Architecture Project Booklet: Center for the Arts in Helsinki _ spring 2017

a silent phono

Waterfront Center for the Arts Tervasaari, Helsinki

Content

- land - site - narrative - program - material - tectonics - envelop - atmosphere

Everybody should be quiet near a little stream and listen.

Helsinki in relation to other cities. location | water | culture

mainland | archipelago | island water | connection | access

adjacencies of Tervasaari. view | boundary

a rather planar cityscape. coordination | continuation

the choice of site location is based on interrelation to adjacencies and views.

two of the most desired views.

Temperature Summer in Helsinki is generally cool and provides comfortable thermal experiences with an average of 60-70 fahrenheit degrees in July, while winter can be pretty cold with an average of 20-30 degrees in January or February. A lot of of energy use in Finland is put into heating in

Humidity The proximity to the sea and the large amount of precipitation make Helsinki a rather comfortably humid city. Most of the months are above 80% relative humidity, while May is relatively dry with a humidity around 65%. The high humidity throughout the year make the annual relative humid-

Sun hours Sunhours in Helsinki fluctuate dramatically throughout the year, due to its very northern location. In summer, sunhours can reach 300 hours per month, while in winter months, it can be as low as 30 hours per month, which is around mere 1 hour per day. The longest day of the year is about 18.5 hours long, the shortest day is about 5.5 hours long, and average daily sunhours is around 4.5 hours. The longest sunhours day is 13 hours longer than the shortest day, therefore it is necessary for us to consider design applications to accommodate various daylight conditions and to pay particular attention to how our designs function in

Precipitation Helsinki has a significant amount of rainfall during the year. Average precipitation, from 1 to 3 inches per month, does not fluctuate much throughout the years. However, July through December have larger amounts of precipitation compared with January through June. Most of the months, rainy days can be over 20 days of the month, while May has the fewest rainy

Sun altitude Midday sun angle varies significantly through months, with on average 53 degrees in June and 6.5 degrees in December. Annual average sun altitude is 30 degrees above the horizon at

Wind The majority of wind in Helsinki is blown from the southwest, from the sea, which brings humidity into the city. In the summer, the air on the sea is cooler than the air on the land so the southwest wind cools down the city during hot weather; on the contrary, in the winter, the air on the sea is warmer than the air on the land and therefore the southwest wind brings warmer air into the city.

The average wind speed is between 8 and 9 mph, which is very mild and

automobiles to be parked on the bridge or in the city parkinig lot, in order to promote a pedestrian-friendly park-like setting.

pedestrians and cyclers share the same lane. peripheral roads to be slightly enlarged to accommodate circulation, while trails within the woods remain their current intimate scale.

skyline of helsinki.

the woods should be respected, preserved, and celebrated. the rural landscape is a retreat from urban establishments.

existing infrastructure on the island.

the goal is to optimize built structures and minimize change/damage to the natural setting. existing vehicle(marked in gark green) and pedestrian(light green) accesses shall remain.

access via boats is encouraged by adding a new dock on the southeastern corner of the island, which is also a component of the new development.

N

in the water

by the water

site iterations

around the water

site above the water

The site is located at the southeastern corner of the island, with a view to the urban texture on the south and a view to the park/ zoo island on the east. To get to the site from the city, one needs to walk or bike, with the exception for handicapped people and service vehicles. Situated on the far end of the island, the architecture hopes to be approached via a tranquil, long stroll along the waterfront(marked in black). By retreating itself away from urban hustle, the space offers a unique way of public gathering through a silent reveal behind the woods.

Narratives a nordic sensibility buildings are not solely rationally constructed shelters against the threat of the physical world; they are also mental and metaphysical constructions that reflect the existential sphere of traditions, myths, beliefs and ideals. primiraily in wood in local variations of classicism nordic modernity a human scale, subtle interplay with nature, preference for natural materials and crafts, sense of democracy, modesty, and formal understatement arise unconsciously and diffusely, without conscious intentions Finnish lake landscapes use of undulating sculptural shapes a northern genius loci an authentic and assuring sense of place and rootedness arises unconsciously and unintentionally internalized and embodies characteristics of landscape and culture split of personality suspended between the rural and urban modes of life humility and silence a distinct sense of melancholy sobrity a tangible sense of reality solitude and tranquility -Juhani Pallasmaa view to the site.

what does the island want? what does the city need? what do the people desire?

detached stillness

modest monumentality no-man’s land - Juha Leiviska

atmosphere is my style. i’m not a designer.

I am a composer.

- j.m.w. Turner

- Louis Kahn make a landscape, an interesting landscape, then you make good architecture.

- Aulis Blomstedt

minimalism: have less, be more.

i try to make poetry. not minimalism, not purism. just poetry.

- Alberto Campo Baeza

an unabashed intimacy between architecture and the landscape to romance the object architectue that fell in love with the land around it a slowed-down, enduring kind of architecture - Liso Rochou silhouette of a proposition. modesty | modernity | monumentality

simplicity is complexity resolved.

- Constantin Brancusi

form generation

a neutral room

division of programs

horizontal expansion

vertical growth

a “phonograph“

Support Space Gallery

Auditorium

Program Specification

Support Space

cafe 900 Seating Area Restrooms Lobby

kitchen 212 entrance (unconditioned) 144 seating 480

+

underpass 1,620

+

theater 3386 Underpass / Gallery

lobby 768 gallery 704 lounging 300 backstage/support space 384 auditorium 1230

stage 336

seating 512

egress 388

=

total conditioned floor area 5,906 Cafe

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programmatic iterations

section through underwater gallery site plan

I look out into the landscape; I gaze at the sea on the horizon, look at the masses of water; I walk across the fields to the acacias; I look at the elder blossoms, at the juniper tree and become still.

She is bathing in the Sicilian sea and dives under water. Her heart misses a beat. A huge fish passes close by, silent and infinitely slow. Its movements are untroubled and powerful and elegant. They have the self-evidence of millennia.

-Peter Zumthor, Thinking Architecture

material The sourcing of building materials is based on native timber from Finland, which is mostly birch and alder. Local sourcing of materials promotes sustainability, and also, by choosing timber over other materials such as concrete and steel, the design reduces its carbon footprint effectively.

Sourcing timber locally is also an aesthetic consideration: the linear birch claddings on the building exterior blend in easily into its surroundings and fade into the landscape. In a way, the prescence of structure is “muted�, and the architecture subtly becomes a whole with nature.

material Wooden materials weather overtime; with regulation and thoughtful design, they can do so in a graceful way. One manifestation of wood weathering is greying or desaturation of color. By pretreating birch cladding, we can achieve a gradient of colors.

To prevent wood from decaying, the strategy here is to apply coating to timber surface, as well as lifting wood structure above ground via rocks to separate wood from moisture. The rocks in use are also sourced locally, and are cast into concrete floor slab during construction.

rainscreen attachment

exterior

interior

wood panel cladding airspace rigid insulation vapor barrier wood column gypsum board wood panel cladding light fixture

rock concrete floor rebar drain

south elevation

tarred panel roof

wooden panel roof

transverse wooden beams

longitudinal wooden beams

glazing

timber envelope

wooden columns

concrete slabs

hybrid drawing

Programmatic Based on the orientation of my building, the southern side will be much warmer than the northern side, and therefore I arrnaged the programs according to the thermal conditions.

The lobby and seating areas, where most people choose to stay for a long period of time after show, are placed on the southern side of the building to provide more pleasant indoor temperature in the winter.

thermal Envelop South Wall

Minimize Volume and Ceiling Height

Heat Loss Calculation Since the site is in Finland, the biggest thermal challenge is heat loss during winter seasons. Therefore, I am calculating heat loss Q value to check if the building performs well in terms of thermal insulation.

slop

ing

The gallery space on the north has a much lower ceiling height (12ft.) than the height of open seating area on the south (20ft.) to minimize spatial volume in order to reduce heat loss in winter months.

North Wall into

the

eart

h

Earth The building as a whole is sloping down towards the water on the east, and therefore part of the building is half-underground. By eatherning the building, the soil acts as a buffer between the building and cold air during the winter. Also, the exposed building area with the cold air is therefore reduced to minimize heat loss. As for summer days, the earth is also a good material for passive cooling.

- Above-ground Building Envelope

Wall

Roof

Wall_north = 65x12+24x12=1284 Wall_east = 71x20=1420 Wall_south = (20x30+20x60/2)/2=600 Wall_west = 0 (all glazing) = 1/2(41+62)x63+1/2(41+11)x30=4025

Materials

Windows / Aperture = 1/2x(6x28)+1/2x(6x20)+600+1/2x(12+20)x16=1000 Total Heat Loss (Q) = 8329

North

massive wooden wall

- Infiltration

ACH = 0.85

+0'

(Medium construction type) V = 3150x15=47250 CFM = V x ACH x 1/60 = 669 deltaT = 68-10=58 Q = 1.1 x CFM x deltaT = 42682

Total Q = 44268

Overall, the heat loss of this project is pretty satisfying. The biggest plus for this relatively low Q value is the reduction of apertures on the above-ground building envelope. By having most of the above-ground structure enclosed in continuous envelope, interior heat is well protected from the exterior, especially during the very cold winters in Nordic land.

+0'

+4'

44268/3150(floor area) = 16.19 BTU/hr.sf.

+4'

+4'

+0'

The materials of the envelope is timber on north and east sides, with timber and glazing on the south and west sides.

Wood is used quite often in Finnish architecture and is a good material to insulate the building during the winter. the continuous wood wall on the north will effectively reduce heat loss with its substantial thickness (1.5ft.), layers of rigid insulation within the structure, and no opening at all on the entire northern wall.

Glazing has much stronger presence on the southern wall to gain heat from solar radiation. However, the glazing is combined with opague wood wall to prevent heat loss in the winter and extreme heat gain in the summer. For the same reason, I am using quadruple glazing to better insulate the building from the exterior. Also, exposed concrete as floor finish is utilized to absorb and store excess heat gain during the day.

Aperture

-4' glazing

-1'

The buidling has very few apertures on the northern side to prevent heat loss in the winter. In the summer, a rather small aperture area also reduces heat gain from the exterior air or from sun radiation. However, most apearture are on the southern side to introduce sun light and heat gain during the winter, while helping with ventilation during the summer.

atmosphere Contrast to the somehow rustic texture of the exterior preweathered wood, the interior spatial quality is delicate and modern.

Horizontal elements (e.g.,ceilings, floors) are white and airy, while vertical elements (e.g.,wall claddings) are made of natural-colored wood with a smooth finish. Overall, wooden members seem to be floating in the space, while indicating the dramatic changes in interior elevation. With a gap between wall claddings and structural columns, the woonden veneers seem to floating as well, detached from gravity. The same idea applies to the way the wall meets the floor: the finishing concrete layer is setback from the wall by 2 inches, creating the effect of a floating floor. Artificial lights placed within these gaps reinforce the floating effect at night. Roof members are undulating based on the functions of rooms, increasing dynamics and adding playfulness to the architecture. interior lounging area

Entrance Approached from the west, the building has a relatively low-profile entrance hidden in the woods.

However, as one enters into the space, ceiling height opens up towards both southern and eastern sides, which are right by the water. The formal dramatic change creates suprises as one experiences the space, both from exterior and interior, and the process of approaching and getting in embodies dynamics and playfulness.

Stage Mechanism When light and sound insulation is needed, the stage backdrop is wood panel envelop, which blocks natural light and acoustically sepearates the building from the exterior. However, at times when natural lighting is preferred and acoustic insulation is less of a concern, the wood panel backdrop can be removed and the backdrop of the stage is therefore a pure surface of floorto-ceiling glazing, which opens onto water and provides a beautiful view of the islands. The stage surface also lines up with the sea level, hence creating an effect of the performances floating on the water.

Adaptability The thearter space can be flexible in terms of programs. In the morning, it could be a practice room for educational purpose, a rehearsal venue, or just a space for meditation.

During the day, various activities take place and the same room can be used as lecture hall and theater. In the evening, the space originally intended for performance purpose can also be coverted into a movie theater, or a concert hall for live music.

Can you hear the echo of your steps when you are walking in the forest? Or the mountain resounding with your singing? Earth is so young and unused to the voices and trumping of human beings that she responds in amazement. Tread lightly. Sing gently songs. Do not drown our voices. All beings are not yet completed. Not even humans are fully shaped.

You can hear us, glimpse us out of the corner of your eye. When we are rustling in the grass and moving among the shadows, we ask you this: let us come into being! — Kerstin Ekman, The Forest of Hours