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JULY 2023
DEPARTMENTS
12 EDITOR’S LETTER
15 HOUSE OF THE MONTH: Z House,
New York L/AND/A By Leopoldo Villardi
22 IN FOCUS: Serpentine Pavilion, London
LINA GHOTMEH — ARCHITECTURE
By Tim Abrahams
26 EXHIBITION: Venice Biennale
By Andrew Ayers
33 TRIBUTE: Claude Stoller (1921–2023)
By Pierluigi Serraino, AIA
39 TRIBUTE: Paolo Portoghesi (1931–2023)
By Izzy Kornblatt
40 BOOK EXCERPT: Paolo Portoghesi, by
Silvia Micheli & Léa-Catherine Szacka
42 BOOK REVIEW: The Architecture of
Disability: Buildings, Cities, and
Landscapes beyond Access, by David
Gissen Reviewed by Matthew Marani
47 GUESS THE ARCHITECT
49 NEWS: Top 300 Firms By Matt Hickman
PROJECTS BUILDING TYPE STUDY 1,054
HEALTH CARE
56 Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New
83 Lanserhof Sylt, Germany
York OMA By Leopoldo Villardi
INGENHOVEN ASSOCIATES
64 Powerhouse Arts, New York By Andrew Ayers
HERZOG & DE MEURON, WITH
PBDW ARCHITECTS By Izzy Kornblatt
90 Quinnipiac University Health and
Wellness Center, Hamden,
70 Frances M. Maguire Art Museum, Connecticut DESIGNLAB
Lower Merion, Pennsylvania
By Jennifer Krichels
DIGSAU By Suzanne Stephens
96 De Korbeel, Kortrijk, Belgium
76 Bruce Museum, Greenwich, VK ARCHITECTS+ENGINEERS
Connecticut ESKEW DUMEZ RIPPLE By Tim Abrahams
By James McCown
101 Products By Sheila Kim
51 TRADE SHOW: Coverings 105 CONTINUING EDUCATION:
By Pansy Schulman Design for Aging
52 PRODUCTS: HVAC By Sheila Kim ARCHITECTS SUPPORT THE
GROWING ELDER POPULATION
By Katharine Logan
125 Dates & Events
128 SNAPSHOT: Soane’s Drawing Office,
London By Joann Gonchar, FAIA
THIS PAGE: LANSERHOF SYLT, GERMANY. BY INGENHOVEN
COVER: BUFFALO AKG ART MUSEUM, NEW YORK. BY OMA. ASSOCIATES. PHOTO © ALEXANDER HAIDEN.
PHOTO © MARCO CAPPELLETTI.
Expanded coverage at architecturalrecord.com.
7
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10 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
 From the EDITOR

Professional Help
WHEN I CAME UPON the display by Flores & Prats in Venice’s
Arsenale during the opening days of the Architecture Biennale in
May, I was astounded. There, in front of me, were long drafting tables
onto which the Barcelona studio had piled models of all sorts—from
small colorful cardboard ones to larger intricate wood or Styrofoam
building facsimiles. Also strewn about were drawings on top of draw-
ings, unrolled somewhat haphazardly and draped over the edges of the
tables. Off to one side were more small models, positioned atop tall,
tripod-like wood assemblies, and arranged like an architectural army.
Off to another side, a large-scale model of a theater held court, com-
ing alive with illustrations of a curtain and stage, and animated by

PHOTOGRAPHY: © JILLIAN NELSON

moving images projected onto its walls.
The whole thing was a celebration of architecture—and the process
of making architecture. And yet it felt completely out of place. Why
did I have the impression that I’d somehow stepped outside the vast
halls of this centuries-old Venetian compound?
Much of the rest of the Arsenale, and the national pavilions, had
been given over to exhibitions that went beyond traditional notions of
architecture. The curator of the 2023 Biennale, Lesley Lokko, had
asked participants to show that architecture could do more by address-
ing questions of decolonization and decarbonization, especially with
respect to the African continent. But, ultimately, the results felt like ernmental level. Are architects becoming inept policymakers? Naive
less, at least less architecture. The conventional tools of the profession, environmentalists? Misguided artists? It seems the profession could use
as celebrated by Flores & Prats, were rendered obsolete. (For more on some help, though that was not offered at the convention.
the Biennale, see page 26). The problem about architecture, its role in society, and its obligation
This year’s exhibition—filled with videos and sculpture and perfor- as a practice remains unsolved. That conundrum is well exemplified by
mances—perhaps was an evolution from the first Venice Architecture a new building that the New York office of OMA just completed at the
Biennale in 1980, organized by Paolo Portoghesi, who died in May former Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, featured on this month’s
and to whom we pay tribute on page 39. He invited architects to de- cover. It’s not the building its architect had originally designed. That
sign storefront-like facades fronting interior displays of their respective earlier scheme bridged the museum’s Neoclassical first building and its
works. By comparison to this year’s event, it seems simply and only Modernist 1960s addition by spanning a courtyard between them.
about design, and not about other concerns. But is that so wrong? Local preservationists objected, wanting to keep the courtyard open,
When David Chipperfield spoke to a large crowd of students at the and OMA ended up creating a new, isolated structure out of the way of
architecture school of the National Technical University of Athens the the other two (page 56). But the museum still wanted the courtyard to
day before receiving his Pritzker Prize on the city’s ancient Agora on be sheltered from Buffalo’s harsh winters, and enlisted artist Olafur
May 24, he emphasized professional responsibility. In both his presen- Eliasson to do just that. No small undertaking, as that “artwork” re-
tation to students and his Pritzker acceptance speech, Chipperfield quired significant structural support. The irony is that the museum got
pointed out that architects should provide a service—and that practice away with building over the courtyard by saying an artist did it.
means acquiring a body of knowledge. This focus differed vastly from
the evidence presented at the Biennale, which couldn’t really answer
any one thing because it covered too many things.
The national AIA convention in San Francisco in early June faced a
similar dilemma. I moderated a panel on affordable housing where the
emphasis was less on design and more on effecting change on a gov- Josephine Minutillo, Editor in Chief

12 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
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 HOUSE of the Month
L/AND/A FILLS A TOWNHOUSE FIXER-UPPER IN BROOKLYN WITH LIGHT, AIR, AND ELEGANT DETAILS. BY LEOPOLDO VILLARDI
CLINTON HILL is one in a constellation
of neighborhoods that make up “Brownstone
PHOTOGRAPHY: © KEVIN KUNSTADT
Brooklyn,” where fin-de-siècle townhouses
repeat one after the other, sometimes the
length of entire city blocks. A wonderful
idiosyncrasy arises from this rhythm of bays,
stoops, and subtly varied details—one that is
occasionally broken by a downtrodden fixer-
upper. For a married couple living in a small
apartment with their two children, purchas-
ing and renovating one such property seemed
the best way to give the family much-needed
space and further anchor themselves to the
borough. To realize their ambitious plan, they
turned to artist-architect Shane Neufeld,
principal of Brooklyn-based Light and Air
(L/AND/A).
Leafing through a magazine, the couple
happened upon Neufeld’s airy renovation of
his own historic townhouse in Brooklyn’s
A Z-SHAPED stair with a faceted guardrail
catches light at unique angles (above).
nearby Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. “It
was unlike many other renovations we had
seen, which stuck to the prototypical brown-
stone floor plan with a bunch of broken-up
spaces,” they explain. “And when we saw
Shane’s firm name—those were the two things
we missed most during the pandemic.”
15
 HOUSE of the Month

Although light and air abound in the

3,800-square-foot Z House, categorizing the
project as merely a gut renovation is an under-
statement. Not only were the interiors radi-
cally reworked, but an extensive exterior
rehabilitation and two additions, one upward
and another at the rear of the house, were also
undertaken.
Sometime after the Second World War, the
townhouse’s street-facing facade was resur-
faced with concrete, shaped unconvincingly to
mimic rusticated stone. Today, per client
request, it looks much more akin to the 1899
original, with a restored pedimented entry,
arched lintels, and a cornice (after stripping
the concrete, Neufeld examined the brick
masonry walls and studied old photographs to
redesign historic elements). Despite the house’s
being one-story taller than it was when first
built, most passersby won’t ever second-guess
its authenticity. From the street, only the front
door, with intricate mahogany latticework,
suggests the transformation beyond.
Inside, what was once a crowded parlor
floor with a dingy vestibule and stair hall is
now an open, light-filled family room that
overlooks a high-ceilinged kitchen and dining
area a half-story below. There, in the rear
addition, the townhouse’s sectional qualities
are revealed. Faced in beige brick, the eleva-
tion steps strategically backward and upward,

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16 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
Open stair risers, interior windows, clerestories,
and skylights flood the Z House with daylight
(above and right). Oak, beige brick, and white
walls warm and brighten the interior (opposite).

creating surfaces that are punctured to intro­

duce light into the kitchen and dining area
from clerestories and skylights, and making
space for a green roof just above the parlor
floor as well as a terrace for the primary suite
on the uppermost floor.
The clients, both of South Asian heritage,
requested meaningful nods to this aspect of
their identity, but in a contemporary idiom.
The front door recalls the delicate screens of
Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa; a
communal dining table paired with Chandi­
garh chairs by Pierre Jeanneret accommo­
dates large family gatherings. These refer­
ences were sufficient. “My parents have a
beautiful house, but it feels like a temple,”
the wife jests.
Throughout the house, details are tailored
and elegant—shallow but noticeable ⅜­inch
reveals separate white oak casework and
baseboards from luminous white walls. The
same brick used outside spills inward, creat­

17
 HOUSE of the Month

The rear addition (below, left) steps backward

and upward, creating a green roof as well as a
terrace for the primary suite (left).

ing a neutral backdrop for the dining area.

Custom oak built-ins warm the already bright
interiors. Transom windows—another subtle
nod, in this case to the townhouse as a his-
toric building type—continue the multi-
directional deluge of daylight.
The most impressive aspect of the inter-
vention, however, is the Z-shaped “switch-
back” stair that occupies a 40-foot-tall well,
from which the house takes its name. Rather
than landing at the main entry, as is so often
the case, the stair has been rotated 180 de-
grees, allowing for a continuous circulation
path from the kitchen to the children’s bed-
rooms on one floor and to the primary suite
on the next. The steps, trapezoidal in section
and with open risers, maintain an airy atmo-
sphere, while the inwardly mitered guardrail
catches sunlight at acute angles.
Inside Z House, one discovers many unex-
pected details and moments. “A successful
painting encourages the eye to wander con-
tinuously,” says Neufeld, who initially trained
as a painter. “I feel that this is true of my
architecture as well—space should always
inspire the eye to wander uninterrupted.”
Without sacrificing domestic comfort, this
well-executed distillation of light, material,
and space offers what many townhouse reno-
vations do not: surprise and delight. n

Credits
ARCHITECT: Light and Air (L/AND/A) — Shane
Neufeld, principal and project architect; Jacky
Hoang, designer
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 The DESIGN:ED Podcast by Architectural Record takes you inside
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 IN FOCUS
An Invitation to Dine
Lina Ghotmeh’s circular Serpentine Pavilion gathers visitors around a communal table.
BY TIM ABRAHAMS
DESIGNED BY the France-based Leba-
nese architect Lina Ghotmeh, this year’s
Serpentine Pavilion is a deceptively simple
structure made of glulam beams and timber
posts, providing Kensington Gardens, one of
London’s grand central parks, with an ornate
wood tent. Now in its third decade, the an-
nual Serpentine Pavilion program is, as Ghot-
meh puts it, about creating “a temporary,
smart pavilion that has an intense life for a
few months.” Built on the lawn in front of a
Neoclassical building that was originally a
tearoom and is now the southern building of
the Serpentine Gallery, each pavilion “reflects
on the zeitgeist,” says Ghotmeh. “It’s a struc-
ture that has a message.”
Ghotmeh’s modest but welcoming pavil-
ion, which opened to the public June 9, ap-
pears circular in form—though it’s actually a
22 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
nonagon with convex sides—and is supported
on 90 columns arranged in two concentric
circles. Whereas several recent pavilions have
explored architectural language or sculptural
form (think of Junya Ishigami’s daring,
slightly preposterous slate roof in 2019, or the
Minecraft Neoclassicism of Sumayya Vally’s
2021 design), Ghotmeh’s pavilion is derived
from an understanding of the building’s
program. Within it are 25 small tables that
are arranged to form a single concentric,
nonagonal table; the idea is that the space will
become one in which people meet and eat and
sit together. The café included in the pavilion
brief has often in the past been treated as
extraneous, but Ghotmeh’s design places it at
the very heart of the project. Fittingly, the
pavilion is titled À table, a French phrase used
to call a group together to dine.
While the inexpensive materials from
which it is assembled—it has a pleated ply-
wood roof and simple timber floors—suggest
that the zeitgeist may be short on cash, on a
deeper level the building suggests that the
times call for renewed emphasis on human
interaction, and for some fun. From within,
the pavilion feels like a circus tent. The outer
columns are 7½ feet high and the inner 8½
feet, meaning that the 26-foot-long rafters
slope gently upward toward the pavilion’s
center, where they meet at a set of curved
beams that together form an oculus covered
with an ETFE membrane. Between each
pair of rafters run 16 V-shaped lateral sup-
ports that are placed at irregular intervals,
disrupting the geometric rigidity of the
scheme. These lend the pavilion a slight
organic quality, and refer to the leaflike pat-
 LINA GHOTMEH (above) derived her design for
this year’s Serpentine Pavilion from her
PHOTOGRAPHY: © IWAN BAAN (OPPOSITE; 2); GILBERT HAGE (BOTTOM, LEFT)
understanding of the building’s program.
terns cut into the plywood panels that sur-
round the interior space. This is not the
best-detailed pavilion of recent years, but it
has a purpose and sense of conviviality that
many others have lacked.
Following the launch of the annual pro-
gram in 2000, early pavilions were designed
by notable architects who had yet to complete
a building in the United Kingdom—includ-
ing such well-established figures as Toyo Ito,
Oscar Niemeyer, and Álvaro Siza. In recent
years, however, the program has shifted away
from selecting famed designers and has in-
stead sought out up-and-coming talent.
Ghotmeh is just that. This pavilion has few
overt formal gestures, but it is beautifully
proportioned, and there is a clever rhythm
to its structure. These skills of Ghotmeh’s
are being acknowledged elsewhere, too: last
month, Ghotmeh won a competition to
build a new contemporary art museum in
Al-’Ula, a city in northwest Saudi Arabia.
She not coincidentally describes her win-
ning design, the details of which have not
yet been released, as “a series of pavilions
that are intertwined within an agricultural
landscape.”
Although the Serpentine Pavilion will
stand for just three months in its current
position, it is likely to be sold and reassembled
elsewhere. The Therme Group, which oper-
ates luxury spas around the world, has bought
the previous four Serpentine Pavilions, in-
cluding Vally’s and Ishigami’s projects, as well
as the 2018 pavilion designed by Frida Esco-
bedo and the 2022 pavilion designed by
Theaster Gates. It has not yet announced
where it will reassemble those pavilions, or
whether it will purchase Ghotmeh’s. n
23
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 Record EXHIBITION
Beyond Architecture
Putting Africa at the center of the Venice Biennale for the first time, the 18th International Architecture
Exhibition tackles pressing issues of our time.
BY ANDREW AYERS
IN THE EARLY DECADES of the 20th
century, the imperial powers organized colo-
nial exhibitions to celebrate the riches that
development of far-flung lands brought home
to the parent country. A century later, the
early decades of the 21st century are a time of
decolonizing exhibitions, in which that brutal
history and toxic legacy are examined in a
new light. Putting Africa and its diaspora at
the center of the Venice Architecture Bien-
nale, as chief curator Lesley Lokko has done
for the 2023 edition, is part of that process of
26 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
reexamination, the first time in its four-
decade existence that this prestigious archi-
tecture event has focused on the world’s
second-largest continent and the descendants
of its displaced peoples.
As Lokko, who is Scottish-Ghanaian,
pointed out, decolonization and decarboniza-
tion are linked issues. “The Black body, the
African body, was Europe’s first unit of en-
ergy, the first unit of labor,” she said at the
opening-day press conference. “So I think for
many Africans and people in the diaspora,
that relationship between colonization and PHOTOGRAPHY: © ROLAND HALBE (EXCEPT AS NOTED)
exploitation of resources, which includes
human resources, is physical, tangible, and
corporeal. It’s with that in mind that I ap-
proached these two topics, to understand each
not just as a process, but the interconnections
that are often hidden between them.”
Under the title The Laboratory of the
Future, this 18th International Architecture
Exhibition is once again divided between two
sites, the Giardini and the Arsenale, with a
mix of invited exhibitors and national pavil-
Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey’s recycled-plastic tapestry
(opposite); DAAR’s building-facade fragments (above); the Nordic Pavilion’s
Sámi exhibition (above, right); inside the Giardini’s central pavilion (right).

ions in both. Following Lokko’s direction of travel, the Biennale jury

awarded Golden Lions to two projects that examine colonialist atti-
tudes on the part of governments toward their own citizens. The first,
by academic duo Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti as DAAR
(Decolonizing Architecture Art Research), is an Arsenale display
intended to “profane the rural settlement of Borgo Rizza” near
Syracuse, a 1940 government project to “reclaim, modernize, and
repopulate Sicily,” which “the Fascist regime considered backward,
underdeveloped, and ‘empty.’ ” A traveling installation, DAAR’s piece
consists of a video presentation accompanied by a full-scale reproduc-
tion of Borgo Rizza’s main building facade fragmented into “15 multi-
purpose modules” that, in this case, serve as seating. The second
Golden Lion went to the Brazilian Pavilion in the Giardini, where
Gabriela de Matos and Paulo Tavares have curated Terra (Earth), a
series of displays examining issues such as the colonial act of building
Brasília on “empty”—but in fact ancestral—lands, the “ecological
contemporaneity of Indigenous techniques” with respect to the
Amazonian dark earths that result from traditional agroforestry, and

27
 Record EXHIBITION
the idea that Indigenous and African-
Brazilian conceptions of territory “are radi-
cally distinct from modern colonial construc-
tions,” pointing to “belonging, cultivation,
right, reintegration, and reparation” and thus
to a future that “is ancestral.”
Other national pavilions take a similar
approach: Canada attacks “housing alien-
ation,” pleading for a decommodification of
homes and land more in tune with Indigenous
practice; Australia thinks about ways of
mending the “double rupture” on which the
country is built—“the expropriation of First
People’s lands and the displacement of settler
populations from their ancestral mother-
lands”; while, over at Sverre Fehn’s Nordic
Pavilion, architect Joar Nango—a member of
the Sámi peoples, whose traditional territory
covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden,
and Finland, plus Russia’s Kola Peninsula—
has installed his witty Girjegumpi: The Sámi
Architecture Library, a nomadic project that
28 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
highlights what Indigenous Arctic culture
might bring to architectural discourse today.
The curators contacted the relevant Russian
authorities regarding their Sámi territory, to
discuss a possible collaboration, but received
no response; just across the way, the Russian
Pavilion remained closed and boarded up,
with no comment from either Moscow or the
Biennale management.
As usual, the exhibits on offer in Venice
are vast and multifarious, requiring weeks to
be looked at in detail, especially in light of
Lokko’s injunction to prioritize film and
screens over models and installations (a more
sustainable option, she claims, though that
seems debatable). And, again as usual, quality
is highly variable, though much is worthy of
attention. Standouts include the French
Pavilion, which invites Biennale-goers to a
ball on a stage within a silvery sphere that
evokes both disco and Neoclassical architect
Boullée, with Franco-Algerian drag queens
queering up and decolonizing the country’s
Enlightenment legacy. Germany focuses on
recycling and Britain celebrates multicultural-
ism, while the U.S. looks at plastic, “devel-
oped in the United States as a revolutionary
material” and now a major global problem.
Meanwhile, with his Arsenale installation
Xholobeni Yards, Columbia GSAPP dean
Andrés Jaque examines another American
transnational transgression, highlighting how
the mineral extraction required to build New
York’s Hudson Yards has caused lasting pollu-
tion and environmental damage elsewhere,
notably in South Africa.
With the help of AI (a recurrent though
not yet major theme at this year’s Biennale),
U.S.-based, Nigerian-born architect-turned-
artist Olalekan Jeyifous has filled the upper
hall of the Giardini’s Padiglione Centrale
with his vision for a joyous retro-futurist
fantasy of rapid travel and renewable-energy
generation, All-Africa Protoport, that imagines
 Indigenous knowledge being used to repair
colonial damage. (No mention here or any-
where else of China’s outsize investment in
Africa, derided by detractors as “debt-trap
diplomacy.”) In the Arsenale, Australian
architect-turned-filmmaker Liam Young has
also used computer-generated imagery in The
Great Endeavor, a more ambiguously uto-
pian—or is it actually dystopian?—installa-
tion that shows mesmerizing moving images
of a future filled with monumental machinery
for trapping CO₂. “First-world nations have
colonized the atmosphere with their green-
house-gas emissions,” reads the label; “The
‘great endeavor’ to capture all this carbon will
involve the largest engineering project in
human history.” Nearby, we reach peak bleak
with architect Alison Killing’s Investigating
ANDREA FERRO (2)

Xinjiang’s Network of Detention Camps, a

collaboration with journalists that uses satel- Everlasting Plastics was presented at the United States Pavilion (above). It included Ang Li’s
lite imagery, 3D modeling, witness state- installation of densified expanded polystyrene waste blocks (top). A silvery sphere evoking Boullée
ments, and standard state jail blueprints to took center stage inside the French Pavilion (opposite).

29
 Record EXHIBITION
visualize the concentration facilities in which
China is believed to have imprisoned over
1 million people of its Muslim minorities.
On a far more upbeat note, Arinjoy Sen’s
beautiful Bengali Song caught many an eye: a
30 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
Focusing on maintenance, the
German Pavilion incorporates
work that was presented there
for the Art Biennale in 2022.
large textile triptych embroi-
dered by women from the
SHE Kantha collective in
India, it shows an ecological
building narrative based on
Marina Tabassum Architects’
Khudi Bari (“little house”), a
quickly assembled (and disas-
sembled) wood house that can
be mounted on stilts to with-
stand annual flooding. Berlin-
based Burkinabé-born Pritz-
ker-winner Francis Kéré
frames the housing question
differently: what, his installation asks, can we
learn from how people live on a continent
(Africa) that is responsible for just 4 percent of
the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions? And
how can today’s West African building culture
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be revitalized by that of the past to produce
even more pertinent results? Barcelona-based
Flores & Prats turn to the past too, displaying
their process in an installation that considers
the poetics of adaptive reuse—memory, phan-
toms, and the right to inherit. And ghosts also
appear in Gender & Geography, an entire
Arsenale section dedicated to women’s voices.
In Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the
world . . ., London-based Ines Weizman,
founder of the Center for Documentary
Architecture, seeks the specter of Josephine
Baker in North Africa and the Middle East,
documenting the loci where the Franco-
American performer engaged in acts of enter-
tainment and espionage as she traveled along-
side the Allied troops in World War II.
Meanwhile, with Embodiments: Port of Sihr—
Final Act, 31-year-old South-African architect
Gugulethu Sibonelelo Mthembu rewrites the
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 of “glamour” as implying magic and veiling,
she projects new spatial narratives for Aicha
onto diaphanous textile screens, to haunting
effect.
As can be seen from this (tiny) selection,
Lokko’s intelligent Venice curation steps
deftly round the “let’s save the world” trap
fallen into by some recent architecture bien-
nials and triennials (record, November
2022). Dosing hope and despair in equal
measure, it does not pretend to have all the
answers but certainly asks important ques-
tions, while the intercontinental, intergenera-
tional conversations it begets (Africa is, after
all, an overwhelmingly young place) may
prove far more fertile than the limited reach
of its Laguna presence.
Given the promise of new voices and fresh
perspectives, it’s fair to say that this was one of
the most eagerly anticipated Biennale editions
in a long time—and, given those high expec-
tations, it’s inevitable it would fail to fulfill
them all. Chief among the naysayers is, pre-
dictably, ZHA principal Patrik Schumacher,
New Version with NFVA of 11.03 in /LF
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Foundation
Vents SCAN
ME
Gloria Cabral and Sammy Baloji with Cécile
Fromont wove a tapestry of bricks made of
mining waste, highlighting the value of debris.
who for years has been complaining that
Venice doesn’t actually show any architecture.
Reiterating this claim in a Facebook post, he
writes: “Assuming Venice to be not only the
most important item on our global architec-
tural itinerary, but also representative of our
discourse in general: What we are witnessing
here is the discursive self-annihilation of the
discipline.” Manifestly, Schumacher is not
alone in feeling this way, since Lokko sponta-
neously brought up the issue during the open-
ing press conference. “I’ve heard many re-
sponses to the exhibition,” she said, “but one in
particular stands out. A journalist remarked,
‘It seems to stop short of architecture.’ Whilst
I appreciate and understand the comment, I
believe the opposite is true: it is our conven-
tional understanding of architecture that stops
short.” You have until November 26 to decide
for yourselves. n
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 Record TRIBUTE

Claude Stoller (1921–2023)

BY PIERLUIGI SERRAINO, AIA

A native New Yorker, architect Claude Stoller

witnessed Modernism’s ascent in North Amer­
ica firsthand, interacting with the movement’s
leading players and later designing works that
exemplified its principles. His architecture
was imbued with a site sensitivity rooted in
the universality of Modernist ideals. He died
on May 16, 2023, at 101.
His formative years exposed him to pio­
neering pedagogy through summers spent at
the Stelton Modern School in Piscataway
Township, New Jersey. One of his first en­
counters with architectural modernity was as a
17­year­old assistant to his older brother, Ezra
Stoller, renowned architectural photographer,
for the shooting of Alvar Aalto’s Finnish
Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair. In that role,
he would be present for the photographing of
the Gamble House in Pasadena, California, by
the Greene brothers, the Koch House in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Carl Koch, and
Taliesin West in 1945, among others. Of that
last encounter, Stoller remembered the words
Frank Lloyd Wright uttered when showing
newly arrived slides of his Imperial Hotel in
Tokyo to Ezra and him: “Where in all of
Europe can you see such richness?”
From 1939 to 1942, Claude attended Black
Mountain College in North Carolina, an
unaccredited interdisciplinary school. Central
to this experience was legendary Bauhaus
teacher and artist Josef Albers, his faculty
advisor. From his mentor, the architect learned
the critical function of seeing; that enduring
lesson would remain a fixed principle through­
out his life. There he also learned the impor­
tance of construction. In 1941, he as job cap­
tain built the Jalowetz House, with other
students, according to A. Lawrence Kocher’s

Portrait of Claude Stoller taken by his brother Ezra (left). The Stanton House (1961) in Belvedere,
California designed by Marquis and Stoller (above).

design. Among his classmates in a physics under Marcel Breuer, I.M. Pei, and Hugh
course was Mark Schindler, son of Rudolph Stubbins. He worked as a draftsman in Carl
Schindler, and Japanese American artist Ruth Koch’s office in Cambridge and in the Arch­
PHOTOGRAPHY: © EZRA STOLLER/ESTO

Asawa. Stoller recalled with pride having
shaken the hand of Albert Einstein, a guest
lecturer at the college.
He served in World War II and entered
Berlin with the U.S. Army in 1945. Upon his
return to the U.S., he was admitted to the
Harvard Graduate School of Design under
Walter Gropius and earned his Master of
Architecture degree in 1949, having studied
itects Collaborative at the Harvard Graduate
Center. Following a two­year stint as a de­
sign professor at Washington University
in St. Louis, Charles Eames’s letter of rec­
ommendation to founding dean William
Wurster granted him access to the faculty at
the newly formed College of Environmental
Design at the University of California Berke­
ley in 1957, where he split his time between

33
 Record TRIBUTE

teaching and practice until his retirement in 1991.

In San Francisco in 1952, he founded a partnership with Robert
Marquis (whom he met in Florence) that extended to 1973. Residential,
institutional, and commercial work earned the practice numerous design
awards, leading to his 1968 election as an AIA Fellow. Among his
design accomplishments are the Heath Ceramics factory (1960) in
Sausalito and the inner-city St. Francis Square Community Apartments
(1961) in San Francisco. With Buckminster Fuller, Marquis and Stoller
designed a radical proposal featuring a giant globe, 250 feet in diameter.
The geodesic framework would rest on a pedestal of buildings on
Alcatraz Island as a symbolic monument tied to the United Nations. In
1972, Stoller went to Dacca, in what was then East Pakistan, to design
the Consular Office Building for the U.S. State Department. On that
occasion, he met Louis Kahn again, along with Balkrishna Doshi.
Stoller was very fond of Italy and its language. In our meetings, he
would greet me with Saluti and end e-mails with “Amichevolmente,

PHOTOGRAPHY: © EZRA STOLLER/ESTO

Claudio” and the like. He was one of the last surviving links to a heroic
period in American architecture, and he exhibited the rare gift of deliv-
ering meaningful information to his students and clients with charm
and an infectious smile. n

Pierluigi Serraino, AIA, is an architect, author, and educator with extensive

The Shrodes House (1959) in Sausalito, California, designed by Marquis knowledge of architectural photography. His next book, on Alvar Aalto, will
and Stoller. be published in 2024.

34 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
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 Record TRIBUTE
Paolo Portoghesi (1931–2023)
BY IZZY KORNBLATT
Paolo Portoghesi, the Italian architect and
theorist whose Strada Novissima at the 1980
Venice Biennale heralded the ascendance of
Postmodernism in architecture, died May 30 at
his home in Calcata, north of Rome. He was 92.
In addition to his work at the Biennale—
first as the inaugural architecture curator and
then as president—Portoghesi designed a
number of buildings, wrote extensively on
historical and contemporary subjects, edited
several major Italian publications, and taught
generations of students. He was an “unusual
character in the panorama of 20th-century
architecture,” says Léa-Catherine Szacka,
who is coauthoring a book on Portoghesi that
will be published this fall. “He was a great
mediator and operated with a charm and
suavity remembered by many.” (An excerpt of
the book is included on page 40.)
Beginning in the 1960s, Portoghesi’s
scholarship and restless formal experimenta-
tion expanded the Italian architectural dis-
course. “Portoghesi’s role in the evolution of
Postmodern architecture cannot be overstat-
ed,” says Robert A.M. Stern, who worked
closely with him on the 1980 Biennale. “He
was a talented architect whose built work was
often overlooked, and a historian of Roman
and Baroque architecture, bringing it to our
attention in fresh new ways.”
Born in Rome in 1931, Portoghesi was
fascinated by architecture from a young age.
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (TOP); © ROBERT A.M. STERN ARCHITECTS (BOTTOM)
He would later remember conversations with
his father, an engineer, about construction, as
well as the profound impact of early encoun-
ters with Francesco Borromini’s work. “I
remember seeing the dome of Sant’Ivo going
to school,” he recalled in a 2019 interview,
describing it as “something that upset me in a
way.” For Portoghesi, this was a source of
compulsion rather than repulsion; “that archi-
tecture could create problems immediately
fascinated me,” he said.
Portoghesi enrolled in 1950 at the Sapienza
University of Rome. While still in school, he
published essays on Borromini and a mono-
graph on the work of Guarino Guarini, which
established him as a historian with a desire to
challenge contemporary thinking.
Several years after graduating, Portoghesi
and his friend and mentor Bruno Zevi co-
curated a prominent exhibition on Michel-
angelo that was as much a comment on the
failings of mainstream Modernism as it was
about the 16th century. Both Zevi and Porto-
Paolo Portoghesi (top) is best known for
organizing and curating the Strada Novissima
at the 1980 Venice Biennale (above).
ghesi found in Michelangelo’s work a prec-
edent for the freeing of architecture from
orthogonal orthodoxy—though Zevi would
not ultimately follow Portoghesi in fully
embracing Postmodern eclecticism.
Portoghesi, who had begun practicing
architecture in the late 1950s and teaching at
Sapienza in 1961, launched a joint practice
with the architect-engineer Vittorio Gigliotti
in 1964. Together the duo would go on to
design well-regarded works including the
geometrically complex Church of the Holy
Family in Salerno (1968–74) and the overtly
referential Mosque of Rome (1984–95),
which includes motifs drawn from Roman
and Islamic architecture.
In 1966, Portoghesi founded the journal
Controspazio, which he edited until 1983; he
subsequently spent six years editing the influ-
ential large-format magazine Eupalino, where
he sought to communicate his ideas to a wider
audience. But it was the Strada Novissima of
1980 that would cement Portoghesi’s reputa-
tion as one of the foremost proponents of
Postmodernism—of an architecture freed
from the straitjacket of anti-traditionalist
orthodoxy and giddy at the prospect of delv-
ing back into the history books.
The 1980 Biennale was the first dedicated
exclusively to architecture, and, in order to
ensure a high level of attendance, its organiz-
ers—led by Portoghesi—elected to hold an
exhibition for the first time in the historic
Corderie dell’Arsenale. Within it, Portoghesi
proposed the creation of a central walkway
alongside which a selection of leading archi-
tects would be invited to design storefront-like
facades fronting interior displays of their
respective works. The resulting Strada Novis­
sima, which featured history-referencing
contributions by the likes of Stern, Hans
Hollein, and Stanley Tigerman, loudly an-
nounced that the ideas promulgated by Robert
Venturi in Complexity and Contradiction in
Architecture (1966) could no longer be relegat-
ed to the fringe of the profession.
As Postmodernism began to wane in the
1990s, Portoghesi moved on to other projects.
He developed a philosophy that he called
“geoarchitecture,” which tied the revival of
history to environmental themes, and he spent
over 20 years translating it into built form in
the park surrounding his villa in Calcata. And
he continued to write, edit, teach, and design
larger buildings. His last built work, com-
pleted in 2019, was a cathedral in Calabria
that, like his earliest houses, conveyed the
formative influence of Borromini.
Even Portoghesi’s critics had to concede
that his historical acumen—along with his
ability to navigate the world of culture—made
him a force to be reckoned with. Manfredo
Tafuri, a skeptic of the revivalism that
Portoghesi helped usher in, dismissed his
buildings as “montages of allusions and facile
effects of ‘surprise,’ characterized by symp-
tomatic ease of composition.” But, as Tafuri
noted, the depth and longevity of Portoghesi’s
explorations of history set him apart from his
more superficial contemporaries. n
39
 BOOKS
Paolo Portoghesi: Architecture between
History, Politics and Media, by Silvia Micheli
and Léa-Catherine Szacka. Bloomsbury
Publishing, 240 pages, $105.
This forthcoming book on the work of recently
deceased Italian architect, theorist, and historian
Paolo Portoghesi will be published in November
as part of the Bloomsbury Studies in Modern
Architecture series. Featuring previously unpub-
lished archival materials and interviews, it
explores the role of history, politics, and media in
the making of Postmodern architectural discourse.
Following is an excerpt from the introduction.
The figure of the architect is often that of a
mediator. Between the client and the builder,
between art and science and between the
profession and theory, the architect operates
at the intersection of different realities and
moves across disciplinary epistemes. Yet some
architects, because of their exceptional talent,
play a crucial role in these acts of negotiation,
wearing many hats at once and continuously
J P M O R G A N C H A S E TO W E R
shifting from one task to an-
other. Architect, intellectual,
historian, critic, designer,
educator, political operator,
curator, and communicator,
Paolo Portoghesi has been a
protagonist of Postmodern
architecture who has spent his
life in almost constant motion,
oscillating naturally between
tasks, individuals, and events.
Often described as elegant,
suave, and discreet, these very
traits have also contributed to
Portoghesi’s reputation as a formidable nego-
tiator with the ability to conciliate opposites—
whether between history and design, while
building Casa Baldi; or media and politics,
while operating in the Italian Socialist Party
(PSI); between students and staff as dean of
the Faculty of Architecture at the Politecnico
di Milano during the year of student protests;
or between East and West, while setting up
the second architectural Venice Biennale
dedicated to Islamic architecture.
As Portoghesi himself observed,
with regard to his role at the
Politecnico: “It is true that I was
seen as a mediating figure,
partly because of my age, partly
because I was an outsider, com-
ing from a different city, but also
because of my political affilia-
tions. As a Socialist, I was in a
reasonable position to mediate
between the Communists, the
far left, and the establishment.”
Working between two experi-
mental lines of design research put forward by
architects Aldo Rossi and Alessandro
Mendini—as well as between Bruno Zevi and
Manfredo Tafuri, two imposing historians
who polarized the Italian architectural de-
bate—Portoghesi played the unique role of
representing the commonalities and diver-
gences of Italian architects and scholars to
find new strategies of understanding and
intervention. He traveled as a means to pursue

this agenda, relentlessly moving between
Rome, Milan, and Venice. At the same time,
PHOTOGRAPHY: © ROBERTO CONTE
Portoghesi’s Chiesa Pommer; a “master of fashions” for Tafuri; a
della Sacra Famiglia, “guru of Postmodern,” with as many visceral
in Salerno, Italy, admirers as enemies, for journalist Oreste
featured on the
Pivetta; a “cultural organizer of regime archi-
book’s cover, was
completed in 1974 tecture” at the time of the PSI, as remembered
and includes a by architect and Lotus director Pierluigi Nico-
dramatic corbeled lin. The list of labels could easily go on, only
ceiling. adding to the disparate takes on his profile.
Such idiosyncratic reactions can be ascribed to
the complexity of Portoghesi’s shifting opera-
tive attitude, which transcended the compart-
mentalized organization of the discipline of
architecture in Italy at that time. And yet it is
precisely this polyvalence and adaptability that
drafting table, or the historian holed up in his have distinguished Portoghesi as a unique
studiolo examining rare documents. In this exponent of Postmodern architecture in the

his connections all over Italy enabled him to set
up a strategic network of which no other
Italian architect could boast.
Because of his protean nature, Portoghesi
intrinsically defies any conventional analytical
classification. During the 1970s and 1980s, his
dynamism was uncommon, far from the ste-
reotypical view of the architect glued to the
context, his unparalleled cross-disciplinary
agility was looked upon with suspicion, and his
flair for media was considered somewhat he-
retical. A polarizing figure, his initiatives and
cultural directions were either praised or at-
tacked, welcomed or rejected. He was the
“Scully of the Italian Baroque,” in the eyes
of American architectural historian Richard
second half of the 20th century. Therefore, it is
Portoghesi himself as mediator who becomes
the common thread throughout the pages of
this book, helping to hold together all his
facets, unravel the intricacies of his profile,
capture his core nature, and reposition his life
and work in the broader context of Postmodern
architecture. n

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 BOOKS
The Architecture of Disability: Buildings,
Cities, and Landscapes beyond Access, by
David Gissen. University of Minnesota Press, 224
pages, $19.
REVIEWED BY MATTHEW MARANI
This book is available in audio format for people
with visual impairments.
The politics of accessibility in design are ever
evolving, but the question remains: what if
current perspectives fail to adequately engage
people with disabilities in shaping the built
environment? Take Hunters Point Library in
Queens, New York, for example, which
opened its doors to the public less than four
years ago with a major design flaw: entire
rows of book stacks in its atrium were inac-
cessible to mobility-challenged patrons. Now
the library is the subject of a $10 million
lawsuit by the city against its designer, Steven
Holl Architects. Architecture’s relationship to
ableism, that is, discrimination (intentional or
otherwise) in favor of able-bodied people, has
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long been taken up by
David Gissen, designer and
professor of architecture at
Parsons School of Design |
The New School. His latest
book, The Architecture of
Disability: Buildings, Cities,
and Landscapes beyond Access,
adroitly challenges architec-
tural paradigms in a bid to
place disabled bodies front
and center within the West-
ern canon.
Gissen’s critique is wide-
ranging. The author intro-
duces the book with his own
experiences as a disabled
person—he underwent an
above-knee leg amputation
as a child during bone-cancer treatment, and
wears a prosthetic limb—and, in subsequent
chapters, takes up the handling of historical
monuments and reexamines functionalism
through the lens of ableism, among other
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topics. Of course, Gissen also
points out the dearth of
handicapped designers at the
forefront of architecture and
urban design, who could
otherwise bring their politics
to bear on a discipline that
still needs to probe prevailing
beliefs regarding accessibility.
Icons of architectural,
national, and cultural impor-
tance, Gissen posits, are in
many ways representations of
a past that have excluded the
disabled, and he draws on
personal experience navigat-
ing such sites to question
long-held notions of their
symbolic value. For example,
the U.S. Capitol is one of countless monu-
mental edifices around the world originally
constructed without accessibility in mind—a
point highlighted by the March 12, 1990
Wheels of Justice Rally that saw participants
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with lower-limb mobility impairments hoist
themselves up the grand staircase of the U.S.
Capitol to impel Congress to pass the
Americans with Disabilities Act. (It wasn’t
until 2000 that the ADA-accessible U.S.
Capitol Visitor Center was built.) On the other
hand, the Acropolis in Athens was originally
accessed by a series of ramps when it was built
in the fifth century BCE—but its present-day
means of access, designed by architect Dimitris
Pikionis in 1957, consists of a winding, stepped
marble path and is more of an aesthetic experi-
ence than one rooted in any form of historical
authenticity.
That criticism of perceived authenticity
extends to the “natural” environment, where
sites such as Yellowstone should be “under-
stood as gigantic territorial projects in physical
relocation, management and regulation, infra-
structural development, and architectural
design”—Arcadia, it is not. There is timidity
or lack of imagination in introducing greater
accessibility to these landscapes, and such an
attitude also extends, according to Gissen, to
the realm of urbanization. “Embedded within
the streets, sidewalks, water systems, waste-
management systems, and myriad other infra-
structural elements of cities,” Gissen notes, “are
several key physical concepts that present
challenges to people with any number of im-
pairments.”
While access for the disabled has often been
an afterthought, Gissen theorizes something
of a framework for “preserving and conserving
disability, urbanizing weaknesses, forming
incapacities, disabling environments, con-
structing disability” that could establish a
different set of rules for the analysis of past and
present material constitution. He draws on the
wooded communes on the outskirts of post–
World War I Vienna built by disabled veterans,
and the construction systems developed by
Austrians Adolf Loos and Josef Frank for
impaired settlers without the use of heavy
machinery, as templates to actively engage with
disabled bodies in the creation of their environ-
ments. Gissen also cites recent upgrades to the
Acropolis, completed in 2021 by the Acropolis
Restoration Service, that saw the expansion of
the elevator located on the north face of the
site, and the repaving of spaces adjacent to the
Parthenon with concrete pavers to improve
wheelchair access. His own involvement in the
Acropolis Restoration Service includes a proj-
ect commissioned by Hashim Sarkis for the
2021 Venice Architecture Biennale that in-
cluded establishing forms of tactile representa-
tion, to allow people with visual impairments
to navigate the archeological site.
The Architecture of Disability is a poignant
call to arms to address the omnipresence of
ableism across a broad spectrum of environ-
ments. And, while prescriptive solutions are
lacking within Gissen’s manifesto, his adroit
criticism of long-held architectural ideologies
and his wealth of knowledge regarding prec-
edents for inclusion provide something of
a road map for the challenge that still lies
ahead. n
Brooklyn-based Matthew Marani writes about
architecture and urban design.
43
Find us on Social
 Submit your products for recognition!

2023
Record Products
The editors of Architectural Record are currently
of the Year
inviting submissions for the 2023 Products of the
Year Awards, which salute the best building and
design products introduced to the U.S. market within
the last year (no earlier than August 15, 2022). DEADLINE: AUGUST 15
A jury of architects and designers will judge the
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December 2023 issue of RECORD. architecturalrecord.com/call4entries
 Industrial
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Photo: alanblakely.com

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 Guess the Architect Contest
ENTER NOW! A monthly contest from the editors of RecoRd asks you to guess
the architect for a work of historical importance.

THE 2013 DEMOLITION OF THIS

EXPRESSIONISTIC, 1970S-ERA
HOSPITAL CAUSED WIDESPREAD
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LATE MODERN ARCHITECTURE.
DESIGNED BY AN AMERICAN
ARCHITECT KNOWN FOR HIS
INVENTIVENESS AND AFFECTION FOR
CIRCULAR FORMS, THE BUILDING IS
PHOTOGRAPHY: © CITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (TOP); COURTESY CAROL M. HIGHSMITH ARCHIVE, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS (BOTTOM)

NOTABLE IN PART FOR SEPARATING

THE LAB AND ADMINISTRATION
PROGRAMS (IN THE LOWER,
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47
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 Record NEWS

Top 300 Firms: Gensler Leads the List for Fourth Year
BY MATT HICKMAN

FOR THE fourth consecutive year, Gensler,
Perkins&Will, and HDR remained fixed at
the highest positions on record’s annual
ranking of the Top 300 American architec-
ture firms by revenue. For the 2023 ranking
(based on 2022 data provided by participat-
ing firms), Gensler reported $1.78 billion in
architecture revenue—a notable leap from
the $1.37 billion brought in by the firm in
2021 and reported in the 2022 ranking.
Perkins&Will ($522 million) and HDR
($481 million) also saw their architecture
revenues increase while maintaining the
second and third spots, respectively.
AECOM, which advanced up the list last
year from its previous ranking of eighth
place to fourth, also maintained its posi-
tion, as did repeat fifth-placer Jacobs.
Things shift dramatically not much
farther down the list. Corgan, this year’s
seventh-ranking firm, landed in the top
10 for the first time after ranking 14th
last year with architecture revenue of
$202 million. Round ing out the 2023 top
10 are Stantec, CannonDesign, and Page
Southerland Page, which made the largest
leap up the list this year of any firm with-
in the Top 25, climbing from its 2022
ranking of 22nd to 10th in 2023.
Beyond a few significant departures
and new arrivals within the upper reaches
of the ranking, the rest of the top 25 re-
mained largely steady. n

TOP 25 U.S. ARCHITECTURE FIRMS OF 2023

Companies are ranked by revenue (in millions of dollars) for architectural services performed in 2022. These data also appear in
ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms list, which, unlike our ranking, also includes firms that do engineering exclusively. Find the full Top 300
Firms list on architecturalrecord.com.

RANK TOTAL
ARCHITECTURAL
2023 2022 FIRM, U.S. HEADQUARTERS TYPE OF FIRM REVENUE

1 1 Gensler Los Angeles A 1,784.97

2 2 Perkins&Will Chicago A 521.85

3 3 HDR Omaha EAC/GE/GS/ENV/P/O 481.32

4 4 AECOM Dallas EAC/GE/GS/ENV/P 440.60

5 5 Jacobs Solutions Inc. Dallas EAC/GE/GS/ENV/P 434.90

6 7 HOK New York AE/ENV/P 434.01

PHOTOGRAPHY: CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM, LEFT: © HUCKABEE; CHRISTOPHER BARRETT; JASON O’REAR;

633 Folsom 7 14 Corgan Dallas A 331.18 Building 12

San Francisco | Gensler San Francisco | Perkins&Will
8 9 Stantec Inc. Irvine, California AE 329.83

9 8 CannonDesign New York AE 327.00

10 22 Page Southerland Page Inc. Washington, D.C. AE/P/O 305.00

11 10 Perkins Eastman New York A/O 265.14

12 11 Skidmore Owings & Merrill New York AE/P 258.60

13 6 HKS* Dallas A 254.13

14 12 ZGF Portland, Oregon A/P 240.04

BRUCE DAMONTE; MATTHEW MCNULTY/CORGAN; JAMES EWING

15 ** NBBJ Seattle A 237.70

Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation Nashville International Airport
Wesley Chapel, Florida | CannonDesign
16 17 DLR Group Omaha AE/P 227.30
Nashville | Corgan
17 19 Populous Kansas City, Missouri A 223.78

18 ** MOREgroup Fort Worth AE 219.87

19 16 SmithGroup Detroit AE/P 213.35

20 21 PBK Houston AE 210.20

21 15 Ware Malcomb Irvine, California AE 197.50

22 18 Kohn Pedersen Fox New York A 185.96

23 29 NORR Chicago AE 156.88

24 23 HGA Minneapolis AE/P 154.43

The LIFT Center ZEISS Michgan Quality Excellence Center
Abilene, Texas | Huckabee/MOREgroup Lyon Township, Michigan | SmithGroup
25 20 Arcadis North America Highlands Ranch, CO EA/ENV/P 142.88

KEY TO FIRM TYPES

A Architect E Engineer EC Engineer-Contractor EAC Engineer-Architect-Contractor AE Architect-Engineer
EA Engineer-Architect ENV Environmental GE Geotechnical GS Geospatial P Planner O Other
*Due to an error on their survey filing, HKS underreported their 2022 architectural revenue.
**Data not available

49
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 BUFFALO AKG ART MUSEUM I NEW YORK I OMA

Behind the Veil

The renowned Albright-Knox Art Gallery reopens this month with a jewel box addition and a new identity.
BY LEOPOLDO VILLARDI
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARCO CAPPELLETTI

56 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
FEW CITIES in the United States boast as rich an assortment of
architectural gems as Buffalo. Early American architectural styles can
be traced backward from Frank Lloyd Wright to Louis Sullivan to
H.H. Richardson. An idyllic park system designed by Frederick Law
Olmsted and Calvert Vaux sprawls across the city. It’s even home to the
sixth-oldest public art museum in the country, incorporated in 1862:
the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, known today as the Buffalo AKG Art
Museum. The first major exhibition of photography in the U.S. was
held there, and pioneering collectors like Buffalo native A. Conger
Goodyear made sure that the museum acquired impressive works by
Cézanne, Picasso, and Gauguin. (Goodyear later cofounded and served
as the first president of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.)
Space to display the museum’s collection did not always keep pace
with acquisitions. Over its 161-year history, the institution has grown
slowly but significantly. After a seven-year effort that included complex
negotiations with municipal and state preservation groups, the Buffalo
AKG has just completed its latest expansion: a new jewel-box addition
designed by OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu, which is the firm’s first
public art museum in the U.S.
Understanding the development of the museum’s campus is impor-
tant in contextualizing OMA’s addition. The museum’s first perma-
nent home, the gift of John J. Albright, had been designed at the turn
57
 THE NEW BUILDING (opposite) sits on a plinth
with transparent corners. OMA’s original
scheme, released to the public in 2017 (left).

of the century by local architect E.B. Green.

Although construction delays foiled aspira-
tions for the building to host exhibitions
during Buffalo’s 1901 Pan-American
Exposition, it was hailed as a Neoclassical
paragon when it finally opened its doors four
years later. This temple to the arts was dra-
matically sited atop a hill at the western edge
of Olmsted’s Delaware Park, with a grand
staircase leading up to its central pavilion. On

A GUNDLACH BUILDING (2023)

B WILMERS BUILDING (1905)

C COMMON SKY

D KNOX ADDITION (1962)

E CLIFTON HALL

F GREAT LAWN/PARKING (BELOW)

1 ENTRANCE
B C D
2 LOBBY

3 GALLERY

4 MEDIA GALLERY

5 LOADING DOCK

6 STAFF OFFICES

7 CAFÉ
E
8 BRIDGE
A F
9 SCULPTURE TERRACE

10 PARKING LOBBY

11 PREP KITCHEN

12 MECHANICAL
Elmwood Avenue

0 150 FT.
SITE PLAN
50 M.

A
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5 6

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IMAGES: © OMA

A
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58 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
either side were wings where eight caryatids, sculpted by Augustus
Saint-Gaudens, could stand watch over Hoyt Lake.
The next significant addition came in 1962, when the museum
opened a Modernist addition named for its benefactor, Seymour H.
Knox, Jr. The architect was a Buffalo native who regularly strolled by
as a kid: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill partner Gordon Bunshaft. The
Knox addition consisted of a 236-by-113-foot marble-clad plinth that
extended southward from the base of the adjoining building. Bunshaft
carved an outdoor statuary court, square in plan, out of the plinth,
which became a focal point for visitors accessing the museum via its
new entry vestibule. To balance this void, a solid volume sheathed in
black glass ascended from the plinth to form a square auditorium, with
new galleries and a restaurant tucked underneath. Like its 1905 prede-
cessor, Bunshaft’s addition epitomized its moment in history—here, a
sleek International Style building. Tailored detailing aside, symmetries
and proportions inextricably linked it to the adjoining Neoclassical
neighbor. It was the “black diamond” to E.B. Green’s “white pearl.”
By the time Janne Sirén took the helm as director in 2013, the
9 7
2 3
6
10
12
SECTION A - A
museum was ready to expand again. After surveying the work of 50
architectural practices, a committee shortlisted five firms—Allied
Works (designer of the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver), Bjarke
Ingels Group, Snøhetta (which had completed the museum’s 2012
master plan), OMA, and WHY—and asked them to respond to three
different scenarios. Identifying the strongest design was not the aim of
this exercise, Sirén points out: “Ultimately, we were interested in
chemistry. We were also very specific about who we selected,” he adds
regarding the museum’s decision to select OMA in June 2016. “It
wasn’t Rem Koolhaas, but Shohei Shigematsu. There was great chem-
istry between his team and ours.” Design work on the new building
began in earnest later that autumn, and the following summer the
museum released an initial concept to the public.
OMA proposed radically transforming the courtyard of the Knox
addition into an enclosed pedestrian thoroughfare, connecting Dela-
ware Park and Elmwood Avenue with a pathway that would have taken
visitors through an art-filled lobby. High above, supported on two
massive piers, a new gallery floated above the rooflines of the two
11
0 30 FT.
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59
 buildings on either side of it. But the scheme raised questions among
preservationists, who were concerned about the heavy-handed treat-
ment of a landmarked building. “We were criticized for not engaging
a preservation architect earlier,” says Sirén. “I don’t want to be a
Monday-morning quarterback, but I stand by what I said then—that
this was OMA’s project to design. If we had added a preservation
architect to Shohei’s side from the beginning, the creative dynamic
between the staff here and his team would never have happened.”
Shigematsu was dismissed by the locals as a “rank amateur” for
attempting to tamper with Buffalo’s most beloved piece of postwar
architecture. Some called for OMA’s dismissal from the project.
However, many do not realize that Bunshaft had benefited from an-
other architect’s failure. In 1957, board members had commissioned
Pittsburgh-based Paul Schweikher to oversee the museum’s first ex-
pansion. His proposal, which would have replaced the park-facing
grand staircase with a low-slung glass-and-stone plinth, 250 feet in
length, was not enthusiastically embraced by locals. “May the spirit of
John J. Albright haunt all those who have a hand in this dark deed,”
quipped one disgruntled Buffalonian. Having witnessed the fallout,
the best strategy to address a Neoclassical neighbor, Bunshaft said at
the time, was to “leave it alone.” So he sited his addition where it
couldn’t obstruct views of the 1905 building.
60 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
THE SCULPTURE terrace wraps around the upper-floor galleries of the
Gundlach Building (above, and above, left). Common Sky (opposite, top)
encloses the courtyard of the Knox addition (opposite, bottom).
The museum never gave Schweikher a second chance, but it stood
by OMA. After engaging preservationists and listening to the commu-
nity, Shigematsu took a page out of Bunshaft’s book—shifting gears,
weighing potential locations, and designing a freestanding building at
the northwest corner of the museum’s campus. There, the new glass-
and-marble-enclosed Jeffrey Gundlach Building stands boldly among
its neighbors.
How does an architect add to a collection of buildings, each of
which was so emblematic of its time? The once-familiar formula of
Neoclassical shells filled with labyrinthine rooms has come and gone,
as has the so-called Bilbao Effect. “Municipalities have gravitated
toward ‘tents and events,’ like biennials and art fairs,” Shigematsu
points out. The Gundlach Building thus combines the curator-pre-
ferred white-box galleries—enough to more than double the museum’s
exhibition space—with a mix of flexible undefined and unprogrammed
spaces well-suited to an institution that has taken a hands-on approach
to community engagement.
Borrowing language from the original two buildings, OMA de-
signed the addition to sit atop a plinth—in
this case, one faced with marble sourced from
the same quarry as the Knox addition, albeit
with more graphic veining. A marble fascia
also announces the monumental front en-
trance. Once inside, visitors make their way to
a cruciform arrangement of galleries set
within the square footprint of the building.
“It’s plus-shaped because it’s an addition,”
Shigematsu jokes, but the organization also
recalls the classical symmetries of both the
Green and the Bunshaft buildings. Rather
than rely on service cores, 3-foot-6-inch-deep
interior walls conceal m/e/p, while marble-
clad portals elegantly mark the thresholds
between galleries. In the four open corners of
the plan, OMA has placed different pro-
grams, each treated with a different palette: a
loading dock, fitted with aluminum panels
for an industrial aesthetic; offices for staff,
warmed with oak millwork; a media gallery,
with soft surfaces; and a lobby, with a stair-

61
 case that spirals toward the second and third floors.
With each step upward, visitors might notice the floor’s terrazzo
matrix gradually shifting from a warm pink to a neutral gray. Around
the edges of the staircase, large marble chips artfully aggregate, and
the supply grilles, also made of terrazzo, have been “stiletto proofed.”
On upper floors, additional white-box galleries stack at the core of the
building, creating a double-height terrace that wraps the perimeter of
the building. This interstitial space is enclosed by fritted glass—taut
and crystalline in some places, draped and veil-like in others. The
diagrid supporting it all combines structural, electrical, and fire-safety
systems, freeing up the white gallery walls for art or balconies, or to
serve as a canvas for cross-hatched shadows on sunny days.
On the second floor, an ADA-compliant, 10-foot-wide bridge
snakes around an existing grove of oak trees to connect the Gundlach
with Green’s 1905 building. The museum is now entirely accessible
62 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
(and more porous, too, with four different entrances rather than one).
But this bridge also solves a problem that has long plagued the institu-
tion: “Art museums need loading docks, and we’ve never had one,”
Sirén explains. “Crating Picassos and Pollocks through Buffalo snow-
storms is never ideal.” This new connection allows artworks to safely
come and go through the Gundlach Building and move to any other
part of the museum.
Financed by a $230 million capital campaign—the largest such
campaign for a cultural institution in Western New York—the Buffalo
AKG also rehabilitated its original two buildings. In the 1905 build-
ing, cracked marble floors were replaced with red oak to match those
in Gundlach. Roofs were replaced, and interior finishes were repaired.
Facing Elmwood Avenue, another grand staircase (previously razed by
Bunshaft to make way for a parking lot) has been restored, and parking
has been placed underground. It was a technically challenging endeav-
DOWNTOWN BUFFALO is visible from the third floor (opposite, top). that’s what makes it contemporary.” The new building strikes a middle
Galleries feature marble portals and slender cruciform columns (opposite, ground in that perennial tussle between architects and curators, be-
bottom, both). In the evening, the Gundlach Building glows (above). tween museums designed to showcase the works on display and those
designed to be displays in and of themselves, and between serving the
or, as executive architect Cooper Robertson senior associate Jason community and advancing institutional goals. It is humble, but also
Cadorette points out: “We were working on three different buildings, proud—and in a city that just experienced its first census growth in
from three different centuries, each with its own set of construction 70 years, the museum has positioned itself well to be a regional game
techniques.” changer. n
Despite the initial brouhaha over OMA’s original proposal, the
museum continued its dialogue with the Buffalo Preservation Board
and the New York State Historic Preservation Office to sensitively Credits Sources
enclose the courtyard of the Knox addition (rendering it hospitable ARCHITECT: OMA — Shohei MASONRY: Vermont Quarries
Shigematsu, partner; Lawrence Siu, CURTAIN WALL: Roschmann Group
during harsh Buffalo winters) and to add a new entrance facing the Paxton Sheldahl, project architects
park. Common Sky, a site-specific installation by artist Olafur Eliasson EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT: Cooper
GLAZING: Glasbel
and architect Sebastian Behmann, now covers the space, which houses Robertson — Jason Cadorette, DOORS: Blasi (entrances);
a café and adjoins new classrooms. Its tessellated glass skin, similar in project manager; Erin Flynn, Steelcraft (metal doors); Overhead
partner; Scott Newman, director Door (upswinging doors)
ways to Gundlach’s, gently rises before falling asymmetrically into a
ENGINEERS: Arup (structural); INTERIOR FINISHES: Armstrong
funnel over a single point in the courtyard—where a tree once stood. (acoustical ceilings); Sherwin-
Buro Happold (m/e/p); Wendel
Inside, alternating triangular acoustic panels, coated with a perforated (civil); Thornton Thomasetti Williams (paints/stains); Crane
reflective film, dampen sound and make for a dazzling effect that (facade/waterproofing); McMahon Composites (paneling); Formica
(plastic laminate); 3 Form (special
changes over the course of the day. Many joke that realizing Common & Mann (geotechnical)
surfacing); Dal-Tile, Porcelanosa
Sky was made easier because it is an artwork and not architecture, but CONSULTANTS: MVVA, Wendel (floor/wall tile); Formglas (GFRG);
(landscape); Litelab (lighting); Jaffe Mohawk, Bentley (carpet)
extensive structural upgrades were required to support snow loads.
Holden (acoustics); Paul Battaglia
New beams were inconspicuously installed above original columns, (code); Preservation Studios HARDWARE: Dorma (locksets)
which also had to be reinforced with piles that extend, in some cases, (historic preservation) LIGHTING: Lutron (controls)
60 feet down into bedrock. GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Gilbane PLUMBING: Duravit, Lacava
Perhaps OMA’s original proposal was a misstep; perhaps not build- CLIENT: Buffalo AKG Art Museum ENERGY: Colmac (heat pump);
ing it was a missed opportunity. But the conversation that ensued SIZE: 118,000 square feet (new); Schneider Electric Ecostructure
28,300 square feet (renovation) (energy management)
brought constituents together, productively. “There are moments in the
design that are conservative,” Shigematsu readily concedes, “but others COST: $195 million
that are experimental. It’s a mixture of language and ambition, and COMPLETION DATE: July 2023

63
 POWERHOUSE ARTS I NEW YORK I HERZOG & DE MEURON WITH PBDW ARCHITECTS
Power Move
An abandoned turbine hall in Brooklyn finds new life as a facility for art fabrication.
BY IZZY KORNBLATT
AS AN ARCHITECTUR AL solution to the problem
of how to turn a disused power station along Brooklyn’s
Gowanus Canal into a set of art-fabrication studios,
Powerhouse Arts is an impressive feat. Designed by
Herzog & de Meuron with New York–based PBDW
Architects, the 170,000-square-foot complex ties to-
gether the existing century-old Romanesque building’s
vast and formerly decrepit turbine hall, which has been
divided vertically into two floors topped by a double-
height “grand hall,” with a new six-story structure built
atop the adjacent foundations of the station’s long-ago-
demolished boiler house.
In the manner one might expect of Herzog & de
Meuron—the same firm that famously transformed
London’s Bankside Power Station into the Tate
Modern—much attention has been paid to the sequence
of spaces that carries staff and visitors into and through
the building. An inconspicuous entrance cut into the
turbine hall’s east elevation draws you through a com-
pressed, wood-clad vestibule and into a lobby backed by a
monolithic expanse of concrete: immediately, the extent to
which the building has been remade becomes clear. Above
a reception desk along the concrete wall, a narrow steel
64 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
stair rises upward past the second floor to the third, where
through a small opening some 75 feet in the air, a slice of
blue sky is visible, framed by a set of red roof trusses.
From the lobby, you can either proceed up the vertigi-
nous stair to the grand hall or pass into the new structure,
where a long corridor provides access to elevators and
stairs leading to the various studios. The grand hall, with
its monumental row of windows, clerestories, and hefty
trusses, holds the memory of the turbines that once pow-
ered Brooklyn’s subways; notched into its graffiti-covered
brick walls are dozens of chases in which heavy-duty
wiring once ran. At nearly 20,000 square feet, the hall
will be useful for events and for staging large-scale art-
works, and it makes for a fitting culmination to Herzog &
de Meuron’s promenade architecturale. But it is the studios
in which the architects seem, justifiably, to take the most
pride. These include an airy ceramics studio, a two-level
print shop, and a multidisciplinary studio dedicated to the
creation of public art, plus shops for textiles and wood,
and two for metal (one large and one small) that have not
yet been completed. Most are filled with northern light,
and each is, or will be, outfitted with all manner of fabri-
cation equipment.
PHOTOGRAPHY: © ALBERT VECERKA/ESTO (2); IWAN BAAN (LEFT)
POWERHOUSE ARTS sits on Brooklyn’s Gowanus
Canal (opposite, right and this image). Extraction
equipment is visible by the entrance (opposite, left).

65
 THE TURBINE HALL underwent an extensive process of disassembly,
remediation, and reconstruction (left). Its upper level was ultimately
turned into a sweeping “grand hall” (opposite).

Where necessary, particularly in the ceramics and wood shops,

advanced extraction systems have been installed to remove contami-
nants from the air. These and other mechanical systems required to
support the studios—from compressed air to inflated fabric HVAC
diffusers (“ductsox”) that prevent air gusts—demanded tight coordi-
nation between the design team and subcontractors. The intertwined
network of pipes, ducts, and conduits exposed overhead has a beauty
befitting this complex choreography; the systems, as PBDW associate
Tory Cuddy puts it, have been “elevated to an artistic level.”
Within the studios, flexibility rules: apart from a regular grid of
columns and the new structure’s core, little or nothing is permanently
fixed. The building is “a piece of infrastructure that can be used in
many different ways,” says Herzog & de Meuron partner Ascan
Mergenthaler, who led the project from Basel in concert with New
York–based associate Philip Schmerbeck, and it is to the firm’s credit

14 4
10

5
9 15
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4 4

8 7 12 12 12

5
9 2 1 4 11

6 13 4
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SECOND-FLOOR PLAN
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PHOTOGRAPHY: © ALBERT VECERKA/ESTO (TOP); IWAN BAAN (OPPOSITE)

1 ENTRANCE 11 SMALL HALL
20
20
19 21 2 LOBBY 12 CLASSROOM

3 CAFÉ 13 MEETING ROOM

4 OFFICE 14 STAFF LOUNGE

18 5 METAL SHOP 15 STORAGE

6 6 PRINT SHOP 16 GRAND HALL

7 DIGITAL FABRICATION 17 LOFT/EVENT HALL

6
8 FLEX SPACE 18 CERAMIC STUDIO
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9 LOADING & RECEIVING 19 MECHANICAL BULKHEAD
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66 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
that the claim feels eminently true. The only obvious flourish within
the new building is its interior glazing, framed in galvanized steel,
which turns even a walk to the bathroom into an opportunity to
observe art in the making. Outside, the pragmatic approach contin-
ues. Herzog & de Meuron’s pink cast-in-place concrete facade, into
which arched windows recalling those of the demolished boiler house
are punched, betrays no sense of excess (though its execution, with
two thermally separated layers and aggregate matching the adjacent
brick, is impressive). Behind a sizable parking and loading area at the
back of the building is a matter-of-fact strip of landscaping along the
canal frontage. The work of Ken Smith Workshop, this landscape
helps protect the site from flooding and keeps space open for a future
public walkway.
It’s clear enough that Powerhouse is a place where art will be made.
How it will operate, however, has not yet been fully decided. The
philanthropist Joshua Rechnitz founded Powerhouse Arts in 2015 as
part of his plan to repurpose the power station, and, though it began
some operations off-site before the project was completed, the organi-
zation is only now figuring out how to become self-sustaining.
Rechnitz, who has reportedly given $180 million to the effort, ini-
tially sought to turn the building into artist studios but later decided
instead to pursue the aim of offering the advanced fabrication capa-
bilities required for complex artworks. Powerhouse, that is to say, is
no community art space; the building is not even open to the public
except during select events.
In the ceramics studio, artists who meet certain requirements can
purchase memberships that provide facility access, but, as of yet, no
such programs exist in the other shops. They operate instead on a
fee-for-service model, where artists work with Powerhouse staff—
artists in their own right—to fabricate works on their behalf. In
addition, the larger of the two metal shops will be leased out to a
for-profit metal fabricator, Workspace11, which fabricated the fram-
ing for the interior windows.
Powerhouse Arts director Eric Shiner, who previously led the
Andy Warhol Foundation, says that the “whole reason we exist is so
that artists can stay in New York,” and toward this aim the organiza-
tion has tracked down more than 400 artists in Gowanus that Shiner
hopes to work with. This seems like a good place to start, but much
will depend on Powerhouse’s effect on the broader fabrication market.
Within New York, there already exists a network of small-scale
fabricators, not all of which will be able to partner with Powerhouse
in the manner of Workspace11. If Shiner is serious about the proposi-
tion of keeping art fabrication in New York, he will need to be aware
of the fact that Powerhouse could represent tough competition for
these firms, and be open to adjusting its business model accordingly.
And what will the opening of this new building and business mean
67
 A STAIR rises above the lobby (left). The
ceramics shop gets extensive northern light
(middle, left), and the print shop overlooks a
double-height event space (bottom, left and
opposite, top).

for Gowanus? Shiner suggests that Power­

house will help keep the neighborhood’s
manufacturing legacy alive even as costly
residential towers rise all around the canal,
and much of the rhetoric employed by backers
of the project has emphasized this point. But
Powerhouse’s notion of “industrial” is of the
chic, curated variety, and as such represents
change rather than continuity for the area.
Consider the graffiti that adorns the interiors
of the turbine hall, a relic of decades of aban­
donment. Mindful of the pitfalls of erasing
this history on the one hand and of fetishizing
it on the other, Powerhouse’s leaders have
thoughtfully opted to leave much of the
graffiti intact, erase parts of it when necessary,
and even to commission select artists to add to
it. Nonetheless, the very fact that Powerhouse
leaders now speak of “commissioning” graf­
fiti, and that the graffiti is seen in a “grand
hall,” illustrates that the change undergone by
the building, and by the neighborhood, is
irrevocable—though not necessarily unwel­
come. Powerhouse has created well­paying
jobs, and has, at no small cost, returned a
badly polluted site to productive use.
In a speech at Powerhouse’s opening,
Rechnitz derided what he referred to as the
“art fair industrial complex.” But Powerhouse
itself aims to become a place where the kind
of work on display at art fairs, and even in
museums, is fabricated. Similarly, no matter
how hard it strives to keep manufacturing in
Gowanus, Powerhouse is a marker of the
wealth arriving in the neighborhood; its
attempts to position itself as heir to an indus­

PHOTOGRAPHY: © IWAN BAAN (4); ALBERT VECERKA/ESTO (OPPOSITE, TOP)

trial legacy succeed only in highlighting the
impossible divide that separates this mon­
eyed cultural institution from the factories
and chemical plants that once operated
alongside the canal. Herzog & de Meuron’s
stark pink facades give this contradiction
poetic built form. Even as the new building
matches the color, scale, and round arches of
the existing turbine hall, the monumental
blankness of its exterior betrays an acute
awareness that the industrial ethos repre­
sented by the turbine hall has been reduced
to an aesthetic. In the gap that separates the
new from the old is nostalgia for a vanishing
way of life, and a sober acknowledgment that
the past can be referenced, and gestured to,
but not relived. n

68 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
Credits
ARCHITECT: Herzog & de
Meuron — Ascan Mergenthaler,
partner in charge; Philip
Schmerbeck, associate and
project director; Jack Brough,
project manager, Sam Zeif,
project architect
EXECUTIVE/PRESERVATION
ARCHITECT: PBDW Architects
— James Seger, partner in
charge; Tory Cuddy, associate
and project manager; Catherine
Zagalis, project architect
ENGINEERS: Buro Happold
(m/e/p); Silman (structural)
CONSULTANTS: Ken Smith
Workshop (landscape); Roux
(environmental); Eckersley
O’Callaghan (facade); ICR-ICC,
Eugene Architecture (masonry
conservation)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Urban Atelier Group
OWNER: Powerhouse Arts
SIZE: 170,000 square feet
COST: $180 million (total)
COMPLETION DATE: May 2023
Sources
EXTERIOR CLADDING: The
Belden Brick Company, Glen-
Gery (masonry); StructureTech
New York, U.S. Concrete (cast-
in-place concrete)
ROOFING: EPIC Metals
(acoustic roof deck); Siplast
(built-up roofing)
WINDOWS & SKYLIGHTS:
PICHLER Projects
INTERIOR FINISHES: Sherwin-
Williams (paints and stains);
Armstrong (acoustical ceilings);
PGS Millwork (cabinetry,
woodwork); Workspace11
(paneling)
LIGHTING: B-K Lighting
(exterior); Louis Poulsen
(exterior catenary)
PLUMBING: Bradley, Haws
(emergency eyewash and
shower); T&S Brass and Bronze
Works, Elkay (faucets)
ENERGY MANAGEMENT:
Delta Controls
HARDWARE: Schlage (locksets,
pulls); Falcon (closers); Von
Duprin (exit devices) GOWANUS, the neighborhood around Powerhouse Arts, is rapidly changing.
69
 FRANCES M. MAGUIRE ART MUSEUM I LOWER MERION, PENNSYLVANIA I DIGSAU
Classical Comeback
DIGSAU turned the former Paul Cret–designed Barnes Foundation into a university art museum.
BY SUZANNE STEPHENS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY HALKIN MASON
MANY ASSUMED that the Barnes Foundation’s move from Lower
Merion, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, to the Benjamin Franklin
Parkway within the city, was misbegotten. It meant stripping the
vaunted collection of Picassos, Van Goghs, Matisses, and all those
Renoirs from the sedately classical museum setting that Paul Cret had
created for Albert Barnes in 1925. How could a new modern home,
designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in 2012, possibly
accommodate the artwork without a sense of rupture—especially
considering Barnes’s vehement mandate about keeping it all intact? Yet,
the Williams Tsien solution has been greeted surprisingly well, in
terms of response from critics and the public. The lingering question,
however, has been: what would happen to Cret’s building in Lower
Merion? And who would keep up the arboretum on its 12-acre prop-
erty, which Barnes’s wife, Laura, had tended to for so long? The Barnes
Foundation said it planned to adapt its galleries for an archive and
library. But the Barnes decided it was more expedient to have those
functions located with the galleries in central Philadelphia.
Then in 2017, the Barnes Foundation forged an agreement with St.
Joseph’s University allowing the school to take over the arboretum and
the gallery building for the school’s own educational programs. St.
Joseph’s did not have any ties to Albert Barnes (as did Lincoln Univer-
sity in Chester County, the historic African American school that
Barnes had long supported). Nevertheless, St. Joe’s 114-acre campus sat
at the back of Barnes’s Merion site, where the institution, founded by
70 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
Jesuits in 1851, had been located since the 1920s. The educational
affiliation and lease requires that St. Joe’s pay maintenance and upkeep
and a nominal rent for 30 years, with 20-year renewals possible. As
part of the agreement, the conservation lab in the basement would be
updated for continued use by the Barnes.
Opportunely, also in 2017, an alumnus of St. Joseph’s, James Maguire,
along with his wife, Frances, a painter, donated $50 million to the uni-
versity, part of which helped restore and turn the Cret-designed galleries
into display spaces for the university’s collection of colonial Latin Amer-
ican and Hispano-Philippine art, along with African, Asian, 20th-
century European, and American pieces. Certain galleries were reserved
for temporary exhibitions, including some art created by the students. In
appreciation for James Maguire’s support, the university named the
revamped building after Frances, who died in 2020.
In selecting an architect, St. Joseph’s turned to a 43-person Phila-
delphia firm, DIGSAU, founded in 2007, which was then rehabilitat-
ing the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in
that city. As DIGSAU principal in charge Jamie Unkefer says, “The
Tyler project had some of same needs for its galleries and educational
mission. However, our focus on the Merion building’s historic context
and how it could be reinvented, plus our alliance with Arup engineers,
further distinguished our firm.” A previous updating of the building’s
security, fire protection, and climate-control systems, as well as light-
ing, in 1996, had been carried out by Venturi Scott Brown &
PAUL PHILIPPE CRET designed the museum for Albert Barnes in 1925.
DIGSAU restored the exterior, adding a black steel-framed ramp for
accessibility (above), and additional stairs (opposite).
Associates (VSBA). However, times had changed, and new sophisti­
cated technologies needed to be put in place, while more explicit ADA
requirements had to be addressed.
The irony is that removing the collection of Impressionist, Post­
impressionist, and early Modern art arranged by Barnes in his dense,
idiosyncratic, but thematically connected installation—replete with
farm instruments, African sculpture, and American furniture—lets
visitors see Cret’s architectural contribution more clearly. This aspect is
particularly noticeable now that the tan burlap­covered walls no longer
form the background to the hang.
Cret, referred to as a “rational classicist” or “Modernist with the
touch of the classic,” was originally from Lyon and trained at Paris’s
École des Beaux­Arts before coming to Philadelphia. The architect
and planner designed the Rodin Museum (1929) on the Parkway (now
next door to the new Barnes), the Detroit Institute of Arts (1927), and
the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. (1932), along
with bridges and other civic works. Cret’s role as a professor at the
University of Pennsylvania, where he taught Louis Kahn, further
burnished his reputation.
Writing in Architecture magazine in 1926, Cret explained that, for
this Italian Renaissance–inspired building, he selected a stone import­
ed from France to properly allude to the place of origin for the art
within the Barnes. He preferred a limestone from Coutarnoux for the
ashlar walls because it was “much warmer in tone than our Indiana
limestone.” The exterior trim is a rosy Pouillenay limestone and the
roof is edged in red tiles. Barnes commissioned Jacques Lipchitz to
create modern decorative bas reliefs that Cret positioned on the exte­
rior, while the iron grillwork and the figurative patterns of mosaic tile
on the concave walls of the entrance portico borrowed from African art
motifs that Barnes favored. On the east, a bridge connects the museum
to the two adjoining blocks that are angled around the northeast cor­
ner, which Barnes used for administration offices and his home. For
the actual structure of the complex, Cret relied on steel framing, in­
filled with a then new material known as Pyrobar Gypsum Tile.
Within the museum, Cret eschewed top­lighted galleries because of
leaks, heat, and the “gloomy aspect,” as he put it, the illumination gave
the upper walls. Instead, he preferred daylight to enter from the side
through the large windows or clerestories around rooftop monitors.
Cret’s aesthetic intentions—architectonic more than decorative—
were “secured mostly by the shape, proportion, and ceiling or vault.”
He arranged the building’s two levels of galleries in a classically sym­
metrical plan around a central double­height open room on axis with
the entrance, now known as the Great Hall.
DIGSAU’s restoration of the exterior involved such obligatory
moves as deep cleaning the stone and replacing the Pouillenay trim as
needed, with stone ordered from the same French quarry. The Coutar­
noux limestone walls only required selective repair. Other items on the
list included refurbishing the decorative metal and replacing red tile in
71
 THE RENOVATED lobby (left) opens onto two
bronze-clad passages (opposite, top left) and
the Great Hall (opposite, bottom). Clerestories
distinguish the upper level (opposite, top right).

the parapet edges. To meet current ADA

codes, the architects installed a black-steel
ramp leading up to the entrance portico and
pulled the marble stairs away from the col-
umns to make room for the landing.
During the process, the Barnes Foundation
reviewed drawings, and the Historical Com-
mission of Lower Merion oversaw changes to
the exterior—designated a Class 1 Historic
Resource. The only major change involved
enlarging one of the three expansive windows
in the Great Hall facing the arboretum. Here
the architects designed a glazed door of a
height that allowed larger artworks to be
brought into the space, replicating steel case-
ment where necessary. DIGSAU preserved
the plaster frieze as required in the lease with
the Barnes, but the lunettes Cret had designed
above these three apertures for Matisse’s
murals, The Dance, are currently blank. How-
ever, St. Joseph’s plans to fill them with tem-
porary artwork in the future.
DIGSAU wanted to make the museum
5
5 7 5 circulation more flexible, as well as create light
and airy volumetric galleries, with reduced
5 emphasis on wall planes previously encrusted
2 4 with the Barnes assemblage. “The new collec-
3
4 3 4 tion would better hold its own against smooth,
6
lighter, less textured surfaces,” says the Ma-
1
guire Museum’s director, Emily Hage. On the
main floor, the architects formed three larger
galleries by removing several walls that had
divided spaces into six domestically scaled
rooms, and, upstairs, they tore down another
to increase the size of a classroom. In extract-
FIRST-FLOOR PLAN
0 16 FT. ing a wall on the ground floor for a more
5 M.
spacious gallery, DIGSAU had to join a barrel-
vaulted ceiling with a groin vault. This was not
easy, but it looks today as if Cret might even
5 have done it that way.
5 10
The most noticeable change occurs on the
east and west sides of the museum’s entrance
vestibule. The architects opened two 10-foot-
8 long passages through a former coat room and
5 11 office to connect directly to the side galleries,
9 12
and then clad their walls and ceilings with
oil-rubbed bronze panels. The existing oak
0 16 FT. parquet floors, typically finished in clear
SECOND-FLOOR PLAN
5 M. polyurethane, were given ebony tones in the
passageways to match the bronze cladding.
1 ENTRANCE 5 ART EXHIBIT 9 RARE BOOK ROOM (One arched door, carved out of a gallery wall
2 LOBBY 6 HISTORY EXHIBIT 10 STAINED-GLASS GALLERY on the main floor, is surfaced in bronze, with
3 NEW PASSAGE 7 GREAT HALL 11 CAST HALL the floor beneath also ebonized.) For the most
4 ROTATING EXHIBIT 8 SEMINAR ROOM 12 TEACHING GALLERY part, DIGSAU kept the cornice moldings and

72 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
73
 ON THE MAIN FLOOR, the architects added an arched doorway (above),
joined groin and barrel vaults in a gallery (left), and kept the burlap for
another (opposite, bottom). An upper gallery is deep red (opposite, top).

baseboards, although the oak trim, once a dark brown to frame the
burlap walls, is now painted shades of white, off-white, and light gray,
as are the plaster walls. In a gallery devoted to robust white classical
casts once owned by the Metropolitan Museum, the architects chose a
reddish shade called “Sweet Rosy Brown,” to assure that the statuary
would stand out.
Incidentally, the tan burlap is intact—but is hidden under drywall
and a plaster finish. One exception is the Architectural History Gal-
lery, where the original burlap and trim remain on view. Currently an
exhibition of Paul Cret’s drawings for the Barnes and for the Rodin
Museum is mounted there, curated by architectural historian David
Brownlee. The exhibit includes intriguing correspondence showing
that Cret’s dealings with his obstreperous client tempted him to resign.
Nothing is easy.
While DIGSAU collaborated with Arup on various engineering
and acoustical matters, the obvious contribution by the latter is the new
lighting. Previously VSBA had installed fixtures with a brighter illu-
mination than Cret’s original, but they couldn’t be controlled as easily
as today’s technologies allow. Brian Stacy, Arup principal, devised an
aircraft-cable-hung system featuring both toplighting and downlight-
ing in many of the galleries. For the most part, he specified LEDs with
a remote phosphor-coating technology that yields a better color separa-
tion and more uniform stability than before. The lighting, which
includes original pendant chandeliers, bathes the galleries in a soft,
ethereal glow that still emphasizes the contoured ceilings.
In the larger debate about how to keep in balance the contents of the
museum vis à vis the container, the displayed work generally prevails,
as the Barnes collection obviously dominated Cret’s architecture. Your
attention was focused on the paintings, the farm tools, the burlap, long

74 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
before you looked at the volumetric enclosure. However, if the art on
display now has less drama or renown, it is reassuring—and a happy
discovery—that Cret’s architecture, refurbished and reinvented by
DIGSAU, quietly provides a sensitive setting for the works on view.
The container does not overwhelm the contents, but it makes a strong
point about the advantage of a having an architecture of distinction
that can be appreciated as a framework, and even on its own. n

Credits SIZE: 45,000 square feet

ARCHITECT: DIGSAU — Jamie
Unkefer, principal in charge; Jeff
Goldstein, principal; Aaron Jezzi,
associate/project manager; Jamie
Ferello, project architect; Ethan
Feuer, Lindy Foltz, Roshelle Pfeifer,
Kristy Kimball, Ksenia Kudinova,
design team
ENGINEERS: CVM (structural);
Bruce E. Brooks & Associates
(m/e/p); Langan (civil)
CONSULTANTS: Robinson
Anderson, Summers (landscape);
Arup (lighting, acoustics)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: HSC
CLIENT: St. Joseph’s University
COST: withheld
COMPLETION DATE: May 2023
Sources
LIMESTONE: ROCOMAT,
Technoprofil, Vickery Stone
GLAZING: Glass Enterprises
TRACK LIGHTING: Litelab
INTERIOR AMBIENT LIGHTING:
Lumenpulse, Ecosense
DOWNLIGHTS: Lumenwerx,
iGuzzini, Lumenpulse
PAINTS AND STAINS:
Sherwin-Williams

75
 BRUCE MUSEUM I GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT I ESKEW DUMEZ RIPPLE
Making the Grade
The renovation and expansion of a regional institution embrace its sloped site and local history.
BY JAMES MCCOWN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIMOTHY HURSLEY
FOR ALL its reputation as a bastion of Yankee wealth, Greenwich,
Connecticut, has a more humble and gritty aspect to its 19th-century
history: it was a place of rock quarries—quarries that provided granite
for many local and New York structures.
This geological heritage was much on the mind of architect Steve
Dumez, principal and design director at EskewDumezRipple (EDR),
the firm that designed the stone-inspired $67 million expansion of the
city’s Bruce Museum. “There was a vision for the project that it should
powerfully connect to its place, that it grow from the site,” Dumez says.
“We submitted two schemes, one called Quarry and the other called
Lace,” he explains. In Quarry, textured stone evokes shade and shadow.
By contrast, Lace was a configuration that was, in effect, a hanging
curtain of stone with solids and voids, offering edited peeks from the
inside and outside. “They liked aspects of both,” he continues, “so they
asked us to combine them into one.”
Doing the facade in stone was found to be prohibitively expensive,
so Dumez employed precast-concrete panels that mimic geological
PRECAST-CONCRETE PANELS mimic local
CAPTION Parum faccabo. Nis autatecti quatem et aut aperuptasit
stone on the facade of the Bruce Museum’s
elessim excessed quibus non comnihilit parchil icabo.
new addition (this image and opposite) .
76 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
forms. “We textured the wall to create light and shadow in the way
that would replicate a quarry,” he says. The design team then created
the “lace” effect on the main facade with openings that let in light,
which is then refracted by an internal wall of frosted glass. And,
though a bit of a design ruse for purists, the faux stone has the depth
and richness of the real thing.
The Bruce, as it is known locally, was once the home of Robert
Moffat Bruce, a wealthy textile merchant, whose estate was surrounded
by a pristine 100-acre wood. In 1912 he bequeathed both to the city of
Greenwich on condition they be turned into a museum of art and
science and a public oasis.
At 42,000 square feet, the new William L. Richter Art Wing trans-
forms the existing 32,500-square-foot museum aesthetically and orga-
nizationally and more than doubles its size. Previously, the Bruce was
mostly a venue for traveling exhibitions, and it now will be able to build
its permanent collection. In addition to accommodating this antici-
pated influx, the museum’s main directive to EDR—a practice with
77
 offices in New Orleans and Washington,
D.C.— was to create adjacent galleries for art
and science that would for the first time allow
visitors the opportunity to move easily from
one to the other.
“It’s a spatial arrangement that will enable
curators to create synergy among art and
science exhibitions that enhance understand­
ing and learning,” says Robert Wolterstorff,
executive director and museum CEO. An
architectural historian by training, he feels
this duality will make the Bruce a unique
museum experience. For example, “in Wash­
ington, D.C.,” he explains, “you have to go to
the Hirshhorn for art and then make your
way to the Natural History Museum for
science. Here you have them side by side.” At
present, he continues, “we do not have a deep

11
6

12

12
12
4

10 2

10 10

10 8 6
2
1 10
10

3 5 6 6 6
7

0 30 FT.
GROUND-LEVEL PLAN GALLERY-LEVEL PLAN
10 M.

1 NEW ENTRANCE 5 CAFÉ 9 LOADING DOCK

2 LOBBY 6 ART GALLERY 10 SCIENCE GALLERY

3 LECTURE HALL 7 SCULPTURE GALLERY 11 EDUCATION ENTRANCE

4 MUSEUM SHOP 8 LIGHT COURT 12 CLASSROOM

78 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
THE EXTENSION faces a park and features a
light court (opposite and above) and sculpture
gallery (right) with views of the harbor.

enough permanent collection to fill all of the

new galleries, but the expansion will be an
impetus for locals to donate art.” Indeed, this
process has already begun—an important
collection of European and American art,
comprising more than 70 works including
those of Mary Cassatt, Alberto Giacometti,
Childe Hassam, and Winslow Homer, among
others, has already been promised to the
Bruce and will be the largest bequest in its
112-year history.
The heart of the newly expanded Bruce is
an art gallery of 14,000-plus square feet on the
addition’s third floor, which will accommodate
both visiting and permanent collections. This
is linked to the science wing via a luminous
sculpture gallery on the south that has vistas of
nearby Greenwich Harbor and Long Island
Sound. Originally planned as an outdoor
terrace, the architects enclosed this space with
an expansive window wall at the behest of “wrapped” the house and left only its upper collaborated with the architects to form this
Wolterstorff, who felt it would tie the elements portions showing. A Postmodern extension in more serene entrance, which is located in the
of art and science together. (The museum’s the early 1990s put the front door of the new addition—a U-shaped structure that
opening science exhibition is about penguins museum along the cacophonous I-95 corridor navigates the site’s steep grade and stretches
and their southern hemisphere habitats.) (the main East Coast north–south interstate around the existing museum’s east elevation.
The architecture of the Bruce has evolved highway). One of EDR’s big moves was to Expansive and filled with daylight, this annex
over time. The original Second Empire–style reorient the entry to the more tranquil park includes a museum store, auditorium, restau-
residence underwent several expansions over side. Cambridge, Massachusetts–based land- rant, and flexible spaces for public and private
the decades, including one that virtually scape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand events. In the lobby, a main staircase trans-

79
 AMPLE GLAZING filters daylight
through internal spaces (this image).
Frosted glass backs the lacelike
section of the facade (below, left).

ports visitors up through the museum’s various levels, where windows

have been placed to assure the transfer of light and views throughout
the interior, while an open-air light court landscaped by Reed
Hilderbrand between the old and new buildings draws the park into
the museum, looking like a diorama of the grounds.
With its open, airy atmosphere, the building is designed to handle an
ambitious program for school visits as well as revenue-generating events
such as weddings. Going forward, Wolterstorff will continue to encour-
age locals to donate their works and is keenly aware of the new space’s
role in that. “Why would someone give a Picasso only to be told, ‘We
promise to bring it out of storage when we have enough gallery space’? ”
The museum director can barely contain his excitement about the
expansion and compares it to a musical instrument: “You’ve been given
a Stradivarius; now you need to learn how to play it.” n

James McCown is a Boston-based architectural journalist.

Credits GENERAL CONTRACTOR:

Turner Construction
ARCHITECT: EskewDumezRipple
— Steve Dumez, principal in charge; CLIENT: Bruce Museum
Noah Marble, design principal; SIZE: 74,500 square feet
Shawn Preau, project manager;
Javier Marcano, project architect COST: $67 million

ENGINEERS: Guy Nordenson and COMPLETION DATE: April 2023

Associates (structural); Altieri Sebor
Wieber (m/e/p); Redniss & Mead Sources
(civil)
PRECAST CONCRETE: BPDL
CONSULTANTS: Reed Hilderbrand
(landscape architect); Melick-Tully CURTAIN WALL: Kawneer
and Associates (geotechnical); GLASS: Viracon
Fisher Marantz Stone (lighting); ROOFING: Firestone
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
(envelope); Stuart-Lynn (estimating); TILE: Daltile
Bruce J. Spiewak (code); The Stone CEILINGS: CertainTeed
House Group (commissioning)

80 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
 THE MUSEUM
OF JEWISH
HERITAGE
NEW YORK, NY

OCTOBER 26, 2023

CREATIVITY+DESIGN+TECHNOLOGY

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 HEALTH CARE | BUILDING TYPE STUDY 1,054

LANSERHOF SYLT I GERMANY I INGENHOVEN ASSOCIATES

Island Retreat
A luxurious hotel-clinic on the Wadden Sea aims to cure by design.
BY ANDREW AYERS

A 24-MILE-LONG SANDBAR with an alluvial core, the

North-Frisian island of Sylt is famed for being the most expen-
sive place to buy a house in Germany—hence its reputation as
the Teutonic equivalent of the Hamptons. It was therefore only
natural that the Lanserhof Group of luxury hotel-clinics,
which started in Austria, should seek to capture a larger share
of the German health-tourism market by opening a complex
on the island. Now counting four principal addresses, Lanser-
hof offers a weeklong cure based on the abstemious dietary
recommendations of Dr. Franz Xaver Mayr (1875–1965) as
PHOTOGRAPHY: © HG ESCH (EXCEPT AS NOTED)

83
 HEALTH CARE
well as a battery of health checks, treatments, and fitness regimes. For
its first seaside development, the group called on ingenhoven associates,
a Düsseldorf-based firm that, in 2014, completed Lanserhof ’s Tegern-
see hotel-clinic in Bavaria (record, June 2016), and also renovated and
extended the original complex at Lans in the Austrian Tyrol (2017), as
well as fitting out its UK outpost at the Arts Club in London’s Mayfair
district (2019).
“Lanserhof has a penchant for quiet, remote locations in regions with
a certain cachet,” says Christoph Ingenhoven, founder of the epony-
mous firm. On Sylt, the group acquired a 13-acre former military base
on dunes at the northern tip of the island. “The facility was built by the
Nazis in 1934,” he continues. “There were five buildings on the base,
one of which, the officers’ mess, we were obliged to keep and restore.
We could demolish the others, but had to rebuild within their footprint
and volume, except for the main resort building, where we were able to
negotiate something bigger.” The authorities also allowed construction
of one extra structure on a virgin site, but forbade modification of the
dunes beyond a 6½-foot perimeter around each building.
“Our brief was ‘Do the same as at Tegernsee, only better,’ ” laughs
Ingenhoven. Like its Bavarian cousin, the 183,000-square-foot main
building at Lanserhof Sylt, which opened last August, features 70
bedrooms of varying categories, as well as two entire floors of treatment
rooms, a spa, two saltwater swimming pools (one indoor, the other
outdoor), and lobby, lounge, dining, and conference areas. On comple-
84 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
THE SEASIDE site (opposite) and the island’s local thatch industry
influenced the design of Lanserhof Sylt’s main building (above).
tion in 2024, a second, 38,000-square-foot structure will augment the
resort’s offerings: located by the shore, and linked to the main building
by a deep concrete tunnel, it will contain more bedrooms, a dental
practice, and an MRI scanner. The group plans to sell off the other
four buildings in the $237 million development as private residences.
“Lanserhof likes to be very generous with space,” continues Ingen-
hoven, “something you really need on the more extreme fasting cures,
since you become extremely irritable.” Three further considerations
shaped the main building’s morphology: first, the desire to ensure sun
and sea exposure for as many rooms as possible; second, the heritage
stipulation that it should rise no higher than the officers’ mess; third,
Ingenhoven’s decision to roof it in thatch, a material for which Sylt is
famous. (In an interesting reversal of historic tradition, thatched hous-
es are now built for the rich and with roof tiles for the “poor”). The fact
that thatch performs best on a 42-degree slope was therefore a deter-
mining design factor.
Backed into the dune, the E-shaped building plan comprises three
irregular wings that meet at a sculptural linchpin stair. In keeping with
the billowing landscape, right angles are largely eschewed, each wing
bulging rather amorphously in the middle. “This allowed us to increase
facade length,” explains Moritz Krogmann, lead architect on the proj-
85
 HEALTH CARE

ROOF-SECTION PERSPECTIVE

2
7
1

6
9 5

4 4

1 ENTRANCE 6 GARDEN

2 MAIN BUILDING 7 POOL

3 DIAGNOSTIC CENTER 8 YOGA DECK

4 BEACH HOUSES 9 GARAGE

5 FORMER OFFICERS’ CLUB 10 PROMENADE

0 100 FT
SITE PLAN
30 M.

86 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
THE UNDULATING roof (opposite) accommodates deep
loggia-like terraces on upper levels (right). The ground floor
provides gracious public spaces (below).

ect, “and ensure we met the program’s daylight requirements.

It also caused the roofs to take on a more dunelike form, since
they’re forced to swell upward at the center.” Structurally, the
building is a hybrid, with concrete for the first three levels,
and mass timber for the giant roof frame above.
Arriving from the island’s airport by car, most visitors will
barely glimpse the monumental mound of thatch (sourced in
Kazakhstan, because Germany could not meet demand) that
covers the complex before they are swallowed up in the cav-
ernous garage. There, out of sight of prying eyes, Lanserhof ’s
wealthy and often celebrity clients are greeted at an under-
ground reception desk. Over their heads, the semi-basement
contains the spa, pools, fitness facilities, and treatment rooms,
while the principal public spaces and the remainder of the
medical rooms are located on the ground floor. Above the fire
break formed by this level’s concrete ceiling, bedroom floors
rise into the hull-like attic. Squeezing them in was akin to
solving a giant Jenga puzzle, with pairs of double-bed du-
plexes meeting each other above one-level single rooms. All
enjoy some sort of outdoor space, mostly in the form of deep
loggias cut sharply into the roof.

87
 HEALTH CARE

HEALTH-RELATED
facilities include
treatment and
medical rooms
(above and left), a
spa, and two pools,
one outdoors
(opposite).

PHOTOGRAPHY: © ALEXANDER HAIDEN (2)

88 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
 Beneath the undulating grass skirt formed by the projecting eaves, hotel-clinic would tread far more lightly on the terrain. But 10 years
all-glass elevations allow a direct relationship between the public ago, when the operation was programmed, few clients or architects
spaces and the landscape, the oak frames of their curtain walls clad were thinking that way. n
in aluminum to protect against the often horizontal rain. While the
hotel interiors sport a play-it-safe palette of international greige (oak Credits OWNER: Lanserhof Group
flooring and wall slats, exposed CLT and glulam, dashes of raw ARCHITECT: ingenhoven associates SIZE: 175,500 square feet
concrete), the medical suites reassure or fatigue, depending on your – Christoph Ingenhoven, Moritz COST: withheld
Krogmann, Annette Büsing, Andreas
point of view, in a blizzard of clinical white. If you can ignore the Crynen, KarMin Shim, Juan Pereg, COMPLETION DATE: August 2022
clunkier fittings and detailing, the general ambience achieves the Mina Rostamiyanmoghadam, Ian
desired calme and luxe, though not quite the volupté, helped along by Chow, Martin Trawinski, Philipp Sources
furnishings that Ingenhoven designed, chose, or customized, all in Neumann, Florian Jung, Kiara Helk,
design team CURTAIN WALL: Raico
an inoffensive Scandinavian style. ROOF: Tekhek
ENGINEERS: Werner Sobek
If you undertake one of the lighter Lanserhof cures, life on Sylt is (structural/facade); Drees & WINDOWS: Warema (metal frame)
very pleasant, and the highly skilled medical and fitness staff will Sommer (building services/building WOODWORK: Winkels
soon fill up your days. But something seems wrongheaded about the physics)
LIGHTING: Flos (ambient); XAL
way the complex was planned. To build it, a whopping 2.1 million CONSULTANTS: Enea, TGP (downlights)
(landscape architecture); Tropp
cubic feet of sand was moved; to keep it dry, pumps must operate 24 FURNISHINGS: Vitra, Paola Lenti
(lighting design); BPK Fire Safety
hours a day. If the stairs are vertiginously steep in the duplex rooms Consultants (fp) (chairs); Manutti (tables); Kettal
(there have been falls), it’s because the main building was largely (outdoor)
CONTRACTORS: Höft Bau
designed from the outside in, external factors having determined an Sylt (shell); Schütt (timber roof PLUMBING: Dornbracht
envelope into which accommodation had to be shoehorned. Most of structure); Sehlmann (curtain
wall), Heinrich Würfel (facade); TKS
these quirks and profligacies stem from the original programming (interior); Baierl Demmelhuber
sin: squeezing too big a floor area into too small a footprint. Today it (drywall); ETS (building services),
seems obvious that, split among the six structures on the site, the Elin (electric); Stage LED (lighting)

89
 HEALTH CARE

TIMBER, the main building material, combines

with brick and local granite on the exterior (this
image) and reappears in the lobby (opposite).

90 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER I
HAMDEN, CONNECTICUT I DESIGNLAB ARCHITECTS

For Body
and Mind
A New England university reimagines student
mental and physical care with a holistic facility.
BY JENNIFER KRICHELS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTON GRASSL

COLLEGE CAMPUSES are reckoning with a mental-health crisis.

According to an annual survey by the Healthy Minds Network, which
examines collected data regarding mental health, service utilization,
and related issues among undergraduate and graduate students from
373 campuses nationwide, more than 60 percent of students met crite-
ria for one or more mental-health problems in 2020–21, nearly 50 per-
cent more than 2013. Students are not only grappling with daily chal-
lenges like coursework and relationships, they are also confronting the
issues of our time, including social injustice, mass violence, and the
aftermath of the pandemic. The tolls are individual and collective,
psychological and physical. The administrators of Quinnipiac Uni-
versity in Hamden, Connecticut, believes this requires holistic treat-
ment, leading them to create a new center that brings together clinical

91
 HEALTH CARE

care, counseling, and recreation under one roof in

support of physical and mental well-being.
The university selected designLAB architects, a
Boston-based firm with experience in civic, cultural,
and educational work, to design the new 55,000-
square-foot Health and Wellness Center as a home
for campus health services, a space for a newly initi-
ated healthy-living program to support cooking,
nutrition, and lifestyle education, and a recreation-
focused addition.
“It’s amazing how much was built with the ‘If you
build it, they will come’ mentality,” says designLAB
principal in charge Sam Batchelor. The social and emo-
tional components of the building are, literally, at its
core, and many of those elements were envisioned and
added during the design process, including multiple flex
spaces, a teaching kitchen, and a two-story climbing
wall that reaches toward a skylit ceiling. On a recent tour
of the building during the end-of-spring-semester
crunch, a smoothie counter and surrounding tables were
crowded with students visiting with each other or lean-
ing over laptops; other students were sprawled on uphol-

13

12

3 9
15
6
8 11
2
10
1 5 9
7
9 14

0 50 FT. 0 50 FT.
GROUND-FLOOR PLAN SECOND-FLOOR PLAN
15 M. 15 M.

13 9

4 3 2 1

0 20 FT.
SECTION A - A
6 M.

1 LOBBY 6 COURTYARD 11 CYCLING STUDIO

2 CAFÉ 7 FITNESS EQUIPMENT 12 WELLNESS SOLARIUM

3 DEMONSTRATION KITCHEN 8 LOCKER ROOMS 13 COUNSELING SUITE

4 CLINICAL SUITE 9 STUDIO 14 FUNCTIONAL FITNESS

5 CLIMBING WALL 10 SPORTS-MEDICINE SUITE 15 GREEN ROOF

92 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
QUEEN-POST trusses allow for fewer columns in large spaces, like the
large studio (opposite). Biofilic strategies include a leafy green wall
(above) and skylights above internal areas like the climbing wall (right).

stered benches and at seating in conference rooms that can also be used
for small gatherings and classes; an interior courtyard gives them a place
to eat lunch in the fresh air on warm days. While not an obvious choice
for a building in a Northeastern climate, the courtyard, Batchelor points
out, lets students connect visually with the outdoors, even if they don’t
want to be outside. (A new hiking and camping equipment-rental com-
ponent encourages students to immerse themselves in nature more fully.)
Much of the building’s design is about regenerating a connection
with the environment on a campus couched at the base of Sleeping
Giant, a jagged traprock mountain named for its resemblance to a
slumbering form. Nearby, brick-clad campus buildings cluster around a
manicured quad dating back to Centerbrook Architects’ 1978 master
plan for the 120-acre site, realized over the next decade. Located to the
quad’s northeast, the Health and Wellness Center signals its nature-
focused intentions with a facade composed of New England granite
and brick, with a timber curtain wall on the south and west elevations.
The building is L-shaped in plan, marking a prominent path from the
main parking lot and reinforcing a new landscaped connection with
residential buildings to the southeast. It links to a 1980s field house
with varsity gyms, tennis courts, and a suspended running track.
According to the architects, students cite the university’s rural set-

93
 HEALTH CARE

OAK-CLAD counseling rooms (left, both) are

daylit yet private through strategic glazing, while
larger spaces open to a courtyard (opposite).

ting as a reason for attending the school, so

designLAB sought to utilize wood through-
out their scheme, even in the structure. The
building is built primarily with cross-laminat-
ed timber (CLT)—the studio’s first time
using it—with exposed beams that comple-
ment a CLT deck system and the pine curtain
wall. The CLT is also used in concert with
structural steel in places such as a double-
height lobby and a large studio, where queen-
post trusses allow smaller glulam members to
span above them without columns, creating
space to run large fresh-air handlers near the
ceiling. The HVAC system uses chilled
beams, a more efficient means of distributing
heating and cooling that requires less duct-
work than an airborne supply, keeping over-
head space less cluttered. The building is
designed to LEED Gold standards.
While the center represents an upgrade for
the university’s athletic facilities—which now
beckon even casual activity seekers with
sunny, glass-walled spaces (buffered from
passersby by a wide bioswale shielding the
gym from a path to its south)—the real moti-
vation for the expansion was to accommodate
campus medical and mental-health programs.
Placing these services within the northwest
leg of the building serves a twofold purpose: it
brings the two disciplines together with new
educational and social programs that empha-
size general wellness and nutrition, and in so
doing creates a destigmatized, less clinical
setting in which students can access them.
“We had a lot of conversations and dia-
logue about how visible or hidden entries to
these spaces should be,” says Kelly Ard, firm
partner and the project’s interior-environ-
ments lead. The team was able to create
discreet areas that respect the privacy of
those seeking counseling without implying
that it should be hidden. A central circulat-
ing stair clad in oak leads students past a
wall of leafy vegetation to the second-floor
counseling center, which can also be accessed
by a less prominent elevator or stair. Visitors
to that floor could just as easily be attending
a group activity in one of the flexible gather-
ing spaces as going to a therapist. A door
leads to a reception area and a suite of 10
counseling offices. In addition, says Ard,
“We brought in the biophilia and natural
materials, to stitch it all together and come
up with a bigger conversation about the body
and the environment.”

94 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
 The offices, along with several other interior rooms in the packed percent—from 3,500 daily users at the old gym to 12,000 students
program, don’t get daylight through the curtain wall, so the architects swiping their cards each week after the new center’s opening. The
developed a language of “skyspaces,” essentially distinct volumes in- architects and university are planning a post-occupancy study to under-
serted into the structure that are wrapped in oak to differentiate them stand the effects of the new program more fully, but one thing is clear:
as inward-facing and contemplative. Counseling offices are included in the building is a physical manifestation that the stigma surrounding
one such volume, and, though the proposal that all would be rooms mental-health care is dropping away, and that academic institutions are
without views was initially met with hesitation, the architects’ solu- recognizing their own vital place in whole-body wellness. n
tion—spaces illuminated softly by skylights set into sawtooth roofli-
nes—was both equitable and in line with privacy goals. At the north Editor in chief of Oculus, the quarterly publication of AIA New York,
end of the building, a large group-therapy room has a full view of Jennifer Krichels writes about architecture, design, and urbanism.
Sleeping Giant, with strategically placed privacy film across the bot-
tom of its large window to conceal the parking lot below. It is just one Credits CLIENT: Quinnipiac University
example of the prospect/refuge dichotomy the architects have empha- ARCHITECT: designLAB architects SIZE: 55,000 square feet
sized in the new center. “There are big, sweeping spaces of ‘prospect,’ — Bob Miklos, partner emeritus; CONSTRUCTION COST: $37 million
where you can see everything, but also spaces of ‘refuge’ that are inti- Sam Batchelor, principal in charge;
Kelly Ard, interior-environments COMPLETION DATE: January 2023
mate and you can feel safe and protected,” explains Batchelor. lead; Nicolo Guida, project manager
The metrics of how the space is affecting student mental health ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT: S3 Design Sources
since its opening this year is difficult to quantify, because it represents
ENGINEERS: Buro Happold TIMBER: Nordic Structures
such a systemic change in the way wellness is approached on campus. (structural/m/e/p/fp); Nathan L. CLADDING: ALPOLIC, Unicel
During the building tour, two members of Quinnipiac’s administration Jacobson & Associates (civil); Welti
Geotechnical (geotechnical) GLASS: PRELCO, Guardian Glass
emerged from a conference room to greet the architects and discuss the
CONSULTANTS: STIMSON Studio SKYLIGHTS & ENTRIES: Oldcastle
still-unfolding ways students are using the space. “I don’t want to BuildingEnvelope (metal-framed)
(landscape architect); Buro Happold
minimize the work our counselors are doing, but when you step in, you (sustainability/lighting design); SECURITY GRILLES:
feel you’re in a better place,” says Kerry Patton, associate dean of stu- Cosentini (code); WJE (envelope) Overhead Door
dent affairs for health and wellness. “It’s serious, but in a good way.” GENERAL CONTRACTOR: SURFACES: Sherwin-Williams,
On the recreation side, student use has increased as much as 350 FIP Construction Wilsonart

95
 HEALTH CARE

DE KORBEEL I BELGIUM I VK ARCHITECTS+ENGINEERS

Support Structure
A children’s psychiatric hospital upends convention and embraces the surrounding community.
BY TIM ABRAHAMS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KLAAS VERDRU

DE KORBEEL has a strong civic presence and

includes a public pathway across the site (this
image). Patients have access to four private
courtyards (opposite).

96
ENSURING THAT children with be­
havioral and mental health challenges are
cared for within a community is an admi­
rable ambition, but not one that is easily
achieved. Often the desire to protect vul­
nerable children leads to hiding their care
away from the community, when in fact
ensuring that they are treated as part of it
helps them and their families most. When
VK architects+engineers was invited by
Groep Zorg H. Familie, a Belgian non­
profit health­care trust, to renovate an
existing children’s mental health­care facil­
ity in the provincial Belgian town of
Kortrijk, the firm sought to take on these
issues in a way that was sensitive to both the
patients and nearby residents.
After discovering that the trust had earlier
purchased a school building adjacent to the
facility they were to refurbish, VK’s design
team suggested an alternative strategy.
“Following several design meetings with the
client, we came to the conclusion that it
would be better to invest in a completely new
hospital that’s more integrated into the
streets of the city,” says VK senior architect
Frederique Lievens. The firm, which has
considerable experience designing behavioral
and mental health­care facilities throughout
Belgium, replaced the school building with a
purpose­built children’s mental health­care
center that is closely tied into the surround­
ing neighborhood.
The center is clad in white­faced brick,
and, with four enclosed courtyards, has the
air of a monastery—albeit a modern one
with a civic feel. “It is a structure designed
for the user, but also for the benefit of the
surroundings,” says Bert Scheirlynck, a
senior architect at VK. Viewed from the
west, De Korbeel, as the building is named,
reads as three low volumes that front on the
street, directly abutting an existing building
to the south and matching the scale of
nearby rowhouses. A new pedestrian and
bicycling path that links the nearby town
center to a verdant 19th­century residential
neighborhood is sandwiched between the
north side of the building and a matching
white brick wall on the edge of the site.
On the facility’s east side, two wings that
read as separate two­story buildings pro­
trude toward an existing adult psychiatric
hospital.
De Korbeel is not a large facility; it con­
tains 82,000 square feet across two floors.
On the ground floor are 45 bedrooms, pro­
viding on­site residential care of varying
lengths to 39 children and young adults from
the ages of 5 to 18, as well as room for six
outpatients. Since a combination of play and
rest was seen as optimal by the client, sleep­
ing and rest spaces were placed together on
the ground floor to ensure that patients could
be effectively supervised from interior and
exterior spaces. During the day, therapy
97
 HEALTH CARE

sessions take place on the second floor, in

small rooms or in the dance studio, music
1 PUBLIC PATH
room, or sports hall. At night, the entire
2 MAIN ENTRY
second floor can be closed off.
5 As for the horizontal organization, the
3 CENTRAL SPINE
complex is effectively oriented around a
4 COURTYARD 4 central two-story spine out of which five
5 COMMUNAL SPACE 6
5
wings emerge. In addition to circulation and
6 RESIDENT ROOMS building services, the spine also houses on
7 OUTPATIENT ROOMS
6
the ground floor a large communal kitchen
8 DE PATIO UNIT
4
and living spaces for the children, as well as
administrative stations for nurses. Upon
entering the facility, one can see down the
4 hall to the wings, each of which branches off
6
8
at a right angle and accommodates a differ-
3
ent program or age group. Closest to the
5 7
entrance, to the east, is a separate access
4
point for De Patio, which is run by the same
2 organization and is contained in the same
1 building. This distinct unit has room for
residential care for eight boys between the
ages of 12 and 18 with psychiatric chal-
lenges, who have been referred by juvenile
courts.
The courtyards between the wings not
0 50 FT.
GROUND-FLOOR PLAN only establish De Korbeel’s welcoming feel
15 M.

98 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
but provide a space for the young patients to
de-stress using age-appropriate outdoor
games and recreational equipment. The
communal kitchen and living spaces open
onto them through long glazed doors—as do
a number of bedroom windows, though these
are equipped with thick shutters in case
seclusion is needed.
Wood predominates throughout the
interior. Although the building is framed in
concrete, partitions and frames are made
from koto, a light-toned tropical hardwood,
while the ceilings in the corridors are lined
with 1-inch-thick wood-wool cement panels
for acoustic insulation. The effect is solid
but calming. Indeed, “calm” is one of the
key words that users of the building employ
to describe it.
Ever-present safety concerns mean that
there is an inevitable element of managed
risk within this architecture. The young
people who use De Korbeel can be violent.
The rooms are fitted out with bespoke floor-
to-ceiling carpentry in maple plywood that
combines storage space with hidden wash THE BUILDING’S low-slung forms fit seamlessly into their surroundings (opposite). The courtyards
basins that staff can lock for children who (top) and an interior sports hall (above) offer residents recreational opportunities.

99
 HEALTH CARE

INTERIOR SPACES are filled with light and

generously appointed in wood.

are unable to use them without causing harm.

Beds are fixed to the floor to prevent them
from being used to barricade doors. Doors
have already been kicked off their hinges and
had to be redesigned in response. The whole
building is outfitted with a quiet alarm sys-
tem, meaning that, when an incident occurs,
staff members can alert each other using
wrist activators that direct support to specific
rooms. At night, in the secure unit, indi-
vidual room doors in the wing can be opened
so that residents can use the restrooms—but
when one door is opened, the others are
automatically locked to prevent residents
from gathering in the corridor.
Given the level of risk, the generosity
of the design is all the more commendable:
even security doors are paneled in wood.
De Korbeel means “corbel,” and, although
there are no corbels in the building, the name
constitutes an apt metaphor for the building’s
role as social support. Two studio apartments,
one of which is located in the secure facility,
enable those who are on the cusp of adult-
hood to work on caring for themselves in a
supervised environment before they move out,
into social housing. This is one of the many
ways in which the necessary risk involved in
helping vulnerable young people care for
themselves is mitigated, and it is a key ex-
ample of how this remarkable building is both
architecturally and programmatically part of
the community. n

Credits
ARCHITECT: VK architects+engineers —
Frederique Lievens, project architect; Kim
Debeyser, interior architect; Bert Scheirlynck,
project manager
ENGINEER: VK architects+engineers
CONSULTANT: VeCoBo (safety, energy)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Artes Depret
CLIENT: Groep Zorg H. Familie
SIZE: 82,000 square feet
COST: $19.35 million
COMPLETION DATE: May 2023

Sources
MASONRY: Wienerberger
PRECAST CONCRETE: Artes Depret
WINDOWS & DOORS: Reynaers Aluminum
ACOUSTICAL CEILINGS: Rockfon, Heradesign
(wood wool panels)
CABINETRY & CUSTOM WOODWORK: Vanver
LIGHTING: BEGA (exterior); Modular Lighting
Instruments (task and ambient); Luceplan
(ambient)

100 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3

PRODUCTS Health Care
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Hollman’s medical-grade lockers have an antimicrobial finish
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An anti-ligature hardware option is available for behavioral-
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hollman.com
Expanded Healthy
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A staple in health-care
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These include a homoge-
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Both are free of ortho-
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A Healthy Dose of Design
“Wellness” and “flexibility” are buzzwords in today’s
medical environments, and these products provide a
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BY SHEILA KIM
BalancedCare MRI Series
When it comes to aesthetics, exam rooms still fall behind public-space
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With an asymmetrical design,
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specadsystems.com
Cleanroom Doors
Horton Automatics has
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hortondoors.com
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 CEU DESIGN FOR AGING
Home at Last
Architects design to support aging in place for the growing elder population.
BY KATHARINE LOGAN
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, the
world’s population comprises more people
over age 65 than those under 5. Over the next
15 years, according to a report from Harvard
University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies,
households whose members are 65 and older
are expected to account for a third of U.S.
housing needs, with households in their 80s
IMAGE: COURTESY BROOKS + SCARPA
growing fastest of all. That shift is unprec-
edented in the country’s history and de-
mands new thinking about how America
houses its elderly.
The trend of recent generations toward
institutionalizing seniors is untenable: there
simply won’t be enough institutions or young-
er people to staff them. It’s also far from ideal:
even before the pandemic and the climate
crisis exposed widespread shortcomings in
long-term care facilities, study upon study
found that seniors want to live in their own
homes and communities as long as they pos-
sibly can. Housing is a platform for well-being
at any stage of life, and that’s especially true
in the later stages: location can facilitate
elders’ connections to services, amenities, and
other people; affordability can free up money
for other needs; familiarity and continuity can
contribute to stability and mental health; and
physical features can support independence
and safety. Aging in place has also been found
to reduce individual and social costs com-
pared to institution-based support.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
defines aging in place as the ability to live in
one’s own home and community safely, inde-
pendently, and comfortably, regardless of age,
income, or capacity. The United Nations has
declared 2021 to 2030 the Decade of Healthy
Aging, with the development of age-friendly
cities and communities a top priority in
supporting longer, healthier lives. “Aging in
place is a right,” says Jeffrey Huber, a princi-
pal with Brooks + Scarpa. “Neighborhoods as
places where people can live from cradle to
THE HERON, in Miami Beach, will have a
brise-soleil inspired by the playful forms of the
city’s midcentury architecture (above).
105
 CEU DESIGN FOR AGING
grave are a critical piece of social infrastruc-
ture, where architects have an immense
design role to play.”
Recent examples of architecture that
exemplifies senior-friendly design include
the Heron, designed by Brooks + Scarpa and
now under permit review in Miami Beach;
735 Davis, designed by Leddy Maytum
Stacy Architects, completed in 2021 on the
site of San Francisco’s razed Embarcadero
Freeway; and Chicago’s Northtown Library
and Senior Housing (2019), designed by
Perkins&Will.
The Heron, a four-story building devel-
oped by the Housing Authority of the City
of Miami Beach, addresses a crisis of afford-
ability in the area, with 20 studio units (400
to 430 square feet) and a variety of outdoor
spaces, all wrapped in a pastel-pink brise-
soleil. In addition to affordability, social
connectivity was a key driver of the design,
especially as the units are single occupancy.
Not just a pretty face, the pink brise-soleil—
inspired by the bright colors and playful
forms of Miami Modernism—serves as a
106 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
whole-building shading device, and plays an
essential role in creating comfortable spaces
for residents to linger outside and connect
with one another. (The distinctive facade
also makes it easy for memory-impaired
residents to recognize their building.) A
layered approach to spatial composition
makes for a seamless transition between
private apartments and any one of a number
of shared terraces, verandahs, raised porches,
or breezeways that promote socialization. A
fourth-floor common room opens onto a
rooftop terrace with views of Biscayne Bay.
Units are designed to adapt as levels of
physical ability vary over time. Conventional-
looking kitchen cabinets are equipped with
pullout doors and toe kicks, enabling a
wheelchair user to roll up to the sink, and
blocking is in place behind bathroom walls,
ready for grab bars to be attached. An office
in the building’s common area offers a base
for social service providers to support resi-
dents’ changing needs. “Younger seniors
moving in don’t need these accessibility fea-
tures, and may not want to see them,” says
Huber, “but, as residents age, these features
will make it possible for them to stay there.”
The Heron also demonstrates the prin-
ciple that aging-friendly communities are
better able to continue to meet the needs of
seniors in times of crisis, when older people
are often especially vulnerable. In Florida,
for example, a dozen seniors died following
2017’s Hurricane Irma, when their care
home’s air-conditioning lost power. With
that very much front of mind for the design
team on the Heron, the LEED Platinum–
targeted building is designed as a resilience
hub where residents can shelter in place
during a crisis. Vernacular and passive de-
sign strategies, such as the brise-soleil,
provide shading and cooling without reliance
PHOTOGRAPHY: © BRUCE DAMONTE
on mechanical systems. The first occupiable
floor sits 9 feet above sea level and 6 feet
above the site’s average grade, to help with-
stand flooding. A series of stepped terraces,
with conversation benches at each level,
connect the building to the street, and a
prominently located social stair also connects
to the rooftop terrace. A backup generator,
GENEROUS shared spaces (right and below)
complement the 425-square-foot units at 735
Davis Street (opposite), in San Francisco.

located on the roof and tied into the city’s

natural gas supply, stands ready to power the
building’s public spaces, including the top-
floor community room, designed to with-
stand a Category 5 hurricane, as well as the
elevators. And because an elevator is a critical
need for mobility-challenged residents, the
Heron has two.
As with the Heron, the integration of
affordable senior housing into a lively mixed-
demographic community is a major goal of
735 Davis Street, a 53-unit project in San
Francisco’s historic northeast waterfront
district and is GreenPoint Platinum certified
(GreenPoint is a rating system tailored to resi-
dential construction). Located close to parks,
downtown, and the waterfront, with access to
services and public transit, and featuring
generous views to both the Golden Gate and
Bay bridges, the six-story brick-clad building
is designed to knit into the fabric of the city
both visually and programmatically. Together
with an 88-unit family-housing development
on the same block, the complex accommo- trend of cloistering the assisted elderly. “The Maytum Stacy. “It says that the people who
dates a population that ranges from infants visibility of this project—that the City and live here are as important as anyone else in
to seniors, from the formerly homeless to the Port thought this use was valuable enough the city.”
middle-income earners. to make a prime piece of real estate available One of the design’s most significant
The building’s prominent site and ground- for it—is one of the wonderful things about achievements is a network of common areas
floor transparency contradict the prevailing it,” says Aaron Thornton, a principal at Leddy complementing its 425-square-foot units
and offering richness of choice. A ground-
floor hub of activity, comprising a media
room, café, and courtyard, all with views to
the public domain, and an upstairs amenity
room that opens to a rooftop deck with some
of the best views in the city create a range of
options between residents’ private units and
the world beyond. “With these little intersti-
tial areas and the variety of spaces, you can
be outside and safe, you can have your own
territory in the city and be in it or away from
it,” says Thornton. “These are the things the
project did really well and I think are its best
achievement.”
An “age-friendly environment” is defined
by the WHO as one that fosters healthy,
active aging by building, maintaining, and
expanding seniors’ capacities over the course
of their lives. The design of 735 Davis con-
tributes to making such a place with a series
of small moves that add up. The first of
these is universal design: going beyond code
with such features as automatic door open-
ers, roomy elevator lobbies, and an addi-
tional elevator to help ensure there’s always
one working. Five-foot-wide corridors are

107
 CEU DESIGN FOR AGING

AT CHICAGO’S Northtown Library and

Apartments (above), roof- and ground-level
terraces (right) establish a visual connection
between the two uses.

equipped with leaning rails; 1-foot-deep

doorway niches add width for two wheel-
chairs to pass. Generously sized kitchens
and bathrooms, wheelchair-resistant fin-
ishes, and grab bars all help people of vary-
ing levels of ability to live independently.
But extra space in one place must come from
somewhere else: “That’s the needle you’re
trying to thread,” says Thornton. “Can you
make things generous enough that they
work and they feel like home while making
as many of them as you can?”
Other strategies on the project that add up
to more than the sum of their parts pertain
to wayfinding: supergraphics for ease of
legibility, for example, and a different accent
wall opposite elevators to distinguish each
floor. To promote socialization, the project
clusters social hubs—such as the community
room, mail area, and laundry room—near
the main entrance, generating a critical mass dents can watch the world go by. to help integrate residents with special needs.
PHOTOGRAPHY: © JAMES STEINKAMP

of activity to draw more people in.
Prioritizing indoor-outdoor connections for
common areas and orienting outdoor spaces
for sun are other small moves that make a big
impact, encouraging seniors to spend time
outdoors. Ground-floor transparency pro-
vides views into and out of the project while
providing protected zones from which resi-
Design choices for health and well-being
include the use of finishes for their authentic-
ity and beauty, to convey warmth and dignity.
Materials selected for indoor air quality pri-
oritize residents’ health, as do filtered ventila-
tion air and daylight and views from all in-
habited areas. The design also provides space
for social services, which are provided on-site
“Design for aging in place is a lot of very
small decisions,” says Thornton, “but if you
can build those up right, you’ll have a success-
ful project.”
Age-friendly communities meet the needs
of a diversity of older people and promote
their health, autonomy, inclusion, and con-
tributions in all areas of community life.

108 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3


THE RESIDENTIAL units at Northtown (above) are lifted off the street, offering privacy and security.
How better to integrate seniors into commu-
nity life than by housing them on top of a
public library?
An innovative hybrid typology, the
Northtown Library and Apartments, collo-
cates 44 units of affordable senior housing
and a new branch library in a 65,000-square-
foot complex located in one of the most di-
verse neighborhoods in Chicago. “Seniors are
large users of libraries, they are a large volun-
teer group, and they engage with library
programs,” says Derek Jones, a principal at
Perkins&Will. “At the same time, they may
be limited by diminishing friend groups, fam-
ily, and mobility. So being right there in a
civic destination is a win-win proposition.”
The project is built to the street edge, with a
glassy ground floor showcasing community life
in the library. Above, modular housing units
wind along the library’s rooftop, generating a
more interesting route than a typical residen-
tial corridor would offer, while also defining
roof gardens that respond to a public park on
one side and a residential neighborhood on the
other. Outdoor terraces, at roof and ground
levels, make visual connections between the
two program elements, while a senior-appro-
priate exercise loop that the municipality
installed in the park across the street further
contributes to an age-friendly environment.
Putting senior housing and a library to-
gether generates three different types of
synergy, says Jones. In addition to the pro-
grammatic win-win, the two elements’ formal
relationship works well. On an urban site such
as this, issues of privacy and security would
make ground-floor apartments less than ideal,
he says, whereas a public function on the
ground floor that elevates residential units off
the street “makes total sense.” Third, the two
typologies bring to the table complementary
types of capital. The public-housing sector is
set up for acquiring and developing land in a
way that libraries are not, says Jones, whereas
libraries, as trusted civic amenities, can help
grease the wheels of public acceptance and
approval. “There is generally widespread
support for affordable housing in our cities,
but when that housing is slated to be right
next door, there is suddenly a lot of resis-
tance,” Jones says. “Almost nobody resists a
new public library.”
Northtown is one of three such hybrids
developed simultaneously as a collaboration
between the Chicago Housing Authority
(CHA) and the Chicago Public Library
(CPL), including projects by SOM and John
Ronan Architects (record, October 2019).
The model is proving a success: “The
Northtown Library is a great intergenera-
tional space for CHA residents to stay en-
gaged,” says Matthew Aguilar, a CHA
spokesperson. About a third of the residents
use the library multiple times a week, and
even more use it weekly or a couple of times a
month. He also reports regular use of both
the decks. “It is clear that the innovative
co-library design is effective,” he says, “and
that Northtown has become a community
anchor.”
The model has also garnered interest from
other municipalities, Jones reports. And,
although he notes that a clear, top-down
mandate from then-mayor Rahm Emanuel
to both the CHA and the CPL was essential
to those independent agencies’ ability to
collaborate, “finding partners that can help
bring seniors into the city center and involve
them in civic life, that’s something we need
to see more of,” he says.
Providing affordable, accessible housing to
support aging in place for America’s bur-
geoning numbers of middle- and low-income
seniors is now urgent. Innovative hybrids
such as Northtown and thoughtful infill
projects such as the Heron and 735 Davis
show how architecture can help, facilitating
community-oriented developments and
enabling seniors to live safely, independently,
and comfortably, regardless of age, income,
or capacity. n
CONTINUING EDUCATION
To earn one AIA learning unit (LU), including one
hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read
“Home at Last,” review the supplemental material
found at architecturalrecord.com, and complete
the quiz at continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com or
by using the Architectural Record CE Center app
available in the iTunes Store. Upon passing the test,
you will receive a certificate of completion, and your
credit will be automatically reported to the AIA.
Additional information regarding credit-reporting and
continuing-education requirements can be found at
continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com.
Learning Objectives
1 Define terms relevant to senior-housing design,
such as “aging in place” and “age-friendly.”
2 Explain the elements of universal design.
3 Discuss the importance of climate resilience for
senior housing.
4 Describe hybrid typologies that can accommodate
complementary uses, including senior housing.
AIA/CES Course #K2307A
109
 ENTER
TO WIN A

COCKTAIL NAPKIN
$300 GIFT
CARD!

SKETCH CONTEST 2023

If you are a licensed architect or related professional who practices in the United States, you can enter this remarkable contest.

All you need is a white cocktail napkin and pen to demonstrate that the art of the sketch is still alive. Two grand prize winners will be chosen
(1 licensed architect, 1 related professional). Grand prize winners will receive a $300 gift card and a set of cocktail napkins with their winning
sketch printed on it! The winning sketches will also be announced at and utilized on napkins at our Innovation Conference in October.

The sketches of the winners and runners-up will be published in the November 2023 issue of Architectural Record and shown online in the
ArchitecturalRecord.com Cocktail Napkin Sketch Gallery.

HOW TO ENTER:
• Sketches should be architecture-oriented and drawn specifically for this competition.
• Create a sketch on a 5-inch-by-5-inch white paper cocktail napkin. You may cut a larger napkin down to these dimensions.
• Use ink or ballpoint pen.
• Include the registration form below or from the website.
• You may submit up to 6 cocktail napkin sketches, but each one should be numbered on the back and include your name.
• All materials must be postmarked no later than September 11, 2023.

CALL FOR
5 INCHES

ENTRIES
NAME

FIRM

SUBMIT SKETCHES BY SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

ADDRESS
For more information and official rules visit:
architecturalrecord.com/cocktail-napkin-sketch-contest
Due to the volume of entries, cocktail napkin sketches
5 INCHES

YEARS IN PRACTICE PHONE EMAIL

will not be returned.

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Entry form the size of 5 x 5 cocktail napkin, for reference. c-sgroup.com

CONTINUING EDUCATION
In this section, you will find five compelling courses highlighting creative solutions for tomorrow’s buildings brought to you by industry leaders.

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Read a course, and then visit our online Continuing Education Center at ce.architecturalrecord.com to take the quiz free of charge to earn credits.

Photo courtesy of Inpro Photo courtesy of CRL - © Trent Bell

p112 p116

Picture This! Fenestration as Barriers for Better Performance

Sponsored by Inpro Sponsored by CRL

CREDIT: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 ICC CEU BE IN LS 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 GBCI CE HOUR; 0.1 ICC CEU BE LS SU

Photo: CLB Architects; Kevin Scott Photography;

courtesy of Loewen Windows and Doors Photo courtesy of Inpro Photo: Dan Ryan with Dan Ryan Studio

p120 p122 p124

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with Large-Format Glazing Sponsored by Inpro Corporation Sponsored by Euroline Steel Windows & Doors
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CEU; 1 IDCEC CEU/HSW IN PM RR ACCESSIBILITY/BARRIER-FREE ACC IN PM 0.1 ICC CEU IN PM RE

CATEGORIES
ACC ACCESSIBILITY LS LIFE SAFETY AND CODES RR RENOVATION AND
BE BUILDING ENVELOPE DESIGN PM PRODUCTS AND MATERIALS RESTORATION
IN INTERIORS RE RESIDENTIAL SU SUSTAINABILITY

Courses may qualify for learning hours through most Canadian provincial architectural associations.

111

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Photo courtesy of Inpro
Picture This!
Employing imagery to foster human
connections within the built environment
Sponsored by Inpro | By Amanda C Voss, MPP
I
magery speaks louder than words. It has
the demonstrable power to elevate experi-
ence, spur creativity, promote productivi-
ty, and boost brand. In the built environment,
architects and design professionals aren’t
just designing a space, they are also inher-
ently creating a connection and experience
for those who encounter that space. With
advances in graphic and product technology,
designers can incorporate high-end, digital
artwork and imagery optimized for spaces
such as offices, hospitals, and retail, bring-
ing vitality to areas that would otherwise be
merely functional. Through critical design
research into art and biophilia, imagery can
be harnessed to “work” for the occupants in
any commercial building. Art, printed on an
architectural product, can bring a brand, an
idea, or even a feeling to life.
112 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
Bright colors, integrated artwork, and
direct connections to the exterior are in
high demand for the built environment.
THE POWER OF ART AND IMAGERY
IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Art is no longer confined to something in
a frame that hangs on the wall. Art today
can be ultimately functional, helping spaces
work better for everyone. Like a real natural
landscape, the whole of a building or design
project is greater than the sum of its parts.
Most of the public spaces through which
people move, from offices and schools to
hospitals and transport hubs, owe some-
thing to the “modern” movement and its
penchant for no-frills, pared-down design.
While modernism has been the ruling stan-
dard, unchallenged for a generation, there
is a sudden and renewed interest in rich tex-
tures, patterns, and curves, the very features
of classical architecture that modernists
once avoided.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU
Learning Objectives
After reading this article, you should
be able to:
1. Discuss how signage has evolved to
create more welcoming spaces in
support of occupant well-being.
2. Identify the latest signage material
and manufacturing processes and
their impact on occupant safety.
3. Describe the liability exposure
building owners face for
noncompliance with ADA.
4. Explain how ADA compliance leads to
healthier, safer, and more welcoming
environments.
To receive AIA credit, you are required to
read the entire article and pass the quiz.
Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
complete text and to take the quiz for free.
AIA COURSE #K2307B
EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT PICTURE THIS!

Photo courtesy of Inpro

Those professionals thinking seriously
about design and its human impacts have

CONTINUING EDUCATION
learned that natural forms, from the vein
patterns in leaves to the curves of the human
body, are based on fractals─a similar patterns
recur at progressively smaller scales─rather
than grids. Human beings are drawn to
fractals on a visual level and, on a deeper
level, find these natural patterns emotion-
ally restorative. Right angles, in contrast,
are harsh and can even be exhausting for
occupants. Through critical design research
into art and biophilia, and from the inspira-
tion that guides it, product manufacturers are
increasingly looking add art for the occupants
in any commercial building. This includes
integrating art throughout a space and across
various architectural products.
For architects seeking to populate their
designs with natural forms and to capture
both the visual and visceral response to
fractals, manufacturers are providing new,
high-tech solutions through common
architectural products. Designers can now
incorporate high-end, digital artwork The natural world evokes a powerful response from people. Harnessing biophilic elements
optimized for spaces such as offices, schools, elevates the built environment.
hospitals, and more. Materials such as protec-
tive wall coatings can be transformed to host
art and designs that bring vitality to spaces. nourished in a way that corresponds to and Daniel H. Bowen. “Almost as soon as
“The possibilities are exponential when their specific functions. “One reaches the motor skills are developed, children com-
using imagery on printed wall protection inevitable conclusion that beauty must be a municate through artistic expression. The
relating to experiential design and biophilia. guiding characteristic in all designs that aim arts challenge us with different points of
Your wall can not only take an impact, but to enhance human experience,” writes Zeki.1 view, compel us to empathize with ‘others,’
also make an impact,” says Ryan Roessler, He concludes that, whatever other demands and give us the opportunity to reflect on
Product Manager of Door and Wall go into architectural design, beauty must the human condition. Empirical evidence
Protection at Inpro. be a central element. Its experience adds to supports these claims: Among adults, arts
the health of its individuals and hence to participation is related to behaviors that
The Possibilities of Art in Design society’s well-being. “It is not a luxury but contribute to the health of civil society,
Using art within a building creates inspira- an essential ingredient in nourishing the such as increased civic engagement, greater
tion, fosters education, promotes wayfind- emotional brain.”2 social tolerance, and reductions in other-
ing, and can bolster branding. Beauty in The artistic possibilities for a design regarding behavior.”3 The new diversity of
architecture nourishes the human emo- are limited only by the designer's imagina- colors, material, and textures of impact-
tional brain argues Semir Zeki, Professor tion. New technologies and materials have resistance products offer designers and
of Neuroaesthetics at University College grasped and transformed the once-limited facility staff limitless options to enhance
London. Zeki goes further, suggesting beauty palette of products available to signage the aesthetics of a facility’s interior.
should be a quality in all buildings and that and protective wall cladding, offering an
humanity has the ability to recognize this incredible range of design choices. No longer
beauty across all cultural divides. Zeki’s re- limited to boring beige or grim grays, these
search posits that the appreciation of beauty is materials can display any work of art desired
hardwired into the human brain. People seek and integrate easily into design goals. Amanda Voss, MPP, is an author, editor, and
the beautiful to nourish the emotional brain Art can generate inspiration for policy analyst. Writing for multiple publications,
since, from a neurobiological point of view, occupants. Engaging with art is essential to she has also served as the managing editor for
all areas of the brain must be continually the human experience, write Brian Kisida Energy Design Update.

Founded in 1979, Inpro® is a global provider of high-performance, design-forward architectural products for building profes-
sionals. Inpro's product categories include door + wall protection, washrooms, expansion joint systems, privacy, elevator
interiors, architectural signage, and commercial window treatments. www.inprocorp.com

113
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PRODUCT REVIEW
Health & Wellness
CONTINUING EDUCATION

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114 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3


CONTINUING EDUCATION
Fenestration systems can make up
a significant portion of the exterior
of a building and need to provide
all of the necessary air, water, and
thermal barriers too.
Photo courtesy of CRL - © Trent Bell
Fenestration as Barriers
for Better Performance
The building science of creating better thermal, air,
and water barriers includes fenestration systems, too
Sponsored by CRL | By Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP
B
uilding science has advanced in
recent decades to the point where
manufacturers now offer a wide
range of exterior barrier products designed to
meet specific performance needs for limiting
airflow, resisting water, and controlling
thermal properties. Some of those products
address a single barrier need while others
have advanced capabilities in that they can
meet the requirements of 2 or more of these
barrier types. When thinking about bar-
rier products, large-scale building envelope
systems such as opaques walls or curtain
walls come to mind. However, fenestration
systems such as entrances and movable glass
walls play an important role as well. When
specified correctly, they can meet several
barrier objectives including thermal, air, and
116 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
water performance. The choice of which prod-
ucts to use is determined by the architect or
the designer of a project and is usually called
out in the specifications. Understanding the
difference between different fenestration
products and where they are most suitable is
the prerequisite knowledge for writing such
specifications and is the overall focus of this
continuing education course.
PERFORMANCE AND
QUALITY STANDARDS
The higher performance of building facades is
a resounding focus of many building designs.
This is driven in part by building owners who
want their buildings to use less operational
energy. It is also a response to the observ-
able increase in the intensity and frequency
CONTINUING EDUCATION
1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU
1 GBCI CE HOUR
Learning Objectives
After reading this article, you should
be able to:
1. Identify and recognize the safety
and performance characteristics
of exterior fenestration systems as
defined by national standards.
2. Investigate the welfare potential and
innovative opportunities to create
buildings that are flexible in use and
sustainable by nature.
3. Assess the functional contributions
of exterior glazing systems as they
contribute to green and sustainable
design.
4. Specify systems in a variety of green
and conventional buildings that
contribute to the health, safety, and
welfare of occupants and users.
To receive AIA credit, you are required to
read the entire article and pass the quiz.
Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
complete text and to take the quiz for free.
AIA COURSE #K2307K
EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT FENESTRATION AS BARRIERS FOR BETTER PERFORMANCE

Photo courtesy of CRL; Tim Griffith

of storms which raises concerns about water
resistance. Similarly, air infiltration and wind

resistance need to be addressed to counteract
both energy loss and storm damage.
In addition to these voluntary efforts,
architects also need to comply with the
mandates of different codes and standards. For
commercial buildings, these include not only
the International Building Code (IBC) but also
the International Energy Conservation Code
(IECC) or ASHRAE 90.1 for minimum energy
performance. Some states also have their own,
specific standards on top of the International
Codes such as California Title 24 or the Florida
Product Approvals standards. All of these
point to added requirements for higher quality
and performance demands on fenestration of
all types.
Glass and glazing are usually significant
design features of most commercial building
facades. There are many variables related
to their design such as the type, size, shape,
color, and configuration of the glazing, which
often receive plenty of attention. There are
also many variables that affect the perfor-
mance and the energy code compliance of
the glazing system including the percentage
of glazed to opaque wall areas, the number
of layers of glass, the type of glass used, glass
treatments or coatings, the framing system
that holds the glass, and even the type of
spacers between double- or triple-paned
products. It is important to recognize that
all of these variables are essentially different
components of a glazing system that can
be controlled and specified to suit specific
project conditions, climate zones, and code
requirements. It is not about any one item
alone (i.e., the framing system or the glass)
but the entire make-up of all of them.
Based on all of the above, we turn our at-
tention to some of the common standards and
codes that directly address the performance of
glazed fenestration systems of all types.
Fenestration Product Standards
The most widely recognized and rel-
evant strength standard for fenestra-
tion is the North American Fenestration
Standard (NAFS) which governs windows,
doors, and skylights. Known as AAMA/
WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440, this stan-
dard is familiar to many specifiers and
Standards have been developed by independent organizations to address the ability of fenes-
tration products to meet stated criteria as a part of the building envelope.
fenestration manufacturers and includes
four Performance Grade categories.
Classification of products is based on inde-
pendent testing based on the design pressure
of wind forces acting on the fenestration
(measured in pounds per square foot – psf)
at a stated pressure difference (measured in
pascals Pa). The entry-level or “gateway” cri-
teria for tested fenestration units in each of
the Performance Grades (PG) is as follows:
• R Class (Residential) Fenestration: 15 psf
(720 Pa) This class is commonly used in
one- and two-family dwellings.
• LC Class (Light Commercial)
Fenestration: 25 psf (1200 Pa) This class
is the minimum designation appropriate
for low- and mid-rise buildings where
larger sizes and higher loading require-
ments are expected.
• CW Class (Commercial) Fenestration: 30
psf (1,440 Pa) This newest class is better
suited to low- and mid-rise buildings
where larger sizes, higher loading
requirements, limits on deflection and
heavier use are expected.
• AW Class (Architectural) Fenestration:
40 psf (1,920 Pa) This is geared toward
mid and high-rise buildings to meet
increased loading requirements and
CONTINUING EDUCATION
limits on deflection in buildings where
frequent and extreme use of the fenestra-
tion products is expected.
To qualify for any one of these perfor-
mance grades, a representative specimen of
the product must pass all required perfor-
mance tests for the following, in addition
to all required auxiliary (durability) tests
for the applicable product type and desired
performance class:
a) Operating force (if applicable)
b) Air-leakage resistance
c) Water-penetration resistance
d) Uniform load deflection test
e) Uniform load structural test
f) Forced-entry resistance (if applicable)
After the completion of all of these tests,
the product is either deemed to have passed
or failed to meet the designation tested for.
Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP is a
nationally known architect and a prolific author
advancing better building performance through
more informed design. www.pjaarch.com
www.linkedin.com/in/pjaarch

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product choices. CRL focuses on expanding opportunities to turn bold architectural visions into real world experiences.
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117
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CONTINUING EDUCATION

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entrance system that doesn’t compromise aesthetics for performance.

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118 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3

 Unlimited Online Access
Access original news articles written by preeminent
Architectural Record editors and contributors,
along with interviews, videos and relevant features
selected from around the web.

Find it all at www.architecturalrecord.com


CONTINUING EDUCATION
Photo: CLB Architects; Kevin Scott Photography; courtesy of
Loewen Windows and Doors
Beyond Windows –
Designing with Large-
Format Glazing
Achieving design goals while
meeting high-performance needs
Sponsored by Loewen Windows and Doors
By Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP
G
lass and glazing are integral
to all residential designs with
punched or mulled windows being
the most commonly used product (i.e.,
awnings, casements, double-hung). In this
course we look beyond these well-known
choices and focus on a full range of avail-
able large-format glazing systems. Such
systems include fixed glazing (i.e., picture
windows), fully glazed doors (swinging,
sliding, multi-slide, lift slide), large bi-fold
doors, and residential curtain wall systems.
All of these can be used to create contem-
porary or traditional residential buildings
that are dramatic, inviting, flexible, and
very livable. At the same time, it is possible
120 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
Architects have many choices in selecting glazing and
fenestration products to incorporate into residential
designs to create inviting spaces that also perform well.
to specify any of these systems to meet a
variety of performance needs based on the
details of the framing, sealing, and glazing
selected. These include thermal and air
infiltration control to meet high-perfor-
mance energy standards such as Passive
House. They can also be specified to meet
the demands of particular projects related
to storm resistance/resilience or building
material needs such as copper or bronze
cladding on glazing systems. Understanding
the full range of options and capabilities
allows architects the opportunity to create
residential designs that are delightful to
live in, comfortably energy conserving, and
operationally durable.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU
1 IDCEC CEU/HSW
Learning Objectives
After reading this article, you should
be able to:
1. Identify and recognize the
characteristics of different types
of glazed openings in buildings
and some of the safety and welfare
standards that are applicable.
2. Investigate the potential to achieve
design goals while still meeting high-
performance needs by using large-
format glazing.
3. Assess the options of large-scale
glazing to contribute to the welfare
of building occupants through light
control, daylight, views, and energy
performance.
4. Specify the appropriate and safe
types of large-scale glazed openings
for different residential buildings.
To receive AIA credit, you are required to
read the entire article and pass the quiz.
Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
complete text and to take the quiz for free.
AIA COURSE #K2307C
EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
GLAZING OVERVIEW
Manufactured glazing products used in
residential design are typically made from
identifiable parts by any one of many dif-
ferent glazing product manufacturers. Of
course, not all manufacturers provide the
same type or style of products. Some have the
capabilities to provide higher performance
products than others. Certain manufactur-
ers are also equipped to provide unique or
innovative products when called for. With so
many choices available, it is incumbent on the
design professional to discern which products
are best suited to a particular project both to
meet the design intent as well as the perfor-
mance requirements.
Design Options
Regardless of the manufacturer or the type
of product, there are a few fundamental
design aspects and options for all glazing
products. Often, selecting from these aspects
is influenced by the project design intent, the
location, or performance requirements to
meet codes or other standards. Some of the
common options include the following:
• Glazing: There are fundamental choices
in the type of glass used such as float/
annealed, tempered, heat strengthened, or
laminated. There are also processes that
affect the characteristics of the glass such
as coatings, color tints, etc. The most com-
monly specified coating is for low emissivity
(Low-E). This process helps control the flow
of radiant heat through the glazing to en-
hance the energy performance of a building.
It may change the color of the glass slightly,
but not enough to be a deterrent to using it.
Further, there are fabrication options such
as creating double-glazed insulated glazing
units (IGUs). Triple glazing is increasingly
being asked for in colder climates causing
certain fabricators and manufacturers to
respond with product offerings to meet that
demand. Determining which glass options
are best suited to a project is usually an
iterative process that balances the look, size,
location, and performance of the glass with
the other components of a glazing product.
• Frame and Sash Materials: The glass is
mounted into a sash that surrounds it on
all four sides. That sash is set into a frame
Loewen is a leading manufacturer of premium windows and doors for the luxury architectural market in North America. loewen.com
BEYOND WINDOWS – DESIGNING WITH LARGE-FORMAT GLAZING
Photo: Narofsky Architecture; Phillip Ennis
Photography; courtesy of Loewen Windows and Doors
which is the intermediary between the
glazed sash and the building. There are
CONTINUING EDUCATION
choices in the material for these items
including wood, aluminum, fiberglass,
vinyl, or others, each with its own
design and performance characteristics,
advantages, and disadvantages. Different
fenestration products may be offered in
different materials by different manufac-
turers including different species of wood
(i.e., Douglas fir, white oak, mahogany,
etc.). Some woods are denser and longer
lasting than others and also provide
different appearances and colorations.
Check with manufacturers for their
standard and optional offerings.
• Prefinished Options and Colors:
Different manufacturers offer different
ranges of finish options for the frame and
sash materials. White and dark bronze
are common for vinyl and aluminum
but there may be other options available
too such as greys, greens, tans, and red.
Wood products may be unfinished or
prefinished in a full array of popular
stain colors. Some finishing may include
distressing of the wood for a more
natural look. If a particular finish is
being sought, however, don’t assume that
all manufacturers have it available. It is Glazed fenestration products are available
best to check first. with a range of interior and exterior materials,
• Hardware: The hardware for operable glass types, hardware, and other features.
fenestration products is similarly varied
by manufacturer. While the functional-
ity of the hardware is essentially the • Custom Capabilities: Some manufactur-
same between one manufacturer and ers provide their standard products and
another, the style, color, and finish of that is all. Others can readily customize
that hardware can vary considerably. the size or shape of their products as
Some offer multi-point locking hardware long as it remains within certain limits
on selected products which provides a of their fabrication capabilities. Certain
greater degree of security. There are also product manufacturers can offer a wide
European-style hardware latches and range of custom capabilities and should
locks that may be available which are be consulted during the project design
typically more robust and durable while process to see what is readily possible.
still offering an elegant appearance.
• Enhancements: Some projects may
require certain enhancements to a
glazing product. For example, some can
be wind-strengthened for greater wind Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP is
and storm resistance where needed. a nationally known architect and a prolific author
Other products can be covered with more advancing better building design through the in-
durable cladding or coatings such as non- novative use of glazing. www.pjaarch.com
ferrous metals like bronze or copper. www.linkedin.com/in/pjaarch
121

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Photo courtesy of Inpro
Reading the Room
Using signage to create healthy
and vibrant ADA-compliant
Sponsored by Inpro | By Erika Fredrickson
P
roper signage in commercial and
public spaces is key to how people
safely navigate the built environ-
ment. And now, as more architects turn to
human-centered design focused on healthy
buildings, signs are playing a more impor-
tant role than ever before. New signage
products can be selected for durability,
sustainable design, and allow for a range
of digital art options, which designers can
specify to meet their architectural vision.
Far from being an afterthought, signs for
health care and learning environments—as
well as for hospitality and multifamily
construction—must be seen as an asset for
architects and as a transformative tool for
renovation. This article discusses the latest
in cutting-edge signage design and ADA
compliance, and it offers a way for architects
to stay on top of—and ahead of—the curve
122 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3
EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
A school in North Fond Du Lac,
Wisconsin, uses ADA-compliant signage
that incorporates aesthetic design.
when it comes to keeping occupants safe,
healthy, and comfortable.
SIGN(S) OF THE TIMES
Human-centered design considers the variety
of ways occupants of a building interact—and
react—to spaces. It accounts for the diverse
abilities, backgrounds, and contexts of users
and aims to create solutions that support a
positive experience across those spectrums.
While the concept of human-centered design
has been discussed throughout architectural
history, it has gained increased attention and
significance in recent decades. Architects
continue to explore and refine approaches to
create designs that prioritize the well-being of
occupants, reflecting an ongoing commitment
to human-centered design principles.
Signage is one important way building
designers can shape the experience of
CONTINUING EDUCATION
1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU
1 ADA STATE ACCESSIBILITY/BARRIER-FREE
Learning Objectives
After reading this article, you should
be able to:
1. Discuss how signage has evolved to
create more welcoming spaces in
support of occupant well-being.
2. Identify the latest signage material
and manufacturing processes and
their impact on occupant safety.
3. Describe the liability exposure
building owners face for
noncompliance with ADA.
4. Explain how ADA compliance leads to
healthier, safer, and more welcoming
environments.
To receive AIA credit, you are required to
read the entire article and pass the quiz.
Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
complete text and to take the quiz for free.
AIA COURSE #K2307L
EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT READING THE ROOM

Photo courtesy of Inpro

occupants in positive ways. Through lan-
guage, symbols, color, and texture—among

CONTINUING EDUCATION
other things—signs can offer wayfinding and
information, as well as provide emotional
and physical comfort. In particular, signage
in public spaces such as schools, hospitals,
museums, and hotels plays a crucial role
in occupant experience. When signs are
effective, they can enhance learning and
healing environments, and communicate
clear messages that keep people safe, happy,
and healthy.
The built environment is always changing.
And signage, along with it, is ever-evolving.
When architects consider signage in their
designs, they must understand the ways
in which signs function to support safety,
health, and comfort within a space. They
must understand accessibility laws, codes,
and best practices. Just as important, design-
ers can look to signage as an asset, rather than
an afterthought or hindrance—an innovative
solution to their architectural vision.

Types of Signage
Signs provide information. Some signs
serve to provide basic information about a
space, including health and safety guidelines,
regulations, and best practices. For instance,
the pandemic has necessitated signs display-
ing messages about wearing face masks,
maintaining physical distancing, washing
hands, and following other specific safety
protocols. This kind of information helps
raise awareness and reminds individuals
to follow recommended health and safety
practices. Information signage also provides
basic information such as the location of
restrooms, emergency exits, parking areas,
and other facilities. Detailed and well-placed
informational signage helps people feel more
welcome and empowered in their surround-
ings. Informational signage can be creative,
and employ additional value by offering
intriguing information that sparks interest.
Signs might offer historical information or
details about the activities that happen within
the building, and in doing so, give occupants
a unique experience within the space.
Signs provide navigation. These types of
signs are meant to guide people safely and
accurately through spaces. That includes
signage indicating a one-way flow of foot
Emergency evacuation plans provide detailed information in well-placed areas that supports
the safety of occupants.
traffic, signage that identifies designated
entrances and exits, or signage that directs
individuals to specific areas such as first aid
stations. When signs provide clear direc-
tions and helpful instructions, they help
prevent confusion and ensure people follow
protocols and get where they need to go.
Wayfinding signage has evolved to provide
clear directions and visual cues that help
visitors navigate easily and feel more com-
fortable in unfamiliar surroundings. This
includes the use of maps, directional arrows,
and landmarks to enhance orientation.
Signs provide hazard warnings. Signs
can warn individuals about potential
hazards in public spaces. For example, signs
can indicate wet floors, low ceilings, or areas
under construction. These warnings can
help people avoid accidents and injuries by
alerting them to potential dangers and risks.
Signs provide emergency information.
Emergency procedures and protocols should
not be guesswork. These signs offer clear
direction to people during intense and
stressful situations with information on
evacuation routes, emergency exits, the loca-
tion of fire extinguishers, and emergency
contact numbers.
Erika Fredrickson is a writer/editor focusing on
technology, environment, and history. She frequently
contributes to continuing education courses and
publications through Confluence Communications.
http://www.confluencec.com

Founded in 1979, Inpro® is a global provider of high-performance, design-forward architectural products for building profes-
sionals. Inpro's product categories include door + wall protection, washrooms, expansion joint systems, privacy, elevator
interiors, architectural signage, and commercial window treatments. www.inprocorp.com

123
 EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
CONTINUING EDUCATION

Photo: Dan Ryan with Dan Ryan Studio

Ageless Elegance: Steel CONTINUING EDUCATION

1 AIA LU/ELECTIVE 0.1 ICC CEU

Windows and Doors Learning Objectives

After reading this article, you should
Sponsored by Euroline Steel Windows & Doors be able to:
1. Discuss the history and craftsmanship
By Kathy Price-Robinson of steel windows and doors.
2. Assess the aesthetics and design
flexibility of steel windows and doors
for high-end homes.
3. Define the durability of steel for

W
hen architects want to make a
statement of timeless elegance
in luxury homes, they may
specify steel windows and doors. The
history of steel goes back thousands of
years. Buildings with steel windows may
be hundreds of years old. Today, with
advancements in glazing, coatings, and
sustainability, steel windows and doors are
seeing surging popularity in upscale homes.
As we’ll see in this course, steel windows
and doors often help architects stand out
and give homeowners the distinctive look
and superior performance they desire.
Kathy Price-Robinson is a nationally known
remodeling and construction writer. Her award-
winning remodeling series titled Pardon Our
Dust ran 12 years in the Los Angeles Times.
www.kathyprice.com.
windows and doors.
4. Identify zinc coatings for steel frames.
5. Describe a case study where steel
windows and doors were specified for
a high-end home.
To receive AIA credit, you are required to
read the entire article and pass the quiz.
Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
complete text and to take the quiz for free.
AIA COURSE #K2305Y

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124 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3

DATES & Events
Upcoming Exhibitions
Difference Machines: Technology and
Identity in Contemporary Art
Chicago
October 13–December 16, 2023
Wrightwood 659, a Tadao Ando–designed
arts and design center in Chicago’s Lincoln
Park neighborhood, is the final destination of
a traveling exhibition dedicated to the rela-
tionship between technology and those who
use it, originally shown at the Buffalo AKG
Art Museum last winter. Works by 16 con-
temporary artists explore the impact of digital
technologies on identity in the Internet age,
using both familiar and emerging ones, from
software-based and Internet art to animated
videos, BioArt experiments, online games,
and 3D-printed sculptures. For more, see
wrightwood659.org
Ongoing Exhibitions
Vanishing Points: Architectural
Imagination in the Digital Universe
London
Through July 29, 2023
For this exhibit at the Roca London Gallery,
architect Hamza Shaikh brings a wide range
of architectural imaginings by his contempo-
raries into dialogue with historical precedents
from the Drawing Matter archive. Drawings
by Mies van der Rohe, John Hejduk, and
Le Corbusier are displayed side by side with
products of the latest virtual technologies, to
show how digital architecture follows and
expands upon the profession’s drawing tradi-
tion. See rocalondongallery.com
Iwan Baan: Prague Diary
Prague
Through August 20, 2023
On view at the Center for Architecture and
Metropolitan Planning is an exhibition show-
casing the work of Dutch architectural pho-
tographer and record contributor Iwan
Baan. Composed of images captured on a
seven-day trek through Prague, the exhibit
unfolds as Baan’s lens mediates the experience
of a new city through four geographical
themes: first contact, the center, the periph-
ery, and natural scenery. See praha.camp/en/.
Tham & Videgård—On: Architecture
Stockholm
Through August 27, 2023
Since Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård
founded their Stockholm-based office in
1999, it has become one of the leading archi-
tecture firms in the country, shaping the
image of Swedish architecture and winning
numerous international awards. ArkDes,
Sweden’s national center for architecture and
design, presents a retrospective of the firm’s
work and impact nationally and abroad, high-
lighting projects such as the Kalmar Konst-
museum, the Treehotel in Harads, Sweden,
and the KTH School of Architecture in
Stock holm, as well as international designs
such as the Denfert art center in Paris. For
more, see arkdes.se.
Warsaw 1945–1949: Rising from Rubble
Warsaw
Through September 3, 2023
The Museum of Warsaw presents an exhibi-
tion that reexamines the postwar rebuilding of
the city through a material lens, tracing the
collective process of transforming ruins into
rubble, and rubble into viable building mate-
rial over the first four years of reconstruction.
On display are over 500 material artifacts,
including fragments of sculptures and archi-
tecture, stove tiles and ceramics, demolition
bricks and concrete rubble, alongside docu-
mentary footage, photography, documents,
and artworks from the era. The historical
exhibition is complemented by contemporary
commentary on material reuse and recycling
from artists including Tymek Borowski,
Diana Lelonek, Antonina Gugała, and archi-
tecture studios CENTRALA and Archigrest.
See muzeumwarszawy.pl/en.
Architect’s Houses
London
Through September 3, 2023
An exhibition at Sir John Soane’s Museum,
the preserved home of the acclaimed 19th-
century architect, celebrates five other
London houses designed and inhabited by
architects: William Morris’s Red House, Ernö
Goldfinger’s 2 Willow Road, Charles Jencks’s
The Cosmic House, Patty and Michael Hop-
kins’s Hopkins House, and Sarah Wiggles-
worth’s 9/10 Stock Orchard Street. Consisting
of drawings, photographs, models, and arti-
facts, the exhibition explores a range of mod-
ern and contemporary architectural practice.
See soane.org.
Look Here
Washington, D.C.
Through September 4, 2023
For the past six summers, the National
Building Museum has transformed its great
hall into a large-scale interactive installation
celebrating architecture and design. This
year’s installation, titled Look Here, was de-
signed by architect Suchi Reddy of Reddy-
made Studio and features origami-like mir-
rored objects overhanging a series of ramps
and seating areas. The museum will program
free events and classes in the installation
throughout the summer. See nbm.org.
Simone Leigh
Boston
Through September 4, 2023
The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
presents the first comprehensive survey exhi-
bition of Chicago-born artist and sculptor
Simone Leigh. The exhibit will showcase
work from two decades of production, includ-
ing sculpture, ceramics, video, and installa-
tion, as well as works from Leigh’s 2022
Venice Biennale presentation, to be shown for
the first time in the United States. For more
information, see icaboston.org.
Web(s) of Life
London
Through September 10, 2023
Tomás Saraceno’s first solo exhibition in the
UK, on view at the Serpentine Galleries,
draws on the Argentinian multimedia artist’s
ongoing research into spiders: their behavior,
the architecture of their webs, and their sig-
nificance in human mythology and cultural
perception. Composed of artworks, video, and
interactive installations that extend into the
Serpentine’s grounds, the exhibition partners
with two of Saraceno’s other initiatives:
Arachnophilia, an “interdisciplinary,
research-driven community of humans, spi-
ders, and their webs,” and the environmental-
activist collective Aerocene. For more infor-
mation, see serpentinegalleries.org.
Water Cities
Rotterdam
Through October 22, 2023
The Nieuwe Instituut presents for the first time
in the Netherlands a floating pavilion designed
by Nigerian-Dutch architect Kunlé Adeyemi.
The circular building system, titled MFS IIR,
is on view in the ponds on the museum
grounds. Informed by Adeyemi’s Amsterdam-
based firm NLÉ’s research into the relationship
between water and cities amid rising sea levels
and housing shortages in Africa, the installa-
tion was previously shown as a prototype in
Lagos, Nigeria, and was awarded the Silver
Lion award at the 2016 Venice Biennale. A
parallel exhibition centers on historical and
contemporary examples of possibilities for
designing on and with water, and includes
125
 DATES & Events
works by Studio Makkink & Bey, Shertise
Solano. See nieuweinstituut.nl/en.
REFRAMED: The Future of Cities in
Wood
Chicago
Through October 31, 2023
The Chicago Architecture Center, in collabo-
ration with the Council of Tall Buildings and
Urban Habitat, presents an exhibition that
tells the story of building with mass timber,
showcasing completed and progressing proj-
ects from around the world. Also on view is
ReCovered, an immersive tree-canopy instal-
lation by Ross Barney Architects which high-
lights the role that trees play in the urban
environment and teaches visitors about
Chicago’s native species and tree-planting
initiatives. See architecture.org.
Plant Fever
Dresden, Germany
Through October 31, 2023
An exhibition by the Kunstgewerbemuseum
hosted at Pillintz Palace, a restored Baroque
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manor on the bank of the River Elbe, explores bring together architects, designers, artists,
the future of design from a “plant-centered” planners, and researchers working in the
perspective. The culmination of a multiyear Global South and its diasporas to illuminate a
research project by the curatorial team Laura new path toward sustainability. For more, see
Drouets and Olivier Lacrout, the site-specific sharjaharchitecture.org.
exhibition highlights almost 50 international
projects from the realms of fashion, furniture, Competitions
computer technology, and architecture that
point to how design can reshape our relation- Gottfried Böhm Scholarship
ship with the plant world. Visitors can also Deadline: August 31, 2023
explore the horticultural tradition of the Intended for postgraduate architects who are
estate via its gardens and unique greenhouse. interested in the relationship between archi-
See kunstgewerbemuseum.skd.museum/en. tecture and urban development, this one-year
residency scholarship takes place in Cologne,
Events Germany, under the patronage of the mayor’s
office. The recipient will receive accommoda-
Sharjah Architecture Triennial tions and a monthly grant of €2,500 to work
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates on architecture and development projects for
November 11, 2023–March 10, 2024 the city. Applicants must have completed a
Curated by the Nigerian architect Tosin master’s degree in architecture and not previ-
Oshinowo, the second edition of the Triennial ously received a postgraduate scholarship. See
focuses on design solutions that arise from gb-stipendium.de.
conditions of scarcity. Titled The Beauty of
Impermanence: An Architecture of Adapt- E-mail information two months in advance to
ability, the four-month architecture event will schulmanp@bnpmedia.com.
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127
 SNAPSHOT

Since the death of Sir John Soane in 1837, the office and
residence of the Regency-era architect, in three contiguous
townhouses on Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London, have been a
museum. But for the first time in the institution’s nearly
200-year history, the diminutive room known as the “drawing PHOTOGRAPHY: © GARETH GARDNER

office”—the heart of Soane’s architectural practice—is open

to the public. Once the workspace for up to six draftsmen
and apprentices, the 215-square-foot skylit mezzanine level,
reached via a spiral stair, has undergone a year-long renovation
that included structural work, repair of water damage,
restoration of the desks, and the deinstallation, cleaning, and
rehanging of approximately 250 plaster casts and architectural
artifacts. Due to the size of the space, the number of visitors
is limited. For tour details, see www.soane.org.
Joann Gonchar, FAIA

128 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD J U LY 2 0 2 3

3 EASY STEPS! and registration isn’t one of them.

SELECT CONFIGURE GENERATE

Select and configure 1. SELECT the necessary product(s) for the project.

2. CONFIGURE those product(s) around the

a product fast and specific requirements of the project using drop-down
menus and option boxes. (The built-in intelligence of
accurately, then SpecWizard prevents incompatible choices)

automatically generate 3. GENERATE the completed specification by

choosing either USA or Canadian versions. The

a complete CSI 3-Part SpecWizard then edits the manufacturer’s

proprietary specification based on your selections,
and within seconds, produces a finished CSI 3-Part
Formatted spec. Formatted specification in Word format.

that’s it. that’s SpecWizard®. only arcat.com

SpecWizard is a registered trademark of ARCAT, Inc, and is protected by US Patent No. 8,706,646
 AEOS™
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