Current Conceptual Design
We want to exhibit a basic form and proportion that has both classic and contemporary elements. The buildings are meant to fit within the proposed form based code. They will have 4 different facades with separate functions that are meant to work together.
We expect the most traditional forms to be expressed along Junction Place. This will include a retail first floor feel and punched openings on the second and third floor. We would expect brick to be one of, if not the predominant material on these facades. I would like to see the north and south buildings appear to be two separately designed buildings.
The center portion of the building, as shown in this image, should be more contemporary. Our goal is to hide a contemporary building inside of two more traditional forms along the street.
Building Form
This building is a good example of a contemporary, simple form. The roof form is quite interesting and the second, third and fourth floors mimic traditional punched openings. We are comfortable with one or two materials being the dominant materials for each building and would be okay with wood if we can find something that will last. We could also see this type of a form clad in a contemporary brick pattern along Junction Place.
We could see adding a contemporary element – curved roof or angled roof – on the third floor of the portion of the north building that faces the street.
This facade offers a contemporary feel with patterns that are different but well proportioned and not scattered.
This repetitive, balanced pattern is elegant and timeless. The larger portions at the bottom fade to smaller pieces at the top. Simple but intriguing. Appropriate to consider for the inside portions of the buildings.
This cast iron facade is an example of timeless beauty. It shows that with beautifully proportioned openings, simple materials and one color, you can create a great building.
With one color and a simple mixture of classic and modern elements this building creates a bold design. Retail below differentiates itself from the other floors. The partially open rooftop would work well in Boulder.
The proportion used in this architectural design allows for a warm visual feel. We will have similar proportions along Junction Place and need to be conscious of proportions like the “golden mean�, or in this case a golden mean within a golden mean.
The integration of historic and contemporary elements work well together in the same building because they are used with a consistent scale / proportion.
The repetitive pattern of the windows allows the building to feel uniform even though it contains a unique first floor and a significantly different top story.
We feel it’s okay to incorporate more glass on the interior as long as it works from a sustainability standpoint.
This is an interesting exploration of a contemporary facade using traditional materials. We would obviously have to replace a portion of the windows with metal panels to get to our percentage of openings.
We like the simple form associated with the main portion of the building. It balances between a contemporary form and more traditional punched openings. The left hand portion of the building is too busy.
Bad Form
While we will show other images associated with this building that relate to good form, it seems repetitive and not very interesting. This portion of the building shows what happens in a tightly controlled historic district. While we will need to relate to form based zoning along Junction Place specifically, hopefully we can create something more contemporary and interesting even though we expect it to be a predominantly brick facade.
This building combines bad materials with bad proportion in an attempt to be contemporary.
This building is very cluttered with overhangs, different size windows and too much variety in materials. While the basic proportions of the building are not bad, there’s just too much going on.
This building skirts the edge of good form but is a little to focused on playing into historic character.
This building lacks any significant differentiation between floors and provides very little visual interest. There’s nothing to get excited about here. It’s a great example of what happens when you’re forced to follow the rules in a historic district.
The proportions of all three floors of this building seem awkward. The second floor seems to weigh on the first floor retail space and the third floor seems stretched.
Building to Street Relationships
We want to think of the first floor of both buildings as spaces that could potentially all be restaurants 20 years from now . That means that the proportions of openings and opportunities for awnings need to exist today.
We want the streetscape to feel comfortable, walkable and aesthetically appealing. The first floor should provide a different feel than the rest of the building while still having similar proportions and openings. While this is a residential house, it explores one possibility of setting the retail back from the primary structural line. It could be that this occurs on one of the two buildings along Junction Place.
As much as the inset design shown earlier could create interest, there’s nothing wrong with a simple retail facade for one of the two buildings.
This example uses solar panels as an overhang to separate the building visually. Something like this could be useful in distinguishing the first floor retail area. We also like the simple materiality associated with this project.
We feel this poorly differentiates between the street level and the upper levels. The upper two floors are somewhat interesting however, because of its function as a school the first floor is not very inviting.
Interior Building and Roof Forms
While this may be a little too extreme for this project, it explores the potential to have more fun in the inside portions of the project, essentially shielding a contemporary building with traditional forms on Junction Place street side.
The proportions of openings is what really catches our attention. A pattern similar to this could work on the interior portions of the building or even for the east solar wall.
We like the idea of partial overhangs and set backs for a portion of the upper floor.
We would like to explore the possibility of connecting the north and south building using a solar umbrella.
Take a look at the right hand corner and how it curves to the inside. We could explore this for the eastern portion of the north building. This is a classic piece of architecture, yet the corner is seductive and draws you in to whatever might be behind the building.
The horizontal lines of metal create an interesting, simple pattern. The lattice corner is also very interesting.
We should explore simple forms with contemporary details, especially in the interior of the project and the east facing solar wall.
Again, the interior court is an area where we could explore volumes that project from the second or third floor into the space, without impacting the courtyard on the lower levels.
East Facade / Solar Wall
A slotted facade with a simple pattern of windows could be utilized for the solar wall of the building to create a modern feel.
These are other ways that we could explore patterns of openings in the courtyard or with the solar wall on the east side.
This is a good example of a building that uses different facades on each side of the building. The orange portion seems especially relevant when exploring the east solar wall.