fragmented MONOLITH

Architecture | Structure | Image Processing

WINTER/SPRING 2023

Visualized as a “mass within a mass” the project challenges spatial and material expectations. From the outside, it appears as a monolithic structure, a unified massing of patterned and fritted glass but at the center, it breaks. A fracture in the rooftop reveals an interior world; an open air mass at its core. Applied to the building's central axis, the fracture guides an architectural promenade below it with a range of programmatic conditions.

In collaboration with: Tyler DeMassa

The layout of the building is strategically divided into three sections - starting with a public space, transitioning into a private zone, and concluding with another public area, thereby presenting a balanced flow of spaces. At one end are public reception areas, including exhibition and seminar spaces and an auditorium. Next are the private spaces, including labs, manufacturing and assembly spaces, separate but visible from the central spine. Finally, the visitors emerge in the demonstration space, a towering room with adapted silos that can be explored on catwalks from below, above, around, and within.

BUILDING DESIGN

The building features a glulam-CLT hybrid structure with selectively infilled stud walls to suit different spaces, allowing exposed areas like the central promenade to glow through the glass exterior. Glulam beams and columns support expansive, unobstructed views across the site. The ground floor is concrete, while upper floors are CLT, with lightweight aluminum catwalks in equipment areas.

The facade is made of treated, channelized glass extending to the roof, incorporating vertical mullions, a marble-like pattern, and translucent frit dots. This design adapts visually with the sunlight and viewing angles for dynamic effects.

STRUCTURE