Houston Ballet's new Center for Dance, designed by Gensler, has opened in downtown Houston, Texas. Extra Large Image
Houston · 2011.0409
Houston Ballet's new Center for Dance has opened in downtown Houston, Texas, across the street from Wortham Theater Center, where the company performs. International multidisciplinary firm Gensler designed the six-story, 115,000-square-foot (10,700-square-meter) facility, which includes nine dance studios and a 200-seat dance lab, along with artistic, administrative, and support facilities for the ballet company and its academy.
Inspired by a proscenium stage, the building's granite facade frames daytime and illuminated nighttime views of dancers rehearsing, while occupants enjoy views overlooking downtown Houston and Buffalo Bayou. The interiors are visually quiet, with a neutral color palette and a recurrent linear theme.
The building features a daylight harvesting system, automated blinds in west-facing studios, and white ceramic inlaid windows designed to reduce energy consumption while transmitting filtered daylight. Other sustainable design features include zoned air conditioning, reclaimed walnut on the studio entrances, water-efficient plumbing, and low-water landscaping on the grounds. Furniture and ballet barres from the company's previous facility were reused and recycled. Gensler worked closely with the Buffalo Bayou Partnership to link the building to a future bayou trail.
The project was completed under budget, thanks partly to recession-reduced steel and concrete prices. The project manager was Lorrie Foreman of Irvine Team. The general contractor managing the construction was W.S. Bellows Construction Corporation.
The Speed Art Museum of Louisville, Kentucky, has revealed wHY Architecture's design for a major renovation and expansion. Image: wHY Architecture Extra Large Image
Louisville · 2011.0411
The Speed Art Museum of Louisville, Kentucky, has revealed the design of a major planned expansion and renovation. Architect Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture of Culver City, California, designed the project, for which LEED certification will be sought. The first phase includes construction of a transparent new North Building and adjacent Art Park and plaza on the six-acre (2.4-hectare) museum campus, which is located adjacent to the University of Louisville campus and the city's busiest pedestrian thoroughfare.
Designed by Arthur Loomis, the museum's first building opened in 1927. New structures added in 1957, 1972, 1983, and 1996 provided additional gallery and work space, but also gradually obscured the clarity of the original plan. Based on a new master plan, the three-phase renovation and expansion project will create a natural flow through the museum and provide additional space for the permanent collection and special exhibits, along with a museum store and cafe, and spaces for educational programs, gatherings, and art storage.
Work on Phase I, including the 53,000-square-foot (5,000-square-meter) North Building, is scheduled to begin in 2011 and to be completed in 2015. Phase II will include the renovation of the museum's current facility and its adjacent grounds. Phase III will focus on construction of a new 5,000-square-foot (460-square-meter) building on the south side of the museum campus.
Landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand of Watertown, Massachusetts, is designing a plan for the site, helping to realize a vision of Frederick Law Olmsted and his sons' of the museum site as green space linking the University of Louisville and a series of Olmsted-designed parks.
Office dA and Lord, Aeck & Sargent collaborated on the restoration and adaptation of Georgia Tech's Hinman Research Building (1939) for use by the school's College of Architecture. Photo: © Jonathan Hillyer/ Atlanta Extra Large Image
Atlanta · 2011.0408
At the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, a $9.5 million restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of the historic Hinman Research Building is complete. Boston, Massachusetts-based Office dA collaborated on the project with the historic preservation studio of Atlanta-based Lord, Aeck & Sargent. LEED Gold certification is targeted.
Designed in 1939 by P.M. Heffernan, the 35,000-square-foot (3,300-square-foot) building originally housed the Georgia Tech Engineering Experiment Station. Characterized by midcentury design and materials, the building features a 50-foot- (15-meter-) tall high-bay laboratory space. The original concrete-and-steel structure was retrofitted, and the facility now includes graduate-level architecture studios, computer labs, interdisciplinary research labs, high-fidelity simulation and planning labs, administrative offices, galleries, and space for large-scale events.
The interior was reconceived within the context of architecturally and historically significant features. The high-bay space features a historic crane from which a new mezzanine is now hung. A new spiral staircase enclosed in a sock of expanded cable mesh provides access to faculty offices in the building's upper floor, and a 40-foot- (12-meter-) wide guillotine door provides a flexible division of space.
Nader Tehrani of Office dA served as lead designer. Jack Pyburn, FAIA, served as principal-in-charge for Lord, Aeck & Sargent. The construction manager was The Beck Group.
Cannon Design designed Starin Hall, a new sustainable, highly accessible dorm at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, in association with Potter Lawson. Photo: Nels Akerlund Photography Extra Large Image
Whitewater · 2011.0401
The new Starin Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater embodies both universal design and sustainable design principles. Students with disabilities compose 30 percent of the student body on the Whitewater campus, which is designated by the University of Wisconsin system as the preferred campus for students with disabilities. The five-story, 200,000-square-foot (19,000-square-meter) dorm, designed by international multidisciplinary firm Cannon Design in association with architecture firm Potter Lawson of Madison, was completed in September 2010 and is targeting LEED Gold certification.
Twenty percent of the bedrooms in the 450-bed suite-style residence hall are wheelchair-accessible — twice the number required by code — and 36-inch- (91-centimeter-) wide doors on all bedrooms enable wheelchair users to visit any living space in the building. Kitchens in every suite are fully wheelchair-accessible, and corridors are wider throughout the building to accommodate two-way wheelchair traffic. Tactile floor materials articulate all changes in floor level to aid visually impaired residents and visitors.
To encourage energy conservation, each suite is served by a separate electrical panel and has an electric demand meter that displays electricity consumption in real time. Large expanses of glass and multiple window orientations admit daylight to all of the building's regularly occupied spaces. The facility achieves a 28-percent reduction in energy use via an efficient four-pipe fan coil system serving each suite, an energy-recovery ventilation system, and a high-performance building envelope. Structural concrete and steel, curtain wall, glass, storefront, and selected finishes include significant recycled content.
In downtown Los Angeles, ground has been broken for the Hope Street Family Center, designed by Abode Communities. Image: Adobe Communities Extra Large Image
Los Angeles · 2011.0401
Ground has been broken for the Hope Street Family Center in downtown Los Angeles, California. Designed by Abode Communities of Los Angeles for client California Hospital Medical Center, the $15.7 million, 26,500-square-foot (2,460-square-meter) facility will offer recreational and educational activities and social services to children and families.
The design balances openness with security. The street facade will feature a generous two-story storefront that opens up to the pedestrian corner. A yellow frame at the corner will hold a colorful art installation. Behind the building will be tucked an outdoor area and multipurpose sports court, accessible only through a controlled entry. A trellis fence will wrap around the building, adding a touch of greenery while providing security. A wide sidewalk with native landscaping will complement the pocket park across the street.
Inside, ample glass, colors, patterns, and light will be used to create an open, inviting atmosphere. Foundational child development and Early Head Start services will be located on the ground floor. The second and third floors will house community health, education, and recreation spaces, while family meeting, counseling, and administrative spaces will be located on the fourth floor.
The minimum LEED certification goal is a LEED Silver rating. To maximize daylighting and minimize heat gain, the building will be oriented north-south, with fins shading south-facing glass. Other sustainable design features will include LED lighting, cool roof technologies, a highly insulated building envelope, drought-tolerant plants, skylights, and a stormwater retention basin.
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