TIETGEN DORMITORY
Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects
Designed by Jacob Mann
PROBLEM To develope a new design for a student housing project.
CONDITION This project had a few conditions that pretained to it. The new building had to fit within land boundries that were already designated. The developer had an indea of 2 long generic rectangle buildings. There was also no set budget in the begining of the contest. (This only came into play after the winner was chosen.)
RESULT Sometimes it pays to bring something to the table that the client does not expect. This was the case for Lundgaard and Tranberg Architecture and the design they developed for the student housing contest. At first they developed concepts similar to the two rectangle buildings the client proposed, however, the final project ended up totally different. They wanted the building to be a place for a small community to live and socialize together. Lundgaard and Tranberg followed the rules of using the designated plot of land, a factor that could not change, however, the over all look of the design was unique and different from what the client had originally envisioned. Instead of two buildings, they designed one that was the shape of a circle with the center being a communal courtyard for all to use. This unique concept was something the client never envisioned, which resulted Lundgaard and Tranbergand winning the contest. The final result was a space where a student could come to live and be part of a larger community. Each aspect of this building is designed for maximum communal living. The first floor has shared rooms, such as laundry, mail, bike storage, lounges and study halls that are accessible for all. As stated earlier the center of the building is a courtyard with lush grass and bench seating. The common/kitchen rooms face the courtyard making it easy to see what is going on there from any floor of the building. As you reach the second through seventh floors the larger building community breaks down to accommodate sub communities of twelve rooms. Each floor shares one of the five kitchen/common rooms that are available on each floor. All rooms are private with their own bathroom and lookout from the Tietgen Dormitory allowing for individual space that we all need from time to time.
TIETGEN DORMITORY Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects Photo by Sarah Cunio
Photo by Jacob Mann
THE CRYSTAL Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
CONTRAST Unlike the Tietgen Dormitory, The Crystal was built closer to the heart of the city and serves as an office building, not a dwelling for students. The Crystal is another uniquely shaped building that was designed with a definite purpose in mind. Like the Tietgen Dormitory, which was created to support a strong community, The Crystal, was created to promote the community around it. Being close to the harbor the architects designed the bottom of the building so one could walk underneath it to get directly to the harbor instead of walking around the building. The exterior construction of the two buildings are as different as their shapes. The Tietgen Dormitory is mainly constructed of reinforced concrete, and it’s exterior is a mix of oiled american oak, copper alloy and glass. Two of these materials will change color as the years pass mimicking the changing community that happens within it’s walls. The Crystal’s exterior looks more like a steel skeleton plated in glass. This allows for natural sunlight to illuminate not only the interior but also reflects sun onto the streets creating a brighter atmosphere for those in the surrounding area. The design of The Crystal is more efficient then the Tietgen Dormitory. The roof has highly efficient photovoltaic panels generating 80,000 kWh per year, and the windows are tripled layered creating an effective thermal isolation. These two factors allow the building to use 25% less energy then the existing standards set for a building of this scale. The Tietgen Dormitory while using readily available materials did not go as far as creating such an energy sustainable building.