project of the month -02.12 -hooked on phonics:

pronunciations vary for non-locals, but for those living in and around northwest washington state, puyallup is a city located south of seattle.  or southeast of tacoma, if you prefer.  (don’t worry, locals will tell you which one, if any, is correct).  either way, our hearing is going due to too much rock and roll in our youth at the tacoma dome,  so we are have trouble nailing it down.  no worries. 

the name comes from the native american puyallup tribe.  “puyallup” means the generous people.  we can see that.  nice people, nice city and nice architectural sensibilities. 

take the puyallup city hall, for instance.  designed by the mighty mithun firm on the great alaskan way in nearby seattle, this building absolutely sings with massing and materiality.  we say “mighty” for a reason.  mithun architects provided the architectural, interior design, and landscaping services for this private-public stunner.  (http://mithun.com/projects/project_detail/puyallup_city_hall_block/)

the team at mithun has managed to join the public and private realms with a project that accommodates shops on the main street front and a public plaza + courtyard + landscape to be enjoyed by all.  moreover, the mixing of a material pallet that includes concrete, brick, glass, wood, plants, lights and zinc, could have been a disaster in less skilled hands.  mithun makes it happen with an ease that doesn’t shout for or demand attention.  instead, it has a subtle and sweet finesse that sneaks up on you. 

The only thing we’re concerned about is that drivers passing this building too fast will suddenly slam on their breaks and cause accidents! (“whoa!  what was that?”)  closer inspection (of the zinc first, of course) reveals zinc panel sizes intentionally rendered so that the reveals line up with the mullions.  sounds easy.  hard to do once paper meets the reality of construction.  by the way, the zinc was expertly installed by locals:  architectural sheet metal of puyallup.  (www.architecturalsheetmetal.com)

we believe that the installers’ local pride, combined with their craftsmanship, speaks for itself.  but, because this is a blog, we will mention that the vertical interlocking wall panels were drawn in such a way that they create texture as they draw the eye to the sky. the vertical columns above the brick massing at the street front intensify this effort. wrapping the zinc around to the nearby fascia brings the eye back to the other elements, including the glass and the wood soffit. the brick base box anchors the ensemble to the lively street.

everywhere you turn, the materiality of this building plays out like a small symphony.  quiet and confident — not like great grandma cranking out show tunes on her 1970s hi-fi at full volume in the room down the hall.  no, this building is more like a drive along the ocean on a sunday afternoon, or a windswept field on an open prairie.  calm with an element of the uncontrolled.  and yet, somehow, it is being controlled.  generous in it’s own way.  enough said.

we hope you go by this project. get off i-5 for a few moments and take a look.  if you dig architecture, you’ll be glad that you did.  on the way, you can practice non-local variations of the name: “pju-AWL-ep” … “pew-owl-up”   …”pew-awl-ap”   ”hello? hooked on phonics?” 

enjoy -vm

photos by gilbertson photography.  (www.gilbertsonphotography.com)

editorial contributions by bryan ninneman

Source: www.zincsense.com

repost from www.zincsense.com

Where typical LED boards block windows and obstruct buildings, GKD’s Mediamesh allows for daylight to penetrate the windows, while appearing almost solid from the outside.
More here:http://tinyurl.com/22vkyep

A façade doesn’t have to be flat anymore. Dri-Design® has introduced its new Tapered Series architectural metal wall panel system. The innovative design allows each individual panel face to taper in all directions.
Do you like it?
More here:http://tinyurl.com/26xykj7

Architecture engages with the interaction between contrasts and often creates a new reality from fantasies. To do so, new mediums with regard to contours, colors and textures of surfaces must be possible
more here(Architonic):http://tinyurl.com/2dcqd9s

Dr. D’Antonio was an invited speaker at Koeln Messe, Cologne, Germany describing RPG’s research on the acoustic design of speech rooms in which the signal to noise ratio is maximized for good speech intelligibility. A book of the proceedings will be published in the coming year. This featured project illustrates the use of Canadian maple veneered Topakustik panels on the walls of a district office meeting room and 1500 m2 of planks on the side walls and ceilings of the entrance hall.Repost from RPG Facebook page

Asian Art Museum
San Francisco California
Hok Architects (www.hok.com)
S & L Payton Sheet Metal
VMZ Standing seam panel
QUARTZ-ZINC

A combination of glare and heat gain in the glass atrium of their new headquarters building presented the Oracle Corporation UK with a problem so, having previously applied dark film to the glazing which proved aesthetically unsatisfactory, the computer software company turned to solar shading specialists Levolux to provided a solution. Designed by Scott Brownrigg Turner Architects. To access this case study please visithttp://tinyurl.com/4x54ktb

This project uses one of the media methods to apply the logo of a large banking concern onto the day lighting facade that wraps the building. In addition to the day lighting and signage, a rather plain building is converted to something more on the special side. Designed by Hans Jorg Tschom and located in Bruck an der Mur, Austria. For more information visit http://tinyurl.com/3rz2m9o

There are many skills a façade engineer should have. You have to be creative and practical. In order to become a good facade engineer, it is basicly to get experience in every stage: design, calculations, tests, standards, on site, schedules and budget.

In the following list I describe the main skills from my point of view:

-To visualize every component which forms the envelope. It means that you have to imagine the anchorage, structure, fillings and final elements. It is essential to be able to construct the whole façade in your mind before doing any sketch.
-Every design ought to be possible to assembly on site. You can not design something if you don’t know how to assembly on site.
-To understand the functions of every element and how can they play the best role according to the architectural project specifications.
-To have a deep knowledge of the concepts relationed to energy and light performances; water, thermal, acoustic and fire isolation.
-To make good sketches.
-To calculate inertia of profiles and to optimize it.
-As a engineer, you have to offer the best technical solution at the optimal cost. You can not design something if you don’t know how much does it cost.
-Good communication skills are essential in order to attend meetings and to write technical reports.

Said that, I present an interesting interview published in The Independent a years ago to John Champion, a façade engineer and technical director of James&Taylor firm. He explains his opinion about this job.

What does a façade engineer do?

I work with architects and builders to create the façade, or outer skin, of a building. Most buildings have a steel or concrete frame, plus a weatherproof layer on top. The very outer bit of that weatherproof layer – the bit that looks good – is the façade. The nice thing about my job is that I get to influence its design, form, and appearance. If an architect has an off-the-wall idea, but doesn’t know how to turn it into reality, we get called in.

What’s your working pattern like?

Theoretically, the hours are 9.30am to 5.30pm. But because of deadlines, we usually work much longer. A typical project might start with a meeting with the architects and client to look at various models and drawings. After whittling down various proposals, we mock them up, ending up with one or two versions. The next stage is critical: we construct a large-scale prototype, two or three storeys high, so everyone can stand back and get a perspective of what it might look like from 100m away. It either works, or it doesn’t. Then it’s a question of logistics – ordering materials, producing drawings for builders and overseeing construction on-site.

What do you love about it?

My favourite thing is playing a part in creating something that looks terrific. I worked on the futuristic Selfridges in Birmingham, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, which looks like a huge pile of boxes balanced on top of each other. You can stand back on a street corner, look up at an iconic 23-storey building that started as a scribble on an architect’s piece of paper and think, “I did that”.

What’s not so greatabout it?

Dealing with people who don’t care. Sometimes you get involved in projects that aren’t overtly well-designed, and end up working with a team that doesn’t care what the building looks like – they just want it to work. We want it to work and look terrific too. If everything was simply built to the lowest functional denominator, it would be pretty sad.

What skills do you need to do the job well?

You need to be a good engineer, to understand the principles of contemporary construction and be extremely thorough and practical. You can’t design something if you don’t know how to bolt it together yourself. If you’re talking to a guy on a scaffold, he won’t buy what you’re saying if you haven’t ever wielded a spanner, so it helps to have a solid background in construction. Being able to communicate well is important – you’ve got to be able to get your point across, whether you’re talking to a room of 30 people, meeting an architect, or sitting down with a group of builders.

What advice would you give someone with their eye on your job?

The key thing is to choose the company you work with carefully – look at whether they do interesting work. Get into the technical and design department and show you’re willing to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in. Ideally, you should try to get an engineering qualification and brush up your skills in computer-aided design. The days of the cigarette packet sketch are long gone, so you need to be pretty hot on computer skills. Companies look for people with an eye for good design and a fixation with all things mechanical – I used to spend hours making Meccano models as a child.

What’s the salary and career path like?

Starting out in the technical department of most engineering and construction firms, you might earn about £30,000 a year. You could specialise in a particular area of construction, and work your way up through the management levels if that’s what you’re interested in.

Source: renatocilento.blogspot.com

Repost from the GKD pressroom