Studio Launch

Sweet University Rec Center

See this new project at the University of Cincinnati.

>>> Morphosis Project

Student housing seldom gets this kind of budget and this kind of attention.  Morphosis has a way...

Green Roof?

Here’s an idea by Brooklyn’s Matt Gagnon. The Nomad Lounger is a magnetized mobile seating unit that can be configured in several different ways. Our pal Ray Williams in New York, so kind to throw a roof top “event” for me when I was in there could definitely use a couple of these. His building has an accessible roof and for the party we carried up the stairs all the necessary chairs, coolers and such. ..and what a perfect companion to his tomato plants. Some lawn!

I can picture Ray with his own lawn to stretch out on in the middle of New York City…

Holl - Greener Than Green

If you are interested in sustainabliilty and good design, this is one model to be familiar with. The official residence for the Swiss Ambassador in D.C. is worth a look. For starters, it was NOT designed to the USGBC’s LEED standards. Instead, the team designed the residence in accordance with the Swiss “Minergie Standards.” A step above LEED. And for what it is worth, and possibly even because of the green push, the design is of it’s time. How refreshing.
> swiss residence by steven holl

Garden Folly

I have a friend I bumped into the other day.  He said that he was pondering building a garden-folly-modern-automobile-garage-party-hut.  I wanted to encourage him somehow and came up with the idea that he could receive an occasional email from me with ideas/pics of such a thing.  I sent out a request to a few folks across the country and in two hours had over 200 pics related to such a folly.  Now that's very, very cool.  Thank you to all who responded.

See some of them here > Garden Folly Pics

816 On the Boards

 
Denise DiPiazzo sent this description of this program driven project.

Specimen:

State of the art data center on the Cerner world headquarters campus. 90k sf bunkered data center space. 15k sf office space.

Narrative:

In addition to storage of medical data, this is a facility that will be used to showcase innovative technology through a series of exhibits to prospective clients; referred to as "the show."

The clients will enter the "show" on the ground level under a 25' cantilever metal tube "the jet way" to a secured lobby.  They will be checked thru security and a revolving "mantrap" to allow access, via a grand open staircase, to the 2nd level. The emergence of the exposed concrete wall signifies the bunkered areas.  The exterior of the bunker will have a sandblasted pattern of the Cerner code which incorporates binary and DNA code.

There is always a visual juxtaposition between the solid "secure" world of the bunker and the open, light, glass & steel of the office and entry.  In contrasting these elements visually we are telling a story of the private and secure areas they will be entering , that their information will be taken ultimate care of, care the client cannot provide themselves, and the only facility that has the technology to do so it this one.

The clients will arrive on the second level to be greeted by their host in a gracious lobby. They will be escorted into client conference rooms and given an audio visual display explaining what they are about to see in the facility.  The 2 client rooms are each a 30' diameter drum of Venetian plaster and are then wrapped in an undulating warm wood veneer to tie them together. The plaster areas symbolize the binary code, cool and exact machine language, while the wood walls symbolize DNA code, the warm skin, human thought and emotion.

After the completion of the presentation, the clients are led up a ramp in the "jet way" to the data center level. Their views to the outside are diminished to put full visual emphasis on the plasma screen displays. They now will enter through a set of secured doors, complete with biometric hand scans and FEMA rated doors.  They will be led into the inner sanctum, the "bunker" and shown the inner workings of the operation.

From production support; the nerve center, to the data centers; information storage areas, and the massive mechanical and electrical support areas, they are sure to be amazed. Once through the data center tour they will be led back to the lobby where a metal curtain will be opened to reveal a scale, illuminated model of the data center and components.  It's backdrop a 15' square picture window looking back to the Cerner main headquarters office buildings.

813 Cool Project

When visiting the Tampa office a month ago or so the first thing I did upon arriving was to tour the recently completed University of Southern Florida new College of Business.  The design is simple and clear in diagram yet very rich and tactile.  Mostly, I love the fact that the building made absolutely no apologies for its big moves.  Larger than life, yet in sync with same; scale is handled at multiple levels, from the scale of the approach/elevation to the scale of the human at touch...In addition, the materials have a great visual tactility, especially in the way they are woven into the elevations.  A very good project indeed and worth a visit if in Tampa.  See the pics I took at:  Studio813 USF College of Business Pics

Context and Content 01

This is the first of many Context and Content text that synopsize the posted content from Studio 602.

How many times have we heard a celebrity or political figure quoted in print or sound byte complain that what he or she said was 'taken out of context'. The intent of a statement was lost as the meaning was manipulated or changed...'taken out of context'. Context is something that 'surrounds' or frames a language (a text), an event, a situation or an object and gives it meaning. One of our research and design and development (R+D+D) efforts is to study context beyond site.That '70s Video is a crude multi media 'sketch', a montage that maps events over the decade to better understand the 'context' surrounding the 'making' of the existing University of Arizona Law School. What were some of the 'trends' at the time of conceptual design, design development? Why create a virtually windowless massive building with small exterior courtyards? The interior has been renovated so many times that the 'reading' between the inside and outside is lost. What did we learn through this exercise? In addition to learning Final Cut (one of Pixar's favorite media programs), we were reminded that the 70's was a tumultuous decade. A time of great innovation (the invention of Microsoft and Apple), great conflict (the Vietnam War and resulting protests) and great scandal (Watergate) We were reminded that architecture includes the inside AND the outside environments and when taken out of context (through numerous ill conceived renovations)... the original meaning is manipulated or changed. By studying the FACTS of the times we can now pursue a dialogue with the existing building rather than pure rhetoric. Rather than judge and editorialize a 'dated' building on campus, we have a renewed respect for the existing building. Imagine if we had a library of 'decade videos' that could serve as a launch point for the transformation of existing buildings.

Have you ever wondered where the term Sea Change comes from? In what context was it derived? Sea Change was coined by Shakespeare in the Tempest:

Full fathom five thy father lies:
Of his bones are coral made:
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.

In an effort 'to suffer something rich and strange', we created an event and called it 'Maps 'n Sh*t'. Our self professed, graphically blind, former marketing coordinator put together a power point presentation describing the event. He playfully mocked our presentation method and in the process of making us laugh at ourselves, he was able to make something with graphic programs that were 'outside of his comfort zone'. In Illustrator and Photoshop, he mapped out where everyone in the office lives in proximity to the office. Everyday we drive to work. Each of us probably takes the same path every time. Its automatic, it's habitual. We wanted to do something different, something simple to wake us from our hypnotic daily rituals. We wanted to better understand and 'feel' the context in which we work, play and live. To that end, this past summer we rode our bikes to work. You might argue that this is no big deal... people do it all the time. Not so much in Phoenix ... and not so much in the middle of the summer in Phoenix. We identified a three mile radius from our office. Everyone would drive to this radius (so as not to expire) and then ride, walk, run, roller blade, skateboard or take the bus to work. We each observed and documented the path and the events along the path traveled. The temperature on that day was to reach 112 degrees. Understanding and engaging this fact, was the first realization to change. We had to get up earlier... way earlier... to avoid the heat of the morning. Bikes 'n Sh*t is a video rough sketch that documents our observations.

How many times have we seen imitations of native american imagery (kokopelli, dreamcatchers, arrowheads, etc) on buildings and bridges as attempt to embody and document Native American Cultures? The Life Panelithic also demonstrates something rich and strange. In an effort to understand the context for three new buildings at the Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona the team found a community with a deep respect for their history including the rich Native American Culture.  All Native American cultures are inextricably tied to the elements of wind, fire, earth, and water. These elements were the sources of their physical sustenance and their faith. We were not interested in mimicry, we wanted to understand effect. A series of studies called 'sequences' capture the effects of these elements in order to demonstrate display and celebrate them. The Life Panelithic is the first of many sequences in progress. It is a playful video sketch that explores the dramatic change in form as light and shadow move across a series of pre cast panels for the skin of the buildings. This celebration of the sun is another study of context and content. Tracking this movement of light and shadow as the passage of time, begs the question, can this lead to the 'telling of time'? Can a solstice event be explored within the panel structure? Can wind across the panels make the building sing?  Do vertical Striations become veins that carry or collect water?  Could these be examples of 'building science'?

The Life Panelithic makes way for new questions. Can concrete feel like leather? Further exploration and experimentation will tell. Stay tuned as the process continues.

What are you working on? What is your train of thought? Not a finished product but a work or thought in progress? Let's get it posted and open a discussion.

Fritz Morton has been doodling (doodle3) for years (for every one of these, there are ten more). In this case, doodle 3 represents a study for a hand crafted wood veneer Fritz is constructing in his garage shop. Kenechi Sato was intrigued with Steve's traveling presentation on design and is fascinated by knots (some would say obsessed ;). Kenechi meets with two or three people in the office every other Tuesday for what he calls 'Pompidou'. The mission of those meetings is to focus his R+D+D efforts in knots. We are in the process of documenting Pompidou so stay tuned for future posts in this category.

The exploration of context and content continues in our R+D+D. We all need to 'play' more! Hopefully this blog will encourage this sense of play while exposing the process that informs the work.