Nicholas Chilton

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

- CONTENTS -

Natatorium

St. Louis Science Center

A Simplified Office

Slot Canyon

Sweetwater FD

3D Lab

Garden Screen Jakkara

Retroactive-active Skin

Laine Table

- NATATORIUM -

While working as a designer for CannonDesign we created a natatorium to house a local university’s new mens and womens varsity swim team, and recreational pool for the students and public. Connecting to the existing rec center to the south, staying east of an underground utility tunnel and maintaining a pedestrian trail to the north, the building form shifts in concert to the topography and pedestrian flow. Utilizing a simple material palette and conservative pops of color, we highlight the pedestrian, observer, and swimmer experience while guiding circulation with subtle graphics and material textures.

Construction to begin fall 2019.

- ST. LOUIS SCIENCE CENTER -

While working as a designer for CannonDesign we submitted a winning competition proposal for the new public entry to the existing St. Louis Science Center. With a current entry that is both confusing and inconvenient, we created in its stead a simple floating form that functions not just as an entry but also a public event space that in its simplicity can be programmed to cater to their unique institutional needs all while creating obvious formal signage to clarify building entry.

Competition won fall 2018. Construction to begin fall 2019.

- A SIMPLIFIED OFFICE -

In the spring of 2022, EDA competed in a design competition for a new office and training center for a national heavy-civil construction firm. The CEO’s one desire was that the proposed building should be simple, since it is an employee-owned organization. As the Design Leader, I helped EDA win and subsequently began developing an idea that aesthetically looks “simple”, but could still be something that we could be proud of as a design firm.

Construction to begin in 2023

- SLOT CANYON -

EDA was hired by West Valley City to create a Veteran’s Memorial that would be a part of a larger development plan and eventually an event space. While helping develop the overall concept and design, I was tasked with creating a sculptural element at the center of the site. Utilizing visual scripting, I was able to create an element that was directly driven by images of a specific Utah slot canyon. The sculpture invites you to touch and become immersed in something that is powerful, unique, and expresses the passing of time.

- JAKKARA -

A sauna stool built using a typical Finnish material, laminated plywood, and designed for easy replication and shipping.

- RETROACTIVE/ACTIVE SKIN -

With the explosion of local commercial development, EDA was asked to help provide suggestions to a local developer on how to retroactively create an interesting skin for a generically shaped office building. Rather than creating something just “skindeep”, I created a parametric system that was driven by solar exposure, needed opacity, and material variation. The final design responded to it’s surrounding context and consisted of perforated coated metal panels and copper panels that helped to provide the building with an always changing facade depending on the viewpoint.