ( m) in the exhibition hall to  ft. ( m) in the convention hall, resulting in a changing roof profile. Volumetrically, the building’s long axis essentially terminates at its southern end

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 237

N AT I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E C E N T R E

237

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 238

238

with a dramatic pre-function area overlooking the city. Along both sides of the primary assembly spaces are service zones accommodating technical workshops, pressrooms, television studios, a mechanical plant, restrooms, kitchens, vertical circulation cores, and other such functions. The extensive service spaces are thus positioned to serve the primary assembly spaces with maximum eﬃciency. In addition, an adjacent loading platform accessed by ramp allows delivery trucks to enter the assembly spaces directly. Skewed in plan and section, the outer enclosing walls of the zones generate complex faceting on both the interior and exterior elevations. The Concourse

The third organizational zone—a multi-level concourse that functions as the building’s main orientation and circulation space—extends the entire length of the building along its west (entry) side. On each level, spacious pre-function areas, positioned to take advantage of natural light and views, are located adjacent to the entrances to the auditorium, and exhibition DUBLIN

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 239

N AT I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E C E N T R E

239

and banqueting spaces. Conference rooms— most of which are clustered within sculptural forms of unique geometric profile—are strategically placed along exterior walls to gain natural light and views. Architectural Choreography

Four clusters of stairs and escalators weave through the center’s impressive volume to connect the spatially interwoven building levels and present a constantly changing montage of human movement. As building visitors ascend or descend within this space, they experience shifting views of both the city and the River Liﬀey, increasing awareness of their urban environs and the Centre’s relationship to it. The Skin and the City

The textured skin that encloses the building is not unlike that of a living organism—protective as well as capable of responding to external conditions and requirements. Structured as a grid of .-ft. (-m) square modules of metal and glass, this outer surface wraps the entire building, serving as roof, walls and, occasionally, cantilevered floor.

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 240

240

outside. Moreover, the energy eﬃciency potential of this enclosure system could make the facility one of the most sustainable convention centers in the world. Bridging Time

Depending on the combination of steel and glass squares within the grid, the skin may be transparent, opaque or a combination of the two. Where views and daylight are desired, for example, the grid may be configured for maximum transparency. Opacity may be appropriate where views and daylight are not required or in areas designated for service functions. The incorporation of integral light sensors, fritted glass, and photovoltaic panels within the surfaces of the modules create an “intelligent skin” for the entire building. Depending on the choice of infill, the amount of daylight reaching the interior may be modulated in both quantity and location, thereby aﬀecting the “grain” of the skin as a whole. A building envelope that is less than  percent glazed would thus aﬀord panoramic views of the city from within as well as subtle glimpses of the building’s interior from the DUBLIN

Some of the pixel-like modules from which the skin is constructed also feature unique graphic patterns on a much smaller scale—within the glass panels themselves. As one gazes outward and contemplates the skyline of the city, a seemingly random array of dots silk-screened on the glass panels is gradually and subtly revealed to be the faces of statesmen, authors, artists, and other luminaries representing Ireland’s rich history. Over time, new images can replace some of the clear glass panels, weaving the accomplishments of future generations into ever-changing views of a vibrant capital city. Conceived as a major piece of urban sculpture, with a form evoking Ireland’s ancient past and an exterior treatment born of modern technology, this new civic building is designed to be a bridge between the country’s beginnings and its future.

232-241_DUB:Layout 1

3/3/10

12:43 PM

Page 241

N AT I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E C E N T R E

241

BM_10-13-09:Layout 1

10/13/09

8:52 PM

Page 251

PROJECT CREDITS

Photography Credits

Colophon

Aurophoto: 137, 141; Tom Bonner: 134m, 136bl, 140br, 168, 169b, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174tr, 174br, 175r; Paul Brokering: 91, 92, 93r, 97tl,100b, 101l; Michael Fischer: frontispiece, 14m, 83, 87tr, 89, 212, 233, 239; John Fliege: 34tl; Fotografia Felici: 7br Katie Gonzales: 6, 55b; Visko Hatfield: 10, 11br, 12br, 71, 74tl, 74tr, 75br, 77, 78, 79, 81, 93r, 94, 95, 96, 97tr, 97, 98, 99, 100tl, 100tr, 107b, 110b, 111tl, 111br,112, 116bl, 117tl, 117tr, 117br, 118, 125tr, 126, 127, 128tr, 128bl, 129tl, 129ml, 130, 131, 132, 143,146, 150tl, 150tr, 151ml, 154, 158tl, 159, 160t, 161tr, 162, 163, 164, 165, 178, 180, 181, 182, 185, 186tr, 187; Gregory K. Hunt: 22, 25bl, 25bm, 25br, 26tl, 26tr, 27, 28tl, 34br, 36, 37tr, 38t, 39tl, 39tr, 54b, 61tl, 61br, 104, 105, 110tl, 110tr, 113b, 114r, 116tl, 116tr, 116br, 117br, 123, 124tl, 124tr, 124mr, 124br, 125tl, 125bl, 125br, 128tl, 129bl, 129br, 135, 139tl, 139tr, 142tl, 142tm, 142tr, 151tr, 152tl, 152tm, 152tr, 153tr, 158tr, 161tl, 174tl, 175l, 179, 186tl, 186b, 202m, 202b, 206; Jason Huntsman: 7tr, 11m, 37tl, 136tl, 140tm, 143, 167, 169t, 174bl; Timothy Hursely: 8, 31, 35l, 37m, 37b, 40, 41; Alan Karchmer: 145, 148, 150b, 151tl, 151bl, 152br, 153tl, 153bl, 153br, 155; Tom Kessler: 39bl, 39br, 177, 183; John Linden: 133, 134br, 136tr, 136br, 138tr, 139bl, 139br, 140tl, 140tr, 140bl, 142br; Eduardo Sanchez Lopez: 51, 59, 61tr, 61bl, 63tr, 64tl, 64ml, 64br, 65tr, 66t, 67bl, 68tr; Maxwell MacKenzie: 17,103, 107t, 108, 109, 111tr, 111bl, 112, 113tl, 113tm, 113tr, 114l, 115, 117bl, 119, 157, 158b, 160b; Frank Ooms: 11, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195; Paisajes Espanoles: 52, 58, 63tl; Prakash Patel: 121, 124tl, 125bl,129tr; 130tr Allisa Piere: 38b; Robert Royal: 14tl,53, 54t, 55tl, 55tr, 60tl, 60tr, 60b, 63b, 64tr, 65tl, 65b, 66b, 67tl, 67tr, 67br, 68tl, 68b, 69; Scholz Images: 34tr, 35r; Danny Tamm: 198, 200t, Tectonics Photography: 15bl, 45, 47; Tom Womeldurf: 207; Stuart Woods: 15tr, 15tm, 21, 24, 25t, 26b, 28tr, 29, 199, 200b, 201tl, 201br

Library of Congress Publishing information Edited by Roberta Conlan, Megan Pickett Designed by Michael Hentges Leo A Daly production team: Sian Imber, Erin McKeen Sherman, Christine Vanderbeek, Aileen Delgado, Flavia Heupel, Joqueline Johnson

251

About the Author

Gregory K. Hunt, FAIA, is founding dean of the School of Architecture at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania. An esteemed educator and architect, Mr. Hunt is the former dean of the School of Architecture at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Mr. Hunt is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), a Peer Professional Reviewer for the U.S. General Services Administration, and a past president of the Virginia Society of the AIA. A former vice chairman and director of design for Leo A Daly, Mr. Hunt also spent 18 years as a professor at Virginia Tech. Mr. Hunt has lectured extensively on architecture and design both nationally and internationally. He has published articles in Hollin Hillsâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Community of Vision: A Semicentennial History 1949-1999 (Civic Association of Hollin Hills, 1999) the Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World (Cambridge University Press, 1998), and the Encyclopedia of Architecture, Design, Engineering and Construction (John Wiley & Sons, 1989)