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MAY 2024
DEPARTMENTS PROJECTS
BUILDING TYPE STUDY 1,064
18 EDITOR’S LETTER MULTIFAMILY HOUSING 57 Pearling Path, Muharraq, Bahrain
OFFICE KGDVS, STUDIO ANNE HOLTROP,
21 HOUSE OF THE MONTH: Kasu Zama,
75 Pumphouse, Winnipeg, Manitoba CHRISTIAN KEREZ, AND BUREAU BAS SMETS
Goa, India SAMEEP PADORA +
5468796 ARCHITECTURE By Pansy Schulman By Ian Volner
ASSOCIATES By Leopoldo Villardi
80 26 Point 2 Apartments, Long Beach, 64 Kaohsiung Port Terminal, Taiwan
27 NEWS: Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House
California MICHAEL MALTZAN RUR ARCHITECTURE By Thomas Daniell
Lands in Palm Springs
ARCHITECTURE By Sarah Amelar
By Russell Fortmeyer
86 Heartwood, Seattle ATELIERJONES 103 CONTINUING EDUCATION:
31 FORUM: Exit Strategy By Alex Armlovich
By Joann Gonchar, FAIA Affordable Housing & Energy
37 LANDSCAPE: Panorama Park and Performance By Katharine Logan
92 15 Allen Street, Buffalo ADAM
Signal Point, San Francisco HOOD
SOKOL ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE
DESIGN STUDIO By Matt Hickman
By Matthew Marani
40 BOOK REVIEW: The Architecture of 126 Dates & Events
96 San Mateo County Navigation
Influence: The Myth of Originality in the 128 SNAPSHOT: LightBAR, Sacramento,
Center, Redwood City, California
Twentieth Century, by Amanda Reeser California REGROUP By Matt Hickman
OFFICE OF CHARLES F. BLOSZIES
Lawrence By Eric Höweler, FAIA
By Clare Jacobson
43 GUESS THE ARCHITECT
44 TRADE SHOW: Light+Building, COVER: 26 POINT 2 APARTMENTS, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA,
BY MICHAEL MALTZAN ARCHITECTURE. IMAGE © MICHAEL
Frankfurt By Leopoldo Villardi
MALTZAN ARCHITECTURE.
46 PRODUCTS: Flooring
51 IN FOCUS: Little Village, Detroit OMA, THIS PAGE: KASU ZAMA, GOA, INDIA, BY SAMEEP PADORA +
ASSOCIATES. PHOTO © STUDIO SURYAN//DANG.
PRO, AND OSD By Matt Hickman
Expanded coverage at architecturalrecord.com.

13
 LEARN & EARN
Earn your continuing education credits free online at ce.architecturalrecord.com*
CONTINUING EDUCATION

IN THIS ISSUE

Photo: Ed Wonsek; courtesy of The Architectural Team

Photo: Max Tuohey; courtesy of JDS Development

p110 p120

Multifamily Housing–More Popular Than Ever Longevity and Sustainability of Curtain Walls
Sponsored by Bison Innovative Products, Geberit, Meek Mirrors, LLC, and ProWood Sponsored by The Ornamental Metal Institute of New York
CREDIT: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 ICC CEU CREDIT: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 ICC CEU; 1 GBCI CE HOUR
Photo courtesy of Inpro Corporation

p122 p124

Photo courtesy of PERC

Going Above and Beyond with ADA The Future of Hot Water in Commercial Operations
Sponsored by Inpro Corporation Sponsored by The Propane Education & Research Council
CREDIT: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 ICC CEU; *1 ADA STATE ACCESSIBILITY/BARRIER-FREE CREDIT: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 ICC CEU

TRENDING ARTICLES ON THE CE CENTER

Photo by Chip Allen Photography; courtesy of All Weather
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Maximizing Year-Round Enjoyment Precast Concrete Insulated Panels Transaction Windows: How to Specify the Right Pass Benefits of a Rigid Cover Board
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More than a trend, the benefits of biophilic

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of architecture. While up to this point much of designing truly unique and personalized
the biophilic design elements have focused on residential spaces, modern custom homes
options like improved daylighting or exposed need to embody the hopes, dreams, and
wood and natural stone, biophilia also includes visions of clients who look to their homes for
the human element, specifically art. comfort, performance, and flexibility.

To receive credit, you are required to read the entire article and pass the quiz. Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for complete text and to take the quiz for free.

*All Architectural Record articles and presentations count toward the annual AIA continuing education requirement. All sponsored exams are available at no charge and are instantly processed, unless otherwise noted.

14 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
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Spray-Applied Glass The Health, Safety, and Welfare

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Ronald Rael and Virginia San Jason Frantzen of

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*All Architectural Record articles and presentations count toward the annual AIA continuing education requirement. All sponsored exams are available at no charge and are instantly processed, unless otherwise noted.

16 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
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 From the EDITOR

At All Costs
IN FEBRUARY, a major corruption scandal rocked the New York
City Housing Authority (NYCHA), leading to the arrests of 70 then-
current and former NYCHA workers and contractors. It was the larg-
est single-day bribery takedown in Justice Department history.
Despite the vast scope of the charges—NYCHA employees de-
manded and received cash in exchange for NYCHA “no-bid” contracts
that were, in turn, often grossly overpaid—it hardly came as a surprise
to New Yorkers, who would regularly see images on local television of
rat-infested NYCHA apartments that time and again went without
heat in winter. The enormity of the operation was matched only by the
absurdity of the goings-on at the largest public housing authority in
North America. A recent review of NYCHA invoices revealed—in

PHOTOGRAPHY: © JILLIAN NELSON

what was probably one of the more outrageous instances—that the
agency paid a “no-bid” vendor over $708 to change a light bulb.
While most people may have become numb to these pay-to-play
problems at government bureaus, it’s the by-the-book costs that offend
me. This issue of record, focusing on multifamily buildings, features
examples of workforce, supportive, and transitional housing—all
presumably “affordable.” But affordable is an elastic term, and, while it
may, in a sense, be “affordable” for residents to occupy these dwelling
units, they certainly aren’t cheap to build—they can cost up to 25
percent more than comparable market-rate housing. The San Mateo County Navigation Center (page 96),
interim housing for the formerly homeless, stands out as a less expensive model. It was constructed using a
prefabricated modular system that, at $237,500 a door, cost less than half the amount conventional construction
does: similar units for these types of housing—typically simple, rectangular spaces ranging between 250 and
400 square feet—can cost upward of $500,000. Could you imagine paying half a million dollars to build a box
that accommodates little more than a bed, a bathroom, and a kitchenette? Why do government agencies and
nonprofits pay that much?
“The list of regulatory and other issues that drive up the cost of affordable housing is endless,” says architect
Larry Scarpa, cofounder of the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute. “It’s normal for many of our
projects to have up to 12 funding sources, each with their own separate and unique requirements, such as size of
rooms, length of countertops, amount of storage, or clearance around beds. And one of the most costly consid-
erations, the ‘elephant in the room,’ is the Americans with Disabilities Act—100 percent of affordable housing
must be either adaptable or accessible, when only a small percentage of the population is recognized as having
disabilities under definitions that align with the ADA.”
Whether a result of corruption, red tape, or something else, somewhere along the line, things went very
wrong. A panel discussion last month, cosponsored by Open House New York and The Architectural League
of New York, centered around the book Housing the Nation: Social Equity, Architecture, and the Future of
Affordable Housing (excerpted in the February issue of record), explored the evolution of this dire situation.
NYCHA, for instance, started out as an “exemplar of good, solid, affordable housing for working people,” said
David Burney, its chief architect from 1990 to 2004, at the event. Skid Row Housing Trust, another institution
that had long stood as a celebrated model for providing shelter to formerly homeless people, imploded last year.
It happened, in part, as The Los Angeles Times reported, because of the challenging financing model for the
housing stock it set out to save, mainly single-room-occupancy buildings.
While it’s easy to point out the problems, it’s seemingly impossible—especially as architects—to fix them.
But architects should remember that providing decent housing for the people has long been a central project of
the profession. Good design that makes affordable housing attractive to its constituency and communities can
provide the impetus to overcome the egregious economic and political barriers to its development.

Josephine Minutillo, Editor in Chief

18 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
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 HOUSE of the Month
SAMEEP PADORA + ASSOCIATES PLANS AN URBAN ENCLAVE AROUND A COMMUNAL SPINE IN GOA, INDIA. BY LEOPOLDO VILLARDI

THE INDIAN STATE of Goa has built a

reputation around its white-sand beaches and
the promise of laid-back living. Owing to its
colonial history as a trading post for faraway
Portugal, it’s quite different from most of the
rest of the country too. In place of polychro-
matic temples, pristine white churches and
lavish villas abound. Tourists flock here, as do
native Indians, in search of susegad—an un-
bothered and carefree frame of mind.
In recent years, an influx of visitors and
new residents has spurred a demand for hous-
ing. “The idyllic setting is especially appeal-
ing to those trying to get away from city life,”
says architect Sameep Padora, founder of
Mumbai-based studio sP+a and, since 2023,
dean of the faculty of architecture at CEPT
University in Ahmedabad. “But the typical
situation in Goa is a single-family house on
an individual plot—it’s almost suburban,” he
PHOTOGRAPHY: © STUDIO SURYAN//DANG

21
 HOUSE of the Month

7
6
8

7 6
2
3

4 5
1 3

SECTION

1 BALCÃO 5 KITCHEN

2 ENTRY 6 STUDY

3 LIVING 7 BEDROOM

4 DINING 8 OPEN-AIR COURT

22 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
adds. In the coastal village of Anjuna, situ- packing 14 residences (each ranging from Terra-cotta roofs terminate at a balc‹o, a
ated near the mouth of the Chapora River, 2,000 to 2,700 square feet), along with a shaded entry porch (above). High-ceilinged
Padora and his team have devised a denser, handful of outbuildings, onto a minuscule interiors open directly to the outdoors or
more neighborly enclave comprising a collec- 1.2-acre site. But what distinguishes the hous- balconies (opposite, both).
tion of individual dwellings, for a design- ing development from others in the area is the
minded developer. “She is trained as an archi- architects’ considered approach to planning. ing road on their return home. A uniform
tect,” Padora says of his client, “and, along Straddling a meandering pathway paved architectural expression may persist, but the
with her sister and business partner, is really with setts, the residences jog in and out to enclave’s organization resembles something of
interested in creating places with a sense of reveal basalt-faced alley walls with punchy an intimate, tight-knit village that has grown
community.” white window surrounds, or lush poufs of with time—despite being built in a period of
Striking the right balance between privacy fragrant jasmine and heliconia. This central four years, and in stark contrast to orthogo-
and sociality meant imbuing the project, Kasu spine, forming a shared social space, urges nally planned compounds nearby.
Zama, with a certain urbanism—achieved by slowness as residents wander down the curv- Adding to the complexity, two different

23
 HOUSE of the Month

A small court slices through each of the

residences, bringing light deep inside (left).

residential models populate the community: a

shorter, two-story A-frame type, and a taller,
three-story type planned on split levels. With
steep roofs dressed in terra-cotta, each fea-
tures a balcão, a shaded entry porch with
seating used to socialize with neighbors—a
lingering Lusophone influence embedded in
the architectural vernacular. “It’s a threshold
that sits outside the house, but also within it,
inviting interaction between residents,”
Padora says, adding that all the living and
dining spaces have been intentionally de-
signed to flow from the street. The split-level
abodes also feature quaint three-sided courts,
which bring light deep inside and create
upper-story outdoor balconies.
At the edges of the enclave, the topography
slopes downward. With India’s monsoon
season in mind, the architects graded the site
to redirect the flow of water, when necessary,
to back gardens and pools rather than the
communal street. A low perimeter wall of
coursed laterite—an iron-rich stone that pairs
well with the terra-cotta—ensures some
privacy but is more of a boundary-defining
feature than an imposing barrier.
Despite catering to a higher-income clien-
tele, Kasu Zama resonates with the same
uplifting community-oriented values that
permeate much of Padora’s work, from shel-
ters for the homeless to spaces of worship,
without ceding an interest in form-making.
And now, partnering with the same client, his
office will soon break ground on even denser
housing for Goa’s middle class. n

Credits
ARCHITECT: sP+a — Sameep Padora, Aparna
Dhareshwar, Vami Koticha, Sakshi Ghulati,
Anisha Malhotra
ARCHITECT OF RECORD: Paresh Gaitonde
ENGINEERS: Meptek Consultants (m/e/p);
R & J Structural Consultants (structural)
CONSULTANTS: Studio Taan (interiors); The
Concise Desines (landscape)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Abraham & Thomas Engineers
CLIENT: Kasu Developers
SIZE: 34,400 square feet
COST: withheld
COMPLETION DATE: April 2022

Sources
ROOFING: ASIC Roofing Solutions
WINDOWS: Ornate Windows
HARDWARE: Häfele

24 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
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 Record NEWS

Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House Lands in Palm Springs

BY RUSSELL FORTMEYER

IF THE REPUTATION of Palm Springs as

a bastion of Modern architecture can be
blamed on anyone, it must be Albert Frey.
That much is clear from a comprehensive
exhibition—tagged with the subtitle Inventive
Modernist and curated by designer Brad
Dunning—of Frey’s oeuvre now at the Palm
Springs Art Museum’s architecture and design
gallery through June 3. To accompany the
show, on March 23, the museum unveiled the
permanent installation of Frey’s Aluminaire
House (1930–31) in a desert garden plot south
of its main building.
The story of how a house designed for the
1931 Architecture and Allied Arts Exposition
IMAGES: © FOTOWORKS/BENNY CHAN, COURTESY PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM (TOP); COLLECTION OF PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM, ALBERT FREY COLLECTION 55-1999.2 (BOTTOM)

in New York made its way from Manhattan to

Long Island to Palm Springs is almost as
interesting as Frey’s somewhat Forrest Gump–
style journey through Modern architecture
from Europe to California. For anyone unfa-
miliar with the Swiss-born Frey, who died in
1998, the exhibition places him at the table
with Le Corbusier in 1928, executing design
details for sliding glass doors and a bathroom
lounge for the Villa Savoye—arguably one of
the ultimate Modernist houses. With the
cachet of working for Corb, Frey moved to
New York in 1930 and joined the office of The Aluminaire House (above) was hailed as the house of the future by Popular Mechanics, which
A. Lawrence Kocher, an architect who also illustrated it with a cutaway section (below).
happened to be the managing editor of
record. It was under Kocher that Frey de- Kocher, Frey managed to be lured back to Frey relied on Kocher and his editorial
signed the Aluminaire. New York in 1938 to contribute to the design influence to realize the Aluminaire—for
After relocating to Palm Springs in 1934 of the Museum of Modern Art with Philip example, the Aluminum Company of
to oversee construction of a project for Goodwin and Edward Durell Stone. The America (ALCOA) donated materials to
oculi along MoMA’s roof terrace, which Frey build the house for the one-week-long expo-
designed, are the progenitors of Frey’s later sition in 1931. Such design-industry partner-
experiments with circles in his own architec- ships informed many demonstration projects
ture back in Palm Springs, such as the en- in the 20th century—one being the all-plas-
trance to the City Hall (1957) or the whimsi- tic Monsanto House of the Future, installed
cal porthole windows on the North Shore at Disneyland in 1957—but Frey had a long
Yacht Club (1958), restored and accessible love affair with aluminum. Frey’s first Palm
south of the city along the Salton Sea. Springs house for himself, which he began in
The Aluminaire House was among the 1940 and where he started using corrugated
few American projects included in the 1932 aluminum siding, was featured in a 1956
Modern Architecture: International Exhibition, publication, “Aluminum in Modern Arch-
curated by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and itecture,” part of a series of case studies and
Philip Johnson at MoMA. (The only other design guidelines produced by the Reynolds
American house included in the book from Metals Company to promote aluminum use
the exhibition was Richard Neutra’s Lovell in buildings. He’s arguably the godfather of
House from 1929, now only two hours west aluminum in architecture.
of the Aluminaire in Los Angeles.) The After the 1931 exposition, the Aluminaire
exhibition neatly lays out Frey’s luminous House was purchased by architect Wallace
history, punctuated with the publicity he Harrison, who installed it as a guesthouse on
generated over the years as Palm Springs’ his Long Island estate in Huntington, New
most noteworthy early Modernist. York. In 1987, with the building facing de-

27
 Record NEWS

Albert Frey, photographed in front of the Frey

House I (above). Though new, the aluminum
panels feature dimples like the originals (left).

molition by a new owner, two New York was prominently installed as a piece of tech­ substantial a dwelling, but the structural
architects—Michael Schwarting and Frances nological art. An open stair leads to the sec­ diagram and thin facade are unmistakable
Campani—rallied to save it and, working ond floor, which includes the double­height precursors).
with students, installed it in 1994 on the living and dining rooms, kitchen, and bed­ Both Corb and Frey were focused on the
campus of the New York Institute of Tech­ room and bathroom. The third floor has a same project: an affordable house, easy to
nology in Central Islip. With the looming library, with a bathroom that protrudes as an mass­produce, that adapted emerging tech­
closure of that campus in 2004, the house object into the living room volume (Campani nologies to quicken the slow pace of tradi­
again faced uncertainty. Schwarting and says that, among the house’s critics over the tional housing construction (Frey wrote many

PHOTOGRAPHY: © FOTOWORKS/BENNY CHAN, COURTESY PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM (LEFT); JULIUS SHULMAN/
Campani created a nonprofit foundation, years, Reyner Banham especially deplored the articles on this topic with Kocher for re­
bought it for 10 dollars, and tried to land the third­floor bathroom’s prominence). cord). The Aluminaire’s shiny, unanodized
house on another New York site. After that The Aluminaire is many things, but it may aluminum panels are new but true to the
fell through, they were approached by Palm be the first “circular economy” house designed original—even the dimpling in the panels
Springs advocates and its museum, where it for disassembly that has actually demonstrated adheres to the original, a fabrication outcome
physically joined the collection in 2017. the principle. Many of the materials are origi­ that Frey avoided in later buildings, where he
Preservation of Modernism remains an ur­ nal, such as the steel windows, while others, switched to heavier gauge, corrugated alumi­
gent issue in the Palm Springs area; after he such as the garage doors, have been remade by num siding.
sold it, Frey’s 1940 house was unceremoni­ the original suppliers. The interior featured an Unfinished metal cladding reemerges in

J. PAUL GETTY TRUST, GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, LOS ANGELES (RIGHT).

ously demolished in 1962, a major loss to innovative fabric, Fabrikoid, manufactured by California architecture now and then for
architectural history. Frey’s second house, Dupont as an artificial leather and, according similar aims, as in Frank Gehry’s 1968 Davis
built in 1964, is now owned by the museum. to Schwarting and Campani, used by Frey to Studio and Residence in Malibu, where he
The Aluminaire has been taken apart and avoid painting and make cleaning easy. used galvanized corrugated steel, or Pierre
put back together at least four times (Harrison Elsewhere, unfinished plywood wall panels Koenig’s metal­wrapped 1994 Schwartz
moved it once, intact, but felt obliged to make add structural rigidity and lend the house a House in Santa Monica. This kind of archi­
many modifications to Frey’s original design). contemporary resonance. tectural experimentation, which colored
“None of it is welded. It’s all bolted,” says Although visitors cannot access the house’s Frey’s long career, is rare these days in Palm
Campani. “The rudimentary Frey plans are interior, they can glimpse the influence of Le Springs, where “midcentury” has mostly
actually quite accurate, but they are very Corbusier in the six exposed aluminum struc­ become a style choice expressed in EIFS and
simple. A lot of Frey details exist about how tural columns and 3­inch­thick aluminum­ unfortunate pops of color. These are crass and
the sills work and the furniture gets built.” clad curtain wall. Paul Goldberger, in the misguided interpretations of Frey’s Modernist
Campani and Schwarting put together a essential and jam­packed catalogue for the imperatives, which remain as fresh as they
full set of construction documents for the modern­day exhibition, calls Frey “Corbusier’s were in 1931. n
house as they took it apart in 1987. The first American acolyte,” and reminds us of the
ground floor features a drive­through garage Aluminaire’s design debt to Corbusier’s 1927 Russell Fortmeyer is a sustainability consultant and
and entrance hall, where the house’s boiler Maison Citröhan in Stuttgart (a bit more former record editor who lives in Los Angeles.

28 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
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 FORUM No maximum building height specified 84m
Switzerland, South Korea,
United Kingdom ex Scotland

80m Italy

25 stories
25 stories Brazil

Exit Strategy Grenfell Tower

24 stories
72m

Allowing single-stair apartment buildings would bring

a variety of benefits, writes Alex Armlovich.

AMERICAN land-use reformers intent on addressing 20 stories 60m

60m Germany,
present-day housing shortages have, for the last decade, Singapore
focused their efforts on amending zoning codes—the very
rules that gradually downzoned most urban land in the U.S., 18 stories China
effectively outlawing multifamily housing, spurring suburban 52m Finland (FFL)
sprawl, and fanning the current crisis. Recently, however, a 50m France
group of young architects and planners has brought attention 16 stories Sweden
48m

to another code barrier that limits design options for large 15 stories
45m Denmark
multifamily buildings: the multiple egress routes mandated
by most American building codes. The argument, in short, is
to re-legalize single-stair apartment buildings, also known as
“point-access blocks”—a typology that was once common-
36m
place and remains so in much of the world, including the 30m United Kingdom
European Union, where fireproof single-stair designs are ex Scotland
(December 2022 consultation)
(D ation)
allowed. If combined with zoning reform, such code reform 32m Austria
10 stories
would enable attractive, light-filled multifamily housing to be 29m Israel
built cost-effectively on countless urban sites that would 28m Spain, Romania (FFL)

otherwise be developed as single-family homes. 25m Belgium, Poland, Norway (8 stories)

24m
Commentators often wonder why new apartment build- Typical Quint Aerial Australia, New Zealand (sprinklered)
75ft (22m)
ings across the United States tend to look alike, not-so- 18m United Kingdom
(announced in July 2023)
subtly implicating architects and developers. One key rea-
6 stories Seattle, New York City, Hawaii, Kenya,
son is that decisions around organization and massing are Iran, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Scotland (18m)
5 stories
prescribed by, or strongly incentivized by, regulations. In 5 stories Japan, Netherlands (FFL 12.5m),
India (15m), United Arab Emirates (15m)
the limited areas where zoning codes allow for apartments, 12m
4 stories NFPA 101
these rules have given us the notorious “five over one.” In Extension Ladder
10m Ireland (FFL), New Zealand (unsprinklered)
35ft (10.6m)
code lingo, these are a Type V light wood frame of up to 3 stories United States (IBC), South Africa

five stories built over a single story of Type I fireproof 2 stories Canada
podium (typically steel or concrete), with a double-loaded
1 story Uganda
corridor and a stair at each end. Long, windowless corridors
slice through the middle of deep floor plates. Non-corner
units only have windows on one side, opposite the entry Maximum Prescriptive* Height for Single Staircase Buildings FFL = uppermost finish floor level
multi-unit residential occupancies only (apartment buildings)
Note: the drawing assumes a
door—favoring studios and one-bedroom layouts. *some jurisdictions provide statutory law requirements, other jurisdictions publish guidance floor-to-floor height of 3m
and allow alternative designs subject to appropriate justification
By contrast, single-stair buildings across Europe tend to
have shallower floor plates, “floor-through” light on at least two interior stairwells and a corridor would take up so much A diagram
two sides of each unit, and a shared central courtyard. Older of the allowable floor plate that multifamily buildings are illustrating the
American cities also feature outstanding examples of these rendered infeasible unless adjacent lots are acquired. On maximum pre-
scriptive height
“garden apartments”: New York’s first garden-apartment some large lots, by contrast, the greater floor-plan efficiency
of single-stair
blocks, in Jackson Heights, Queens, were celebrated in of single-stair designs would probably be offset by the higher buildings
architectural record in 1920 for their array of unit cost of fireproof construction and the need for a greater (above).
layouts and variety of outdoor spaces. Indeed, single-stair number of elevators, as double-loaded corridor designs
IMAGE: © CONRAD SPECKERT/WWW.SECONDEGRESS.CA

designs deliver more of the light, air, and acoustic privacy enable one elevator to serve many units. In these cases,
typically provided by detached single-family buildings. five-over-ones may continue to be built unless construction
Light on two or three sides facilitates multibedroom suites costs change dramatically. At the same time, developing
even in compact floor plates. These buildings also facilitate large lots with multiple single-stair buildings would unlock
community building. In Jackson Heights, for example, a unique amenity: park-like shared interior courtyards. If on
whole-block developments are composed of many buildings small lots, single-stair designs compete on both cost and
in series, each governed by its own co-op board, and each, quality, on large lots, they compete on quality.
with 20 or so units arranged around a single stair, is small Ultimately, building-code reform complements zoning-
enough for residents to get to know each other. (New York code reform. A building code allowing single-stair buildings
and Seattle are the only two American cities that continued can’t do much if zoning codes still ban multifamily designs in
to allow single-stair buildings throughout the 20th century.) the first place. But allowing multifamily buildings in areas
Single-stair designs also unlock economically feasible currently zoned for single-family homes may be more palat-
multifamily development on small infill lots. On such sites, able to neighbors if they are faced not with the prospect of

31
 FORUM
monolithic, whole-block five-over- stair buildings to ensure egress via fire ladder. This is the
ones but rather with narrower, fami- approach followed both by New York and Seattle, which cap
ly-friendly buildings. Even at similar the height of single-stair buildings at six stories while requir-
height and average density, multiple ing fire-rated structures and sprinklers.
20-unit single-stair buildings form What outcomes might we expect from allowing six-story
more neighborly, less anonymous point-access blocks throughout the country? Based on evi-
interior communities than one enor- dence from New York and Seattle, double-loaded corridor
mous whole-block apartment build- designs would probably outcompete point-access-block
ing with 100 units sharing a hallway. designs for new buildings only on sites where neighborhood
Why, then, did the U.S. embark amenities and transit access push up land prices to the point
upon a path so different from Eu- that they support building heights beyond the reach of a fire
rope’s? Quite simply, there was a ladder. But these places are exceptional, not typical. Today,
radical divergence in fire-safety the outlook for reform of both zoning and building codes is
approaches during the 20th century brightening. Pro-housing coalitions across the United States
and insufficient exchange of best have won early battles to re-legalize multifamily housing in
practices. As Stephen Smith, director of the North American states like California, Montana, Oregon, Minnesota, and

IMAGES: © ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

Center for Building, argues, American approaches aim to others. Now building-code reform is gaining steam too.
make combustible light wood-frame buildings easier to escape Honolulu quietly re-legalized single-stair apartments in 2012,
by providing multiple paths of egress; European codes, by copying Seattle’s code. Last year, California, Oregon, and
contrast, require fire-resistant materials and compartmenta- Washington each successfully legalized single-stair construc-
tion to prevent fires from spreading in the first place. tion, effective in 2025 or 2026. Half a dozen other states are
Statistically, the evidence is clear: fire-death rates are consis- considering enabling legislation. Reform is on the march.
tently lower in Europe than in the U.S. and Canada. 104 years ago, this publication celebrated the liberation of
Nonetheless, it may be prudent to cap the height of single- New York from dark, airless tenements by new point-access

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32 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
blocks. Today, new adaptations of the same typology con-
tinue to win design competitions across the European
Union. Single-stair construction commands the support of
the Fire Department of New York and the Seattle Fire
Department, and state governments across the West Coast
have acted accordingly to legalize it. Why not do so across
the rest of the United States too? n
Andrew J. Thomas, the prolific housing architect, was lauded in the August 1920
Alex Armlovich lives in New York and leads the housing-policy issue of Record for Operation No. 8, a series of apartment buildings in Queens,
team at Niskanen Center, a Washington, D.C.–based think tank. New York (both above and opposite).

33
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Sugimoto’s Point of
Infinity, with views of
the Bay Bridge and
San Francisco skyline.

FOR MANY Bay Area residents and visitors,

the craggy outcrop in the middle of San Fran­
cisco Bay known as Yerba Buena Island is mostly
experienced while inside an 88­year­old concrete
tunnel. The 10­lane, double­deck Yerba Buena
Tunnel carries Interstate 80 through the middle
of the island, linking the eastern and western
spans of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay 1
Bridge. The 150­acre island—formerly the site
of a U.S. Navy training station and currently 5
home to a modest Coast Guard outpost—has
long been utilized as a crucial piece of transpor­ 8
tation infrastructure and is now in the infancy of
its next use: a residential enclave unlike any
10
other in the housing­strapped region.
Along with Treasure Island, its more sprawl­
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY YERBA BUENA ISLAND

ing neighbor constructed for the 1939 World’s

Fair, Yerba Buena Island is the focus of an
ambitious scheme slated to be the largest hous­
ing development in Northern California, with
8,000 units planned in total, roughly a quarter 0 120 FT.
SITE PLAN
of them affordable. Among the first elements 40 M.
to be completed are Yerba Buena’s public green
1 WEST HILLTOP PLAZA 5 HILLOCK 9 ROUND OVERLOOKS
spaces, including a pair of newly unveiled
parks, by Oakland­based Hood Design Studio, 2 POINT OF INFINITY 6 WILDFLOWER MEADOW 10 FIRE TRUCK TURNAROUND

situated atop the highest point on the island. 3 WALKWAY 7 GROVE & GATEWAY SIGN 11 ACCESSIBLE PARKING

Sliced by Yerba Buena Drive, the two parks— 4 ENTRY PLAZA & DROP-OFF 8 HERITAGE TREES 12 EAST OVERLOOK/TANK GARDEN

37
 LANDSCAPE

A curving raised walkway extends naval base have long since been demolished,
from an entry plaza and partially remnants of the site’s former life do still exist,
encircles Panorama Park. including a 2 million-gallon reservoir built
into the hillside in 1918. Accessible via a
you can’t do anything other than winding elevated walkway, the preserved
sit and admire them.” The tank’s lid has been cut to create a perimeter
design, she says, shifted through wall around Panorama Park’s observation
the process to explore how to plaza. Positioned atop a relic that Du Solier
best take advantage of that expe- calls the “genesis of the project,” the plaza is
rience. A grassy knoll, located at also the site of Point of Infinity, a monumental
the middle of the site near a sculpture-cum-sundial by Japanese photogra-
wildflower meadow and gridded pher and architectural designer Hiroshi
cluster of coast live oaks, is the Sugimoto. As Du Solier explains, the space
only space with the potential for was designed prior to the decision to place the
frolicking. Accordingly, seating 69-foot-tall, tapering stainless-steel sculpture
is abundant and includes a large there, leading to some modifications. “There’s
Panorama Park to the west and Signal Point to circular bench crafted from durable ipé at been some confusion among the public about
the east—designed as “passive” space, so as not Signal Point’s overlook, as well as benches whether the sculpture is the site and we were
to undermine the main attraction: the previ- fabricated from eucalyptus wood salvaged from designing for it to be in a beautiful place. It’s
ously rarely seen vista of the bay from the apex construction projects under way across the really kind of the opposite,” she says: what
of this once largely inaccessible island. “You’re island. Strategically placed boulders, excavated they crafted the site for was to foster a sense of
basically sitting on top of the bridge,” says from nearby sites where the island’s hot-selling discovery. She hopes visitors feel that as they
Alma Du Solier, landscape architect and condo communities have gone up, also provide set foot on—and relish the awe-inspiring
studio director at Hood Design Studio. “The places to rest and take it all in. views from—the pinnacle of an island previ-
views are so impressive that it almost feels like Although structures comprising the old ously unknown to all but a few. n

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 BOOKS

The Architecture of Influence: The Myth retracing multiple and ganic forms. More recently,
of Originality in the Twentieth Century, by multidirectional vectors statements by Frank Gehry
Amanda Reeser Lawrence. University of Virginia of inspiration, collabo- reveal a genuine concern with
Press, 280 pages, $50. ration, and imitation, copying himself, as his signa-
she investigates disci- ture architectural style tends
REVIEWED BY ERIC HÖWELER, FAIA plinary preoccupations to create an inescapable
with originality, the stylistic feedback loop.
The ways we engage with architecture media notion of genius, and Despite an expectation with-
are changing radically, as social feeds accel- the inevitability of in the profession for newness
erate the volume of content and erode view- influence in the me- and the larger cultural value
ers’ attention spans. This ubiquitous broad- chanics of design. often placed on innovation,
cast of architecture—as image—and its Early in the text, significant works by some of
wholesale consumption raise important Lawrence refers to the best-known architects
questions: How does this superabundance of literary critic Harold consistently rely on processes
architectural images change how we experi- Bloom’s 1973 book The of citation and referentiality.
ence architecture? How does it affect modes Anxiety of Influence, Lawrence astutely reveals
of architectural production? Although archi- whose premise is the how practices of appropria-
tecture media largely focus on design recep- impossibility of isolating creative processes tion, duplication, and copying were not the
tion, can they also affect design conception? from the larger body of preceding work, exception but were rather an integral part of a
Amanda Reeser Lawrence’s book The describing influence as “an anxiety-ridden pervasive norm.
Architecture of Influence confronts some of struggle” between creators and their prede- In her survey of the 20th century,
these questions from a historical perspective, cessors. She identifies such anxieties in Frank Lawrence organizes the book into seven
exploring the use of precedent, models, and Lloyd Wright, who denied being inspired by chapters—“Replicas,” “Copies,” “Compi-
sources in 20th-century architecture. By anything beyond the natural beauty of or- lations,” “Generalizations,” “Revivals,”

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40 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
“Emulations,” and “Self-Repetitions”—each and John Burgee (both projects are featured architecture of the last century, despite the
of which examines several case studies. In on the book’s cover, as mirrors of one an- cultural mythologies surrounding the soli-
“Copies,” she explores the many threads other). But she also explores figureheads, tary genius. By demonstrating the sheer
shared between Philip Johnson’s Glass House like Le Corbusier, in the context of deriva- complexity of influence, Lawrence also
(1949) and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth tive work, such as that of the New York Five; provides a deeply revealing portrait of the
House (1951). Curiously, while Johnson’s or masters and their apprentices—for ex- means and methods of design culture that
house was explicitly inspired by Mies’s design ample, Frank Lloyd Wright and his prolific have only intensified in the present. While
for Dr. Farnsworth—he even went so far as to acolytes Richard Neutra and Rudolph vectors of influence between architects of
publish an article in The Architectural Review Schindler. In each case, Lawrence reveals the 20th century were publications and
saying as much—Johnson’s house was com- the intricate and inescapable nature of refer- journals, now those vectors are fast-paced
pleted first. “The copy precedes the original,” entiality within design. She also shows how online platforms, social media algorithms,
Lawrence writes. As this case illustrates, the more recent works read, revise, and reinter- “likes,” and “shares.” Lawrence’s book is “not
intertwined and overlapping design and pret sources differently from older ones, only a theorization of a set of historical
construction timelines of the two residences, since history is always filtered through con- ideas, but an implicit guide for their imple-
which spanned years, and the fact that temporary media that frame our engagement mentation.” For her, a book about the history
Johnson and Mies were at various times with the past. of influence is also an essay on modern-day
collaborators and competitors, meant that the “In interrogating the unoriginal with the authorship, media, and technology. Con-
two architects influenced each other in com- same intensity of critical force typically sidering how the old influences the new
plex and nonlinear ways. reserved for the unprecedented,” she writes, inevitably also asks, What does it mean to
Lawrence’s analysis often presents pairs of “we underscore not simply the inevitability imagine today? n
major works generally understood as original but the significance of influence as a central
and copy, such the House of Education feature of 20th-century architecture.” The Eric Höweler, FAIA, is a founding principal of
(1779) by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux and the Architecture of Influence reveals the tangled Höweler + Yoon and an associate professor at the
College of Architecture (1986) by Johnson web of processes that underpin much of the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

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 Industrial
Chic
Photo: alanblakely.com

Colorful metal panels mimic signature sculpture

Parc Haven features industrial-style PAC-CLAD Highline B2 metal cladding
that references the adjoining train tracks. A punch of colorful Flush panel
highlights nod to Symphony Park’s Pipe Dream sculpture sited directly
across the street.

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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.
PHOTOGRAPHY: © THOMAS LEDL, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (TOP); MARC RYCKAERT, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (BOTTOM)

THIS HOUSING COMPLEX, BUILT IN THE 1920S IN A EUROPEAN CITY FAMED

FOR ITS PIONEERING PUBLIC-HOUSING PROGRAM, BECAME A SYMBOL OF
POLITICAL RESISTANCE WHEN IT WAS SURROUNDED AND BOMBARDED BY
FASCIST FORCES IN 1934. DESIGNED BY A CITY-EMPLOYED ARCHITECT WHO
FAVORED HEAVY, MONUMENTAL FORMS, IT INCORPORATES RESIDENCES
FOR 5,000 TENANTS ALONG WITH A VARIETY OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES.

Hassan Fathy designed this khan—roughly translated, a trading post and

inn—in New Gourna Village in Luxor, Egypt. With construction beginning
in the late 1940s, New Gourna was conceived as housing for thousands of
Egyptians removed by the government from their homes near ancient sites.
Though Fathy sought to root his architecture in regional traditions, many
resented the relocation process and refused to move to New Gourna.

By entering, you have a chance to win a $500 Visa gift card. See the complete rules
and entry form online at architecturalrecord.com/guessthearchitect.

43
 TRADE SHOW Light+Building

The biennial Light+Building trade fair returned to

Messe Frankfurt’s convention center in March to
showcase the latest innovations in lighting design
and technology. Electrifying luminaires emerged
from collaborations with renowned architects,
and a spotlight was trained on sustainability,
from the products to the booths designed to
display them. The show came on the heels of the
announcement that Light+Building would expand
into North America, after bringing LightFair into its
international portfolio.
BY LEOPOLDO VILLARDI

Nebbia
Making its debut at Light+Building and inspired by the atmospheric fog
of Milan, this family of round reeded-glass fixtures—available in five
hues and two sizes—is the result of a collaboration between Italian
studio Park Associati and Deltalight.
deltalight.com

Hoy
High-tech architect Norman
Foster is the force behind
Artemide′s recessed-light-
ing system, Hoy, which
boasts a slender 4" width.
Mix-and-match modules—
four different spotlights and
a range of linear refractors
Avro and diffusers, as well as
Spurred by the needs of remote work, Martinelli Luce′s building sensors—are avail-
dimmable suspension lamp puts function back into form. able for an intentional,
Avro′s discreet underside socket and accompanying cubical integrated look.
extension block bring electricity where it is needed most— artemide.net/en
be it a dining table or an office desk. Searching for an avail-
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w171 Alma
Stockholm-based firm Tham & Videgård, a 2009 Design
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Atomos Slim
Lucifer Lighting has shaved 2" from its Atomos housing and
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44 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
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 IN FOCUS

The Shepherd campus includes a

sculpture garden featuring works by
the late Charles McGee (this image).

It Makes a Village
Adaptive-reuse projects by Peterson Rich Office and OMA anchor a burgeoning arts district in Detroit.
BY MATT HICKMAN

WHEN LOOKING TO EXPAND, most building efforts, all the while providing a Opening this month as an anchor project of
PHOTOGRAPHY: JASON KEEN, COURTESY THE ARTIST’S ESTATE AND

commercial art galleries knock down a couple critical asset to the city’s creatives and arts the Little Village master plan developed by
of walls or open a satellite location in an up- nonprofits: raw space. PRO and New York–based multidisciplinary
and-coming neighborhood where the rent is It doesn’t hurt that the pioneer-ambassa- design firm OSD is the Shepherd, a multifac-
cheap and foot traffic is promising. Anthony dors of this new enclave, dubbed Little eted arts space housed within the former
and JJ Curis, the husband-and-wife collectors Village, have backgrounds in real estate and Good Shepherd Church. Dedicated in 1912,
whose flagship gallery, Library Street Collec- hospitality, or that the Curises tapped a pair the Romanesque-style Catholic house of
tive, is a mainstay of the downtown-Detroit of architecture firms known for adaptively worship was shuttered by the Archdiocese of
cultural scene, opted to take a decidedly more reusing spaces as art venues. Brooklyn’s Detroit in 2016. As PRO’s Nathan Rich—
radical approach by laying the foundation for a Peterson Rich Office (PRO) and the New who presented the project at record’s 2023
LIBRARY STREET COLLECTIVE

nascent ground-up arts district in a relatively York studio of OMA have designed the first Innovation Conference alongside fellow
sleepy corner of the city. In the East Village two of what will eventually be multiple ven- founding partner Miriam Peterson—explains,
neighborhood, the Curises not only estab- ues spread across a section of the neighbor- the building’s role as an “anchoring institu-
lished a backdrop in which to stage larger, hood enveloped by swaths of urban prairie tion” within the East Village remains much
more ambitious exhibitions but to grow the and dotted with abandoned buildings await- the same in its second life but minus the
gallery’s public programming and community- ing new use. incense and kneelers. “The Shepherd is still

51
 IN FOCUS

Installation view of Play Patterns II (2011), a

mixed-media collage by Charles McGee in the
Shepherd’s main gallery (left).

going to bring people together—not around

religion, but the arts,” he says.
The exterior facade of the historic church,
which was in good condition when the project
commenced, was largely preserved; the sole
intervention by PRO was the addition of a
thin weathering-steel “halo” above the front
entrance, subtly hinting that something inside
has changed. And indeed it has—gone are the
pews, a cantilevered choral mezzanine, hang-
ing light fixtures, religious iconography, and
non-original ornamentation. Inserted into the
light-filled space are two white-cube galleries
hosting the Shepherd’s inaugural exhibition, a
survey of late artist Charles McGee, present-
ed in collaboration with the Museum of
Contemporary Art Detroit. At 1,200 square
feet, the main volume, steel-framed and
finished in textured plaster, is situated in the
central nave, punctured by an oculus that
provides views up to the church’s soaring,
vaulted ceiling. Framing the oculus is a newly
created mezzanine level providing flexible
programming space. Half the size of its coun-
terpart, the second gallery is in an adjacent
transept. Meanwhile, the church’s other
transept has been reimagined for a branch
location of the Black Art Library curated by
Detroit arts-educator Asmaa Walton. Among
the interior elements that have been preserved

IMAGES: JASON KEEN, COURTESY THE ARTIST’S ESTATE AND LIBRARY STREET COLLECTIVE (TOP);
1 LOBBY/ENTRY
2 1
2 OFFICE

© OMA AND LUXIGON (OPPOSITE, TOP AND MIDDLE); OMA (OPPOSITE, BOTTOM)
3 GALLERY 1
12
4 EVENT SPACE

5 GALLERY 2 3
6 STAGE

7 RESTROOMS

8 SACRISTY RECEPTION
13
9 TRANSEPT LIBRARY
4
10 CONFESSIONALS
5 9 10
11 CAFÉ

12 MEZZANINE
13 ALEO BED & BREAKFAST

8
7
11
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GROUND-FLOOR PLAN MEZZANINE PLAN
6 M.

52 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
are floor tiles produced by Pewabic Pottery, a
historic Detroit ceramic studio located just
blocks away from the Shepherd campus.
There are clever moments throughout. The
church’s confessional booths have been repur-
posed as multimedia listening nooks for the
library; a revolving bookcase provides camou-
flaged secondary access to a tucked-away
office; and an adjacent garage, which once
housed the hallowed vehicles of resident
priests, will be converted into a cocktail bar
named Father Forgive Me. That cheekily
monikered project is just one of several hospi-
tality elements of Little Village. Housed
within the church’s former rectory is ALEO,
an art-stuffed bed-and-breakfast. Across the
way, a pair of residential structures has been
rehabbed—and linked by a two-story deck—
by Detroit studio Undecorated to create
BridgeHouse, a commercial venue focused on
the culinary arts.
Major elements of the immediate church
grounds and surrounding block, resuscitated
by OSD founder and creative director Simon
David and his team, are a sculpture garden—
named in honor of Charles McGee, and
permanently featuring large-scale work by
him—and a skate park, designed by Tony
Hawk and artist McArthur Binion. There’s
also the Nave, a forlorn alleyway-turned-
pedestrian promenade that connects the new
campus to the neighborhood on what was
once an unwelcoming and uneven mess of
weeds and surface parking lots. Along with
improving accessibility to the site, acknowl-
edging its context was key. “You see this
texture in the neighborhood of overgrown lots
1 UPPER-LEVEL ARTIST
and broken glass and masonry— those things
1 STUDIOS
were beautiful to us as well,” says David. “We
2 COUP D’ÉTATE
tried to harness that earthiness and decay and
BOUTIQUE
reinvention—so much the story of Detroit—
3 COLLECT BEER BAR
and turn them into design.”
4 CAFÉ FRANCO
To that effect, recycled-glass mulch found
in a meditation loop encircling a swath of 5 SIGNAL-RETURN
GALLERY
open lawn mirrors the colors found in the
stained glass of the church; the paving is made 6 SIGNAL-RETURN
2 PRODUCTION SPACE
from reground brick salvaged from the ruins
3 7 ASSEMBLE SOUND
of an old convent located across the street from
GALLERY
the Shepherd. (In a project now under way, led
by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects, a portion of 4 8 PASC PRODUCTION
6 SPACE
that crumbling structure has been retained, 11
and the site will be transformed into the new 5 9 PASC GALLERY
9
home of Library Street Collective’s sister 10 PUBLIC ALLEY

gallery, Louis Buhl & Co.) 8 7

11 COURTYARD
A five-minute walk from the church
10

A rendering shows the south building facade of

Lantern (top) contrasted with its pre-renovation
condition (middle). AXONOMETRIC

53
 IN FOCUS

The BridgeHouse looks out on a skate park

(right). The Shepherd hosts a rounded steel
stairway to the mezzanine level (opposite,
right) and Little Village Library (opposite, left).

grounds at the corner of McClellan and

Kercheval Avenues is another building re-
vived as a mixed-use art space. Dubbed

PHOTOGRAPHY: JASON KEEN, COURTESY LIBRARY STREET COLLECTIVE (3)

Lantern, OMA’s contribution to Little
Village is a 23,850-square-foot project that
encompasses an assemblage of three con-
nected structures that previously housed a
commercial bakery and warehouse. Each
section of the tripartite building was built in a
different era and with different materials,
leaving the entire complex in varying states of deal with the facade, roof, and height differ- As for Lantern’s current tenants, they
disrepair—the southern volume, a concrete- ences was a bit more complex than those include Signal-Return, a nonprofit letterpress
block structure, was completely missing its projects,” he says, also noting that another print shop, and PASC, an organization whose
roof. As partner-in-charge Jason Long ex- challenge arose from accommodating mul- new space in the building will be Detroit’s
plains, this provided a poser unlike adaptive- tiple tenants with distinct needs. “A large first studio and gallery dedicated to artists
reuse projects he’s worked on elsewhere part of the thinking was trying to orchestrate with developmental disabilities. Work is set to
(POST Houston, for instance, and an outpost where tenants could be, and how the various complete later this year on the 4,000-square-
of the Centre Pompidou in progress in Jersey entries and moments of connection could foot southern space, which will be home to a
City, New Jersey). “Grappling with how to make the whole complex work together.” boutique, bar, and café, and which lends the

54 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
project its name: in lieu of windows punched ity to them but also so the different tenants with other efforts in the neighborhood, includ-
into the facade, the structure’s CMU walls have a place to come together,” says Long. ing the revamp of the Stanton Yards marina,
are perforated with 1,353 holes, each water- With the Shepherd campus and Lantern led by OSD in collaboration with SO–IL, with
proofed and filled with two glass pavers, now mostly complete, there is the question of an adaptive-reuse component. This will no
inside and out. At night, these glow, trans- whether out-of-town art hounds, or even doubt continue to attract architectural talent
forming the building into a neighborhood locals, will make the trek to an emerging wishing to take part in what Miriam Peterson
beacon. At the rear of Lantern is a public cultural district removed from Detroit’s down- calls a collaborative and “almost curatorial
outdoor courtyard. “All the programs essen- town core—it could prove to be a tough sell. In approach to developing the site,” she says. “The
tially feed into it, partly to provide accessibil- the meantime, the Curises are moving ahead project is, in a sense, like a big group show.” n

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History in the Making
A series of new and refurbished structures revitalizes Bahrain’s UNESCO World Heritage Pearling Path.
BY IAN VOLNER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY IWAN BAAN

IN A SEA of historic
buildings, the Pearling
Path’s new structures
command attention
(this image).

57
 “THE VERY highest position among all
valuables belongs to the pearl,” wrote Pliny
the Elder. “But those are most highly valued
which are found [in] the Persian Gulf . . .”
To the Roman chronicler’s fellow citizens in
the first century CE, and to their contempo-
raries throughout the known world, the tiny
archipelago of Tylos—known today as
Bahrain—was famous for the treasures
hiding in the shallow, cloudy waters that
surround it. Sustained by its signature prod-
uct, and by a market that was global in reach
long before the advent of globalism, the
city-state off the coast of the Arabian
Peninsula continued to thrive for nearly two
millennia after Pliny’s time.
Until, unfortunately, the emerging global
economy caught up with it. “Everything here
was built around the industry,” says architect
Noura Al Sayeh. “And then, in the 1930s, it
collapsed.” After the Japanese developed a
method for cultivating artificial pearls,
Bahrain found itself in eclipse—but, as Al
Sayeh explains, the extraordinary urban
culture that the pearling business had helped
create remained very much intact. “So many
of the buildings here represent some aspect or
other of that society,” she says. It’s a legacy
that Al Sayeh—alongside a lengthy list of
collaborators—is now endeavoring to preserve
and to celebrate.
Officially open to the public this spring,
the Pearling Path is a more than two-mile-
long corridor of historic landmarks, new
infrastructure, and hybrid contemporary-and-
restored buildings, running from the old
harbor through the bustling heart of Muhar-
raq, the older, denser twin city to the current
capital of Manama. Following extensive advo-
cacy by Bahrani officials, including former
prime minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al
Khalifa, the United Nations declared the
ancient pearl-trade district an official World
Heritage Site in 2012.
Two years prior, Al Sayeh had helped
organize Bahrain’s debut pavilion at the
Venice Architecture Biennale, marking the
start of her still-ongoing role as Head of
Architectural Affairs for the country’s
Authority for Culture and Antiquities. The
Pearling Path represents the cumulative re-
sults of Al Sayeh’s now 14-year effort to trans-
form how Bahrain understands its own past,
and how the world understands Bahrain. “In
terms of urban regeneration, it’s been such a
huge opportunity,” says the architect.
Four parking structures; 17 public
squares; a pedestrian bridge; a visitors center:
the new construction along the Pearling

58 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
 THE SOUK’S smooth concrete erodes at the
edges (opposite, top). Similarly, the Pearl Museum
(above) has cladding and inner walls (opposite,
bottom) that modulate between flat and textured.

Siyadi Majlis Pearl Museum | Credits

ARCHITECT: Studio Anne Holtrop — Anne
Holtrop, principal; Mohammad Salim,
Constança Girbal, project architects
ARCHITECT OF RECORD:
Ismail Khonji Associates
ENGINEERS: Ismail Khonji Associates
(structural); Sayed Jaffar Majeed (m/e/p)
CONSULTANTS: Aïnu (exhibition); Studio
Jonathan Hares (graphic design)
GENERAL CONTRACTORS: Amoayyed
Interiors (civil); Bakhowa Group (interiors);
Restaura (exhibition); Group Galrão (stone)
SIZE: 14,200 square feet
COST: $1.8 million (construction)
SECTION — EXISTING BUILDING SECTION — NEW BUILDING COMPLETION DATE: February 2024

59
 CONCRETE surfaces split to form multiple park-
ing levels (left), while a stair corkscrews through
them to offer vertical circulation (opposite).

Path is intended to complement the 15-odd

original houses, mosques, and marine oyster
beds listed in the UNESCO-designated
area, providing extra amenities and points of
interest for visitors and locals alike. Dividing
the sizable brief into chunks, Al Sayeh par-
celed them out to various firms from around
the world, largely drawn from her extensive
personal network of friends and colleagues
in Western Europe. Her architects respond-
ed with an almost alarming degree of formal
fantasy and conceptual ambition, apparently
spurred on by both the possibilities and the
constraints of the particular locale and con-
ditions.
“Because Bahrain is a place of such few
resources, you have to be very inventive in

ELEVATION — PLOT A

ELEVATION — PLOT B

ELEVATION — PLOT C

Parking Garages | Credits

ARCHITECT: Christian Kerez — Christian Kerez,
principal; Caio Barboza, project architect; Dennis
Saiello, Lisa Kusaka
ENGINEER OF RECORD:
Arsinals Engineering Design
ENGINEERS: Ferrari Gartmann (Plot A); Neven Kostic
(Plot B); Monotti Ingegneri Consulenti (Plots C and D)
CONSULTANTS: Baukolorit (concrete); Catherine
Dumont d’Ayot (landscape, Plots C and D); LK Argus, ELEVATION — PLOT D
Alden Studio (traffic); Siegrun Appelt with Mathias
Burger (lighting)

60 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
terms of materials and structure,” says Anne
Holtrop, describing the overall process as
“really tricky.” The Dutch-born architect is
speaking of his own multipart commission
comprising a new portion of the Souq Al
Qaysariya commercial facility, work on preex-
isting market structures nearby, and the
renovation and exhibition design of the revi-
talized Siyadi Majlis Pearl Museum. Ranging
from the quasi-Brutalist sophistication of the
concrete-clad souk to the subdued, delicate
feel of the museum, Holtrop’s job was made
all the trickier for having to be coordinated
with the other project participants, in particu-
lar the participant in chief, Al Sayeh, who
also happens to be Holtrop’s wife and long-
time business partner.
Other team members faced different
challenges. “I didn’t want to just export an
architecture,” says Swiss architect Christian
Kerez. Tasked with creating the parking
structures for the largely pedestrian-oriented
redevelopment, the designer had to strike a
compromise between the Middle East’s
growing dependence on cars and the historic
fabric of Muharraq that the Pearling Path is
meant to protect. As it happens, it was a
problem Kerez was eager to take on. “Parking
garages are a neglected typology,” he says. “I
thought it would be fascinating to do one.”
The first of the projects to be completed, a
four-story complex with space for over a
hundred vehicles, slips discreetly into its
urban surrounds with exquisitely thin con-
crete slabs, each one with a slightly different
improbable geometry from the next. Appear-
ing to billow in the cool Gulf breeze, the
effect is as sophisticated as any of Miami’s
high-design garages from recent years, yet
created (as Kerez explains) using standard
regional practices and formwork.
From Belgium, OFFICE KGDVS was
brought aboard (along with landscape practice
Bureau Bas Smets, a fellow Brussels firm) to
assist in the creation of the Path’s semicon-
nected sequence of public plazas, as well as
the design of a footbridge passing over a busy
automotive thoroughfare (produced in part-
nership with local firm Ismail Khonji Archi-
tects). “It was very important to create spaces
that would not just reflect the pearling tradi-
tion, but that would also be used by the peo-
ple living there,” says OFFICE’s Jelena Pan-
cevac. Picking their way through the narrow
streets, the team of KGDVS and Smets made
a series of minute, strategic interventions, four
of them realized to date, producing “green
oases” of seating and plantings embedded in
the warren-like cityscape. For the viaduct,

61
 OFFICE KGDVS and Bureau Bas Smets
partnered on public spaces (left) and a foot-
bridge (above). Dar Al Jinaa is dressed in a
fabriclike chain mail (opposite).

minimal impact was also key; the span is

supported by simple concrete piers that rhyme
with the coral-laden stone of the nearby
buildings, forming the last piece of the maze
between the waterfront and the city.
In such an immense labyrinth, there are
bound to be a few confusing twists and
turns—and not just in the physical sense. “It’s
a complicated project,” Al Sayeh admits, “one
that intersects a lot of other things.” Besides
the abovementioned studios, a whole caval-

Pearling Path and Footbridge | Credits

ARCHITECT: OFFICE KGDVS — Kersten Geers,
David Van Severen, Federico Perugini, Anna
Andrich, Nenad Đurić, Alexandra Paritzky, Denis
Glauden, Paul Christian
ARCHITECT OF RECORD:
Ismail Khonji Associates
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Bureau Bas Smets
ENGINEERS: Gulf House Engineering,
Transsolar

62 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
cade of additional firms—Valerio Olgiati for
the Visitor’s Center (record, March 2019),
Formafantasma for three installations in the
restored houses, and a grab bag of engineers,
restoration specialists, and consultants—have
been involved in the Pearling Path, which
also happens to sit adjacent to a number of
projects (most notably OFFICE’s striking
Dar Al Jinaa events space) not technically
part of the scheme. Still more designers may
(or may not) be drawn into the project in the
future, its scope remaining surprisingly hazy
over a decade into its construction. And then
there’s the uncertain matter of why, save for a
few Bahrani collaborators like Khonji, the
majority of the architects have come from
abroad, most of them from the same rarefied
avant-garde stratum familiar to attendees of
certain fairs, festivals, and -ennials of assorted
denominations. It’s a question that might be
paired with the observation that, owing to
Bahrain’s small size, almost the entire work-
force for the Pearling Path had to be import-
ed, largely from South Asia.
But then these things are not exactly new.
“This isn’t just about tourism,” says Al Sayeh.
As its once-profitable oil sector continues to
decline (a 6 percent drop in output every year
since 1970), Bahrain has been attempting to
revive its age-old pearling industry, establish-
ing a reputation for both organic harvesting
techniques and for expertise, with ultramodern
analytical facilities and a rapidly burgeoning
jewelry fair. Trumpeting the country’s associa-
tion with those gleaming balls of calcium, the
Pearling Path and its high-flown, forward-
looking new architecture is part of an attempt
to reassert Bahrain’s status as a center for the
sale and production of luxury goods, putting it
back on the map right where the Greeks,
Romans, and Persians had it. If the project’s
background definitely feels more global than
local, the same could be said for Bahrain. n

Ian Volner is the author of numerous books and

monographs and has contributed articles on
architecture and design to The Wall Street
Journal, The New York Times, and The New
Yorker, among other publications.

Dar Al Jinaa Events Space | Credits

ARCHITECT: OFFICE KGDVS — Kersten Geers,
David Van Severen, Santiago Giusto, Federico
Perugini, Anna Andrich, Nenad Đurić, Paul
Christian, Denis Glauden, Alexandra Paritzky
ENGINEERS: Emaar Engineering
SIZE: 6,450 square feet
COST: $850,000 (construction)

63
 KAOHSIUNG PORT TERMINAL | TAIWAN | RUR ARCHITECTURE

Smooth Sailing
After a 13-year effort, architects Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto complete a sinuous
terminal for cruise ships in Kaohsiung Harbor.
BY THOMAS DANIELL
PHOTOGRAPHY BY IWAN BAAN

THE TERMINAL serves Kaohsiung Harbor, the

busiest port in Taiwan (this image).

64 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
RESEMBLING a pod of porpoises frozen
in midleap, the Kaohsiung Port Terminal
gradually rises into view above a mundane
skyline as one approaches from the southern
Taiwanese city’s downtown. At the water-
front—a patchwork of parking lots and con-
struction sites, shipping containers and
cranes—it’s difficult to tell whether the build-
ing is emerging from the sea or from the land.
Passing the light-rail stop at street level, one
ascends to the automobile drop-off at the
main entrance, set on a raised platform that
extends almost to the site’s perimeter. Only
here does it become clear that the architecture
is not a set of discrete overlapping and inter-
twining objects, like a school of fish or a den
of snakes, but rather a single multilimbed (or
multiheaded?) creature, its asymmetrical
tentacles and snouts all sprouting from the
arrival lobby.
This international cruise ship terminal is
the second major project in Taiwan by RUR
Architecture, the New York–based practice of
husband-and-wife team Jesse Reiser and
Nanako Umemoto. Incorporating a tower
containing administrative offices for Taiwan’s
busiest port, the terminal is described as
“three-dimensional urbanism” by its architects,
who hope this initial node will guide and
connect future development along the water-
front. Wrapping around the exterior, the entry
platform doubles as a boardwalk with an
expansive view of the harbor, as well as a broad
canopy for informal street markets. Various
elbows and groins contain gardens in arrays of
dots and stripes. From certain angles, it all
feels somewhat predatory and surreal. Are
these vermiform extrusions looming overhead
to be understood as blind, snuffling trunks in
search of airborne prey? Or, more benignly, a
consequence of tropism, the botanical phe-
nomenon that causes plants to twist or grow
toward sunlight, nutrients, and moisture?
While this talk of biology may sound over-
wrought, it is in many ways relevant—not only
to the terminal but also to the architects’
design process more generally. An extraordi-
nary achievement in terms of form, space,
structure, and material, the building is an
efflorescence of ideas and techniques explored
by Reiser and Umemoto over the course of
their careers. They admit that the interest in
zoomorphism partly originates in their expo-
sure, as students at the Cooper Union in New
York, to the figural experiments of longtime
dean John Hejduk, in which Reiser detected “a
feeling of empathy between building and
people, much like the Japanese belief in the
latent animism of things that charges objects

65
 GILL-LIKE openings in the cladding (above)
bring light into the terminal, which includes an
integrated office tower (left). Rearing
cantilevers cover entrances (opposite).

with a certain vitality.” But the direct precur­

sors in their own work are the trilobed
schemes for the Cardiff Bay Opera House
competition in 1994 and the Taipei Music
Center (record, January 2022). At Kaoh­
siung, the directionality is reversed; rather
than three auditoriums oriented toward a
shared stage, as in Cardiff, or three buildings
organized around a plaza, as in Taipei, here
the spaces expand outward and upward from
the central lobby.
With fully transparent ends oriented to­
ward the sky, and partly glazed throats allow­
ing views down to the esplanade and the water
beyond, the rearing cantilevers are a combina­
tion of steel trusses and spaceframes—effec­
tively enormous box girders that more or less
smoothly merge with the canted office tower
and its diagrid exoskeleton. The aluminum
envelope, with gill­like slats and scalelike
panels, at first appears to be a thin skin. In

66 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
67
 1 CAFÉ
2 SHOP
3 SECURITY
1 4 BAGGAGE CLAIM
5 PARKING
1
6 DEPARTURES
7 ARRIVALS
7 4 9
5 8 OFFICE

9 MECHANICAL

SECTION A - A

6 6

7 4 9
5

0 60 FT.
SECTION B - B
20 M.

1
7

B
A

0 100 FT.
LEVEL-ONE PLAN
30 M.

68 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
SMOOTH surfaces line interiors (above and right).

fact, it has a varying thickness that conceals not

only structural and mechanical elements, but a
network of secondary public corridors. This
intricate spatial manifold is, according to the
architects, inspired by the engines of Ferrari’s
Formula One cars, but again reflects Hejduk’s
influence—specifically his pedagogical exercise
of transforming a musical instrument into a
building. The terminal recalls the combination
of functional and aesthetic precision that pro-
duces both the elegance of a clarinet and the
awkwardness of a set of bagpipes. Such biome-
chanical analogies might suggest that the termi-
nal was parametrically designed, using calculus-
based, continuously varying forms. Actually, the
sinuous profiles are concatenations of elliptical
segments connected at tangent points, painstak-
ingly crafted through hand drawings and mod-
els, then later finessed with software.
Not everything has gone according to plan, of
course. The legal requirements of privacy, secu-
rity, and fire safety for an international transport
facility have necessitated physical and visual
barriers—ranging from guide ropes and glazed

69
 partitions to solid bulkheads—in places where the architects had hoped ENTRY AND EXIT ramps for automobiles echo the curvilinear nature of
for continuity. In some cases, these have been grudgingly integrated the terminal’s many limbs (above).
with the body of the architecture; in others, they were installed retroac-
tively. Navigating the cavernous interior might be a confusing experi- Credits CONSULTANTS: Arup (port
ence for tired tourists expecting a clearly demarcated sequence of ticket- planning and logistics);
ARCHITECT: RUR Architecture —
Environmental Arts Design
ing, immigration, customs, and boarding areas, but it is never difficult Jesse Reiser, Nanako Umemoto,
(landscape); Meinhardt Facade
principals; Jasmine Lee, Neil Cook,
and, above all, never dull. Technology (facade); Izumi Okayasu
Michael Overby, Kris Hedges,
Though the building was unshaken by the April earthquake in Lighting Design Office, Fomolux
Eleftheria Xanthouli, Juan DeMarco,
(lighting)
Taiwan’s Hualien County, 125 miles to the northeast, when leaving by Massimiliano Orzi, design team;
Toshiki Hirano, Sonya Chao, Imaeda GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
sea or by land, one might catch a glimpse of movement in the rearview
Ryosuke, assistants Chun Yuan Construction
mirror. The parallax effect seen from a turning or receding vehicle
ARCHITECT OF RECORD: CLIENT: Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau
causes a slow, majestic shifting of the silhouette of the Kaohsiung Port Fei & Cheng Associates SIZE: 397,000 square feet
Terminal as it seems to come to life. n ENGINEERS: Ysrael A. Seinuk, COST: $165 million (construction)
Supertek (structural); Arup,
COMPLETION DATE: March 2023
Thomas Daniell is a professor of architecture at Kyoto University in Japan. I.S. Leng, Mininger (m/e/p)

70 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
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MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

PUMPHOUSE | WINNIPEG, MANITOBA | 5468796 ARCHITECTURE

Pump and
Circumstance
A pair of steel-clad apartment buildings adjoins an
adapted historic waterworks.

BY PANSY SCHULMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES BRITTAIN

75
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

AT THE TURN of the 20th century, Winnipeg was Canada’s boom-

town. Already a longtime trading post, courtesy of its prime location at
the fork of the Assiniboine and Red rivers, the opening of the
Canadian Pacific Railway in 1881 made the city a leader in interna-
tional grain markets and the agricultural center of the country, garner-
ing it the nickname the “Chicago of the North.” During this era, the
Exchange District, a 20-block area nestled in the curve of the Red
River, emerged as the budding metropolis’s commercial and cultural
core, home to the city’s prominent financial institutions, businesses,
and nightlife. Though Winnipeg’s industrial prominence has faded
over the course of a century, reminders of this golden age are visible in
the Exchange’s cobblestone streets, narrow alleyways, and bevy of
architectural treasures, including terra-cotta-clad Chicago-style sky-
scrapers and stately stone-and-brick warehouses.
One less-glamorous remnant is a single-story pumping station, a
squat brick building occupying a 4,500-square-foot site in a prime
location near the riverfront. Originally built in 1906 to aid in fighting
the frequent fires that afflicted the district, the original building served
its civic duty for decades—distributing water from the river to over 70
fire hydrants in the downtown area. In 1986, however, the dated facil-
ity was shuttered by the city.
After years of limbo, a technically ambitious design by 2011 Design
Vanguard 5468796 Architecture, completed earlier this year, allowed
the pumping house to step up for the city once again, procuring a new
role in a new century. Taking an economically and environmentally
frugal approach to preservation, the Winnipeg-based firm integrated
an office and restaurant within the existing building and flanked it
with two five-story housing blocks.
Founded in 2007 by Johanna Hurme and Sasa Radulovic, 5468796
has a wide swath of Winnipeg housing projects under its belt and is
known for tackling complex commissions on tricky sites. Called
Pumphouse, this project represents a culmination of the many lessons
learned by the firm over years of practice, from grappling with the
historic district’s complex building codes to juggling financial con-
straints and varied programmatic needs. “We pulled out every tool in
our kit to make this project feasible,” says Hurme. “To us, that means
maximizing the quality of life for the inhabitants while creating a vital
player in the cityscape.”
Elevated 30 feet above street level on concrete plinths and steel stilts,
the project’s timber-framed residential components are clad in jet-black
corrugated metal, offering a severe contrast to the beige solidity of the
heritage building sandwiched between them. However, the firm’s

IMAGE: COURTESY 5468796 ARCHITECTURE

76 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
THE JET-BLACK steel facades and structural
elements of Pumphouse’s residential buildings
(above and opposite) reference the industrial
structure’s preserved interior (right).

thoughtful material choices and intricate

spatial solutions reflect and extend the central
preservation project’s guiding principles.
The 28-unit building to the east is slotted
into a narrow, formerly vacant parcel of land
alongside Waterfront Drive, a bustling thor-
oughfare where well-stocked trains once trun-
dled on now-demolished railroad tracks. The
western end of the site hosts two adjacent
buildings, connected by a shared corridor, and
containing a total of 63 residential units, with a
commercial space (currently occupied by a hair
salon) and public amphitheater nestled below.
The design concept turned a typical North
American housing block inside out, emphasiz-
ing and externalizing circulatory corridors.
This typology is particularly unusual in
Winnipeg, which endures long subzero winters
and high winds, but was central to the project’s The cantilevered open-air stairways are one-story residential units and cut the build-
public-facing philosophy. “Having grown up in protected with a fine-grain metal mesh and ing’s total area by 10 percent.
European multifamily housing, Johanna and I are accessible via pedestrian bridges that lead All the apartments are, appropriately,
understand that community happens in these from the restored pumping house’s interior, railroad style, but the exterior corridors enable
shared spaces,” says Radulovic. “Placing the wrapping around the building’s volumes, and windows within the centrally placed bed-
circulation on the outside of the building into shared corridors on the second, fourth, rooms, allowing cross ventilation and an
fosters connections among the people in the and sixth levels. This “skip-stop” arrangement abundance of natural light. Each suite is
building and back to the city itself.” was made possible by alternating two- and capped with full-height glazing at either end,

77
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

which frames panoramic views of the city or

riverfront. Taking advantage of a building
technology as old as the Exchange itself, unit
floors and ceilings are made up of unvarnished
nail-laminated-timber slabs, lending a touch of
visual warmth to the otherwise chromatically
austere project. The stairways and corridors
use raw and unfinished materials—galvanized
zinc, concrete, and aluminum—both visually
and physically connecting the new volumes to
the pumping house. “Every part of this project
is stripped down to its absolute essence,” says
5468796 associate Ken Borton, the project’s
design architect.
Since its shuttering almost 40 years ago,
more than a dozen attempts have been made
to revive the original building. But its heritage
status, bestowed in 1982, presented a major
development hurdle, mandating the preserva-
tion of the pumping machinery, exterior brick
walls, windows, concrete foundation, and
timber roof. Proposals swirled and floundered
around the structure until 2015, when Radu-
lovic and Hurme heard from a friend in local

A A
1 EXTERIOR
CORRIDOR

2 ROOFTOP TERRACE

3 ELEVATED
1
WALKWAY

4 RESIDENTIAL
ENTRANCE
5 COVERED PLAZA
LEVELS 2, 4 AND 5 PLAN LEVELS 3 AND 6 PLAN 6 PEDESTRIAN LANE

7 COMMERCIAL SPACE

8 UNDERGROUND
PARKING
2
9 RESTAURANT

10 OFFICE

11 MACHINERY FLOOR
1

3 4 3
10 4
7 6 6
9
8 11

0 30 FT.
SECTION A - A
10 M.

78 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
government that the city was moving toward
demolishing the structure.
With no brief or commission, the firm took
the project on “as a personal challenge,” says
Radulovic, first devising a financially and
technically viable multipurpose program for
the development, and then convincing an
existing client—Alston Properties—to build
it. Hurme used the term “critical opportun-
ism” to describe the firm’s go-getter approach:
“We like to create work for ourselves,” she
said with a laugh.
Allocating only $2 million of the project’s
$22 million total budget to its adaptive-reuse
phase, the firm treated the pumping house as
a “found object,” leaving as much of the origi-
nal structure as untouched as possible. “The
history is part and parcel of the building’s
narrative,” says Radulovic. “That includes the
dust, rust, and patina.”
The long and narrow pumping house is
divided into two gabled bays, each equipped
with a 20,000-pound gantry crane running
the 150-foot length of the interior. The most
glaring design challenge was that its original
floor was 18 feet below grade, but the design
team realized they could leverage the existing
crane system to suspend a “floating floor” over
the engine room’s guts, creating a flexible and
airy office space (currently leased to a software
company). By incorporating full-height glaz-
ing into the floor plate’s new interior envelope,
this economical design strategy not only
preserved the building’s equipment but put it
on full display, allowing workers, visitors, and
passing apartment residents to peer down into
the vast expanse of machinery below. For a
more intimate view, the interior walls of the
ground-floor restaurant on the building’s east
end are also enclosed with glass.
Though visually distinct and spatially OPEN-AIR walkways connect new
separated from the no-frills restoration en- construction to the historic pumping house
deavor they adjoin, Pumphouse’s sleek hous- (this image). Units feature floor-to-ceiling
glazing (opposite).
ing blocks expand the spatial language of the
118-year-old building’s refreshed interior,
with the exposed structural elements that lift
the building off the ground acting as an ex- Credits Sources
tension of the gantry crane structure inside. ARCHITECT: 5468796 Architecture STRUCTURAL SYSTEM: Holz Constructors (nail-
ENGINEERS: Lavergne Draward & Associates laminated-timber floors & prefabricated wood
The web of circulatory corridors stretches the
(structural); MCW Consultants (mechanical, stud walls); Phoenix Iron Works (structural steel);
grid of the historic building’s new floor plan U.S. Aluminum (curtain wall)
electrical, civil)
outside its original walls, spilling into the EXTERIOR CLADDING: Vicwest (corrugated
CONSULTANTS: Scatliff + Miller + Murray
residential spaces and even, by creating new (landscape); Crosier Kilgour (energy); GHL steel); KlarTech (aluminum)
public spaces below, onto the surrounding Consultants (code) GLAZING: Duxton Windows and Doors (interior
streetscape. The firm’s endeavor simultane- GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Brenton Construction glass); Polygal (skylights)
ously obscures and illuminates the line that CLIENT/OWNER: Alston Properties DOORS: U.S. Aluminum (entrances); Penner
Doors & Hardware (metal doors)
divides public from private and old from new, SIZE: 18,000 square feet (office and hospitality);
integrating the project’s spaces fully within the 76,500 square feet (multifamily residential)
multiple contexts of its program and rapidly COST: $22 million
developing neighborhood. n COMPLETION DATE: January 2024

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 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

26 POINT 2 APARTMENTS | LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA | MICHAEL MALTZAN ARCHITECTURE

Long Beach Marathon

Polychromatic supportive housing offers residents a humble reminder of life’s journey.
BY SARAH AMELAR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY IWAN BAAN

THE LENGTH of a marathon is 26.2 miles, and a new building in “Even though homeless people live out in the public realm, right on the
Long Beach, California, providing affordable housing to a formerly streets,” observes principal Michael Maltzan, “it can be a profoundly
homeless population, was named “26 Point 2” to acknowledge the old isolating experience.” Addressing that reality, the architects developed a
adage that life is a journey, sometimes with daunting obstacles. building that not only integrates multiple natural gathering spaces, but
In designing the 49,500-square-foot structure—housing 76 studio also mediates between two very different neighborhood conditions.
apartments, a manager’s unit, and supportive social services—Michael Located on a corner, the five-story structure extends from the
Maltzan Architecture (MMA) recognized the strong need for commu- Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), a busy commercial strip along the site’s
nity, both among the residents and within the broader surroundings. northern edge, to a residential area with modest dwellings, tucked

80 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
THE ROOFLINE
playfully steps down
to meet the scale of
nearby houses (this
image). This silhouette
is also visible from the
inner court (opposite).

81
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

4 4

5 4

1 8

0 10 FT.
SECTION A - A
3 M.

behind the thoroughfare. The massing, with a

4 4 stair tower anchoring the corner, is composed
A A
primarily of crisp-edged volumes (some inter-
5 locking) clad in stucco and raised on columns
over a communal ground level. The long,
3 east-facing entry facade, along a quiet side
street, steps down from PCH toward the
clustered homes—bridging the shift in scale
and character—as 26 Point 2’s jagged roofline
descends from a butterfly (or V-shaped)
1 4 silhouette to lower peaks. Such angled ele-
ments, punctuating the building’s orthogonal
2 lines, nod to the nearby gabled houses and the
many pitched motifs along the boulevard.
Flashes of color, playing against the other-
3 wise white elevations, enhance the reading of
6
discrete (yet interconnected) parts—most
vividly where planes of Kelly green offset the
stair tower, or where pale blue returns subtly
4 4 7 accentuate the depth of the punched apart-
ment windows. Marking 26 Point 2’s entrance
is a flat-faced triangular pediment forming a
0 20 FT.
SECOND-LEVEL PLAN canopy—the gable end of a stripped-down,
6 M.
double-pitched roof that hovers over gather-
ing spaces at grade. That simple prismatic
1 COURT 5 MANAGER’S UNIT
form and the separately articulated block of
2 LOUNGE 6 TRASH ROOM
apartments above it appear almost skewered
3 OPEN-AIR CORRIDOR 7 ELECTRICAL
together by the supporting columns.
4 STUDIO 8 ENTRY
“We wanted a design-forward building—

82 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
FLASHES OF pale
blue, in the court
(above) and stairwells
(above, left), and
green, in the covered
patio (left), play
against otherwise
white walls.

83
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

one that wouldn’t hide itself, but would com-

plement the neighborhood and stand with pride
in the community,” says Peter Enzminger,
development director of Long Beach–based
Excelerate Housing Group, the affordable-
housing developer that commissioned 26 Point
2 as its inaugural project. MMA was chosen for
its considerable experience designing and
building innovative supportive housing else-
where in Los Angeles County. Excelerate
funded the $28 million project through low-
income-housing tax credits from the city and
county, along with private-sector sources.
“But along the way, this project threw us all
some real curveballs,” says Enzminger. One of
the most consequential was the discovery of
abandoned oil wells on-site, which had to
remain outdoors for future access. So the
original ground-floor plan required a key
modification, splitting a large community
room into a somewhat smaller indoor space
and an open-air patio. “That turned out to be a
positive change in the evolution of the design,”
says Enzminger, “because it added to the
indoor-outdoor California feel.” The remain-
ing 990-square-foot room (which includes an
open kitchen and tables) has a glass curtain
wall facade, heightening the sense of spacious-
ness and connection to the boulevard. To
accommodate another site obstacle, the north
facade is slightly skewed, not quite parallel to
PCH, allowing the structure to skirt the
boundary of an earthquake fault zone.
The robust columns that lift the building’s
main volume above the ground level, provide
for continual spatial flow—from lobby to
breezeway mailbox area and community room
beyond. “We tend to take mailboxes for grant-
ed,” says Maltzan, “but they’re very meaning-
ful here—affirming for residents that they
actually have an address of their own.”
Similarly combining the practical with the
social, the windowed laundry space, set strate-
gically adjacent to the community room,
offers yet another venue for casual interaction.
The architects gave the building a court-
yard, or rectilinear-donut, configuration—si-
multaneously addressing needs for communal
connection and on-site parking. With its 15
spots primarily serving the daytime staff (as
most formerly homeless people don’t own
cars), this central area doubles as an open-air
plaza, with supportive-service offices along
one side. Exterior balconies, with entrances to
individual apartments, overlook the court.

UNITS (top) open onto exterior balconies that

surround the courtyard (left). The building
anchors a corner site near a highway (opposite).

84
 Credits COST: $28 million (construction)
(There’s also a fourth-floor roof deck with views out toward the neigh-
ARCHITECT: Michael Maltzan COMPLETION DATE:
borhood.) Relying on a mix of single-loaded corridors and open-ended, December 2023
Architecture — Michael Maltzan,
double-loaded ones, this LEED Gold–certified structure bypasses the design principal; Tim Williams,
need for hallway temperature control in Long Beach’s mild climate. managing principal; Ben Ruswick,
project manager; Yun Yun, project Sources
With deft economy of means, color performs throughout the build-
architect; Khoa Vu, Sharon Xu, team EXTERIOR: Arcadia (curtain wall);
ing’s inner reaches essentially, as Maltzan puts it, “as a material,” en-
ENGINEERS: KPFF Engineering LaHabra (stucco)
hancing experiential and atmospheric qualities. As in chromatic light
(civil); Labib Funk and Associates ROOFING: Carlisle (TPO); Kemper
sculpture, daylight and calibrated tones alter readings of depth, shad- (structural); Donald F. Dickerson System; Westcoat (deck coating)
ow, and space. A luminous pale blue (matching the window returns), Associates (m/p); Salas O’Brien
WINDOWS: VPI Quality Windows
for example, not only animates the courtyard elevations but also lines (electrical)
GLAZING: Vitro Architectural Glass
the walls and ceilings of some corridors, producing an immersive CONSULTANTS: Tina Chee
Landscape Studio (landscape); AWC DOORS: Arcadia, DKS Doors, Haley
ethereal effect. Enzminger describes it as “an intentionally soothing
West (specifications); D7 Consulting Architectural Doors
shade,” projecting an aura of calmness that gently draws you in. (waterproofing); Simpson Gumpertz HARDWARE: Schlage, Falcon, Ives
Elsewhere, reflected hues cast expressive gradations of what Maltzan & Heger (code, fire, life safety);
INTERIOR FINISHES: Dunn
calls “borrowed color” onto the white stucco. Partner Energy (sustainability)
Edwards Paints (paints); Formica
26 Point 2 opened in December 2023 and is now 100 percent occu- GENERAL CONTRACTOR: (plastic laminate); Arizona Tile (solid
pied. Recently, when a woman, entering the building with bundles in Benchmark Contractors surfacing); Daltile (tile); Tarkett
hand, caught this journalist staring at the facade, she glanced up and CLIENT: Excelerate Housing Group (resilient flooring)
said, “Yes, it really is a very special place.” n SIZE: 49,500 square feet LIGHTING: Deco, DMF, Oracle

85
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

HEARTWOOD | SEATTLE | ATELIERJONES

The Missing Middle

A new code for tall mass-timber buildings sets the stage for workforce housing in a tech boomtown.
BY JOANN GONCHAR, FAIA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARA SWIMMER

86 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
POST-PANDEMIC layoffs notwithstand-
ing, Seattle remains a prime hub for tech
employment. A recent study by commercial
real-estate services firm CBRE found that the
city was the top destination for recent tech
grads, and second, behind Austin, across all
experience levels. Seattle ranks overall as one
of the country’s top 10 metros for tech jobs,
and the sector accounts for a whopping 30
percent of the region’s economy, according to
research by CompTIA, a trade association. At
the same time, there is a pressing housing
shortage. According to the county’s estimates,
Seattle will need more than 100,000 new
houses, condos, and apartments over the next
20 years. The dominance of tech exacerbates
this housing crunch, since the industry’s
well-paid workers strain the limited supply.
The shortage is experienced most acutely by
the city’s poorest, but also by its middle-
income residents, many of whom can no
longer afford to live near where they work.
One project responding to this urgent need
is Heartwood, an eight-story, 67,000-square-
foot apartment building completed earlier this
year on the site of a former parking lot in the
city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Designed by
Seattle-based atelierjones, and owned by local
nonprofit-housing operator Community
Roots Housing, Heartwood offers 126 units
(113 studios and 13 one-bedrooms), of which
roughly one-third are income-restricted.
With monthly rents for the unrestricted units
starting below $1,400, the apartments are
aimed at those earning between 60 to 100
percent of the area median income—the
so-called “missing middle,” who earn too
much to qualify for traditional affordable-
housing programs but still struggle to find
apartments within their means.
In addition to accommodating an under-
served market, Heartwood is notable for its
novel structural system. It has a mass-timber
frame that is, in large part, exposed on the
interior, conforming to the requirements for
what is known as Type IV-C construction
under the recently adopted tall-wood provi-
sions of the 2021 version of the International
Building Code (IBC)—the model code used
by most jurisdictions in the U.S. According to
Susan Jones, atelierjones’s founder, Heart-
wood is the first in the nation to take advan-
tage of the new IV-C classification, which
pertains to buildings up to eight stories and
85 feet tall. The new standards also include a

ON A CORNER lot on Capitol Hill, the

mass-timber-framed Heartwood provides 113
studios and 13 one-bedroom apartments.

87
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

Glulam column

CLT floor slab

2″ x 6″
spline

Intumescent paint

Glulam beam

MORTISE-AND-TENON JOINT PERSPECTIVE DIAGRAM

A DEFLECTION JOINT D ONE LAYER OF GYPSUM

BLOCKING WITH REGLET REVEAL WALLBOARD AT
D AND INTUMESCENT TAPE UNDERSIDE OF CLT DECK
B BEAM-TO-COLUMN E DEFLECTION TRACK AT TOP OF
C
FIREPROOFING AT WALL WITH COMPRESSIBLE

B CONNECTION FACES MINERAL WOOL AND

A C GYPSUM WALLBOARD WRAP INTUMESCENT TAPE
E

ENCLOSED SOFFIT DETAIL TOP OF WALL/EXPOSED BEAM DETAIL

7 7
6 6 6 6 6
6 6 6 6 6
4

3
6 5 6

1
6 5
6
6 6 6
8 6

2
6
6
1 COURTYARD 5 BIKE ROOM

2 HELEN V APARTMENTS 6 STUDIO

3 LOBBY 7 ONE-BEDROOM
6 6
4 LEASING OFFICE 8 LAUNDRY

0 50 FT. 0 15 FT.
SITE PLAN TYPICAL-FLOOR PLAN
15 M. 5 M.

88 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
HEARTWOOD shares a courtyard with an
existing apartment building owned by the client
(above). First-floor apartments are accessed
directly from the exterior (right).

Type IV-B for buildings up to 12 stories and a

Type IV-A for those up to 18 stories. With
each increase in height, the code mandates
greater levels of fire protection requiring, for
instance, that more of the timber be encapsu-
lated in noncombustible materials.
It is not surprising that Jones would opt for
mass timber for Heartwood’s structural sys-
tem. Since founding her practice in 2003, she
has developed a deep expertise in the mate-
rial, using it on projects that include her own
house, a church, and prototype housing for
residents of Greenville, California, who lost
their homes in the 2021 Dixie Fire (record,
June 2023). She has long advocated for mass
timber’s mainstream adoption, serving on the
International Code Council committee that
developed the IBC’s tall-wood requirements.
Her interest in the material is primarily envi-
ronmental—a means for mitigating construc-
tion’s carbon footprint.
Mass timber, however, was a less obvious

89
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

THE TIMBER is largely exposed throughout the building, in spaces that

include the lobby, the apartments (opposite), and the corridors (left),
where the seismic bracing at the cores is also visible.

choice for Community Roots Housing, which did not set out to build
with the material or even work with atelierjones. As Jones recounts, in
2019 her firm had been awarded a $250,000 Wood Innovations Grant
from the U.S. Forest Service to investigate the feasibility of Type IV-C
construction—but for an office project, rather than a residential one,
with another client. At the 11th hour, however, site control of the
project fell through. To take advantage of the funds, Jones needed a
new project. After reaching out to dozens of developers—through
friend and colleague A-P Hurd, founder of real-estate consultancy,
SkipStone Development—she connected with Community Roots,
which was working with SkipStone to build workforce housing. The
nonprofit agreed to partner with atelierjones. “It was one of the most
joyous yeses I have ever received,” says the architect.
People who walk by Heartwood, at the corner of East Union and
14th streets, will probably have no idea that there is something unusual
going on beneath its understated fiber-cement-panel rainscreen skin.
But on close inspection, one can detect a level of attention that is atypi-
cal in a mid-market multifamily project. For instance, the punched
windows (all high-performance and triple-glazed) are slightly recessed
and jog back and forth across the facade to create a subtle play of shad-
ow and a syncopated rhythm. The first-floor apartments, entered
directly from the exterior, are set back, creating almost the feel of
townhouses. And if those passersby venture down 14th Street, they can
catch a glimpse of an intimate courtyard—complete with barbecue
area—shared with an existing three-story affordable apartment build-
ing owned and managed by the same client.

90 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
 Behind Heartwood’s modest exterior is its mass-timber superstruc- lower than a concrete building of the same size. If the carbon stored in
ture, whose wood elements were all sourced from within the surround- the timber is included, the result is a 108 percent reduction, making
ing Cascadia region: glulam columns and beams, five-ply cross-lami- Heartwood’s superstructure carbon negative.
nated timber (CLT) floor slabs, and mass plywood panel stairs The project is readily replicable and scalable; atelierjones has even
enclosed, for seismic resistance, within steel buckling-restrained-brace- assembled a booklet that shows how Heartwood’s guiding principles
frame (BRBF) cores. The L-shaped assembly sits on top of a straight- could be adapted to buildings of different sizes, heights, or site condi-
forward concrete slab and grade-beam foundation. tions. If the project proves popular with tenants, we could see hundreds
Working with a new code meant that atelierjones had to establish of similar mass-timber structures around the country, helping tackle
interpretations of its requirements, especially relating to fire protection. two of today’s most pressing problems—the earth’s warming and the
It developed details for the building’s myriad conditions, including housing shortage. n
where interior partitions or enclosed soffits meet exposed timber. The
most elegant of these details is an all-wood mortise-and-tenon joint Credits Sources
connecting columns and beams developed in collaboration with the ARCHITECT: atelierjones—Susan FACADE PANELS: James Hardie,
structural consultant DCI Engineers and the company Timberlab, Jones, principal architect; Ian Nichiha
Maples, job captain; Olga Amigud, MASS TIMBER: Timberlab (virtual
which performed virtual design coordination for Heartwood, as well as Lenore Wan, Bron Heinz, Alex Zink, design coordination, fabrication,
mass-timber fabrication and erection. The detail includes intumescent Eleanor Lewis, Meghan Doring, erection)
tape applied to the surfaces within the joint. If exposed to heat, the project team
GLULAM: DR Johnson Lumber
tape will expand, filling gaps and preventing fire infiltration. Accord- CONSULTANTS: HV Engineering
(m/p); Bergelectric (electrical); DCI CLT: Kalesnikoff
ing to Timberlab, the absence of bolts, hangers, or other fasteners
Engineers (structural, civil); Blueline MASS PLYWOOD:
helped speed erection. On average, the beams for each level were in- Group (landscape); Greenbusch Freres Engineered Wood
stalled in half a day, versus two to three days for steel connections. Group (acoustical); Wiss, Jenny,
LATERAL SYSTEM: Superior Steel
The design and construction strategy yields compact apartments, Elstner Associates (envelope, fire
protection); WoodWorks (mass WINDOWS: Eco Windows
averaging 400 square feet, with standard features, including drywall timber) SUSPENSION GRID: 9Wood
partitions, plastic-laminate cabinets, and vinyl flooring. But the timber GENERAL CONTRACTOR: ENTRANCES: Kawneer
frame and CLT ceilings provide warmth and natural appeal. Swinerton
MOISTURE BARRIER: VaproShield
Beyond the biophilic benefits, Heartwood demonstrates a way of CLIENT: Community Roots Housing
INSULATION: Rockwool
building with the potential for a significantly smaller environmental SIZE: 67,000 square feet
ELEVATORS: Kone
footprint compared with more conventional materials. According to a COST: withheld
life-cycle analysis conducted by the University of Washington, the COMPLETION DATE:
global-warming potential of Heartwood’s superstructure is 38 percent February 2024

91
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

92 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
 15 ALLEN STREET | BUFFALO | ADAM SOKOL ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE

Flip Side
A young firm delivers mixed-use infill with the help of Buffalo’s
revamped zoning.
BY MATTHEW MARANI

BUFFALO has had a rough go of it for the located just west of Buffalo’s Main Street and
last 70-odd years. The Rust Belt city on the runs along the de facto border of the city’s
banks of Lake Erie has suffered decades of formerly redlined eastern half. In 2017, the
deindustrialization and demographic decline, Buffalo Common Council passed the Green
losing some 55 percent of its population since Code, the first major revision of the city’s
1950. In recent years, the city, with the help land-use and zoning policies since 1953. The
of fast-growing eds-and-meds industries and bill effectively ratified what had previously
refugee resettlement, has seen a measured, been noncompliant, the mixed uses that or-
but vital, revival of its fortunes; 15 Allen ganically emerged in Buffalo’s historic neigh-
Street is a product of that upswing. The borhoods, and eliminated minimum parking
three-and-a-half-floor mixed-use infill build- requirements to enable infill development.
ing designed by Los Angeles–based Adam In 2015, developer May Wang purchased
Sokol Architecture Practice (ASAP) is deftly 15 Allen Street, a dilapidated two-story retail
inserted into the city’s Allentown neighbor- building constructed in the 1920s, hoping to
hood with contextual massing and straight- capitalize on the prime location steps from the
forward, well-detailed materials. city’s light rail system and the Buffalo Niagara
The eclectic Allentown Historic District is Medical Campus. “It was absolutely trashed,
PHOTOGRAPHY: © ALEXANDER SEVERIN (LEFT); BRETT BEYER (RIGHT)

WINDOWS are predominantly courtyard-facing

(above). The historic facade was rebuilt with
brick chosen to match the old (right).

93
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

firm decamped to the West Coast in 2018.

Three contrasting faces mark the project’s
exterior. The historic facade was almost en-
7 7
tirely rebuilt with new brick chosen to match
the old. Parts of the existing cast-stone trim
2 were taken down, cleaned, and reinstalled. In
7
7 accordance with the city’s fire code, the east
elevation is a concrete-masonry-block party
wall shared with a privately owned and unde-
7 veloped parcel. That left the courtyard-facing
and rear elevations as the primary avenues for
architectural expression. There, the dark-gray
steel-clad massing staggers upward and folds
SECTION A - A onto itself as the building steps back from the
street wall, in a move that affords six private
patio and balcony spaces across all floors.
4 2
3
The multifaceted character of the building
A A
exterior is echoed in section. The new struc-
ture, with primarily 10- and 12-foot-tall
1
ceilings in the apartments, needed 15-foot-
7 tall ceilings for the 1,400-square-foot retail
7
space, which occupies just under half the
ground floor. That expansive ceiling, sup-
8
ported by glulam posts and beams—the rest
of the building is standard light-frame wood
construction—took up valuable room for the
6
residential units, so ASAP turned elsewhere
1 RETAIL 5 WASHER/DRYER to maximize leasable space. The building’s
2 STAIR 6 COURTYARD two ADA-compliant apartments are located
3 LOBBY 7 APARTMENTS on the ground floor, so there was no need for
4 BIKE RACK 8 PATIO/BALCONY an elevator, and the design team was permit-
ted to include just one point of egress for the
apartments above—an orange-splashed stair-
FIRST-LEVEL PLAN
well. The second levels of the two loft units
are classified as mezzanines, to fit in a half
floor, and the skylight for the stairwell, which
reaches nearly 60 feet tall, skirts height limits
by taking advantage of a decorative-tower
zoning allowance.
7
Apartment finishes are kept simple.
7
7 7 Features like the light-colored hardwood
flooring and white cabinetry and solid-surface
8 8 countertops contrast with the building’s dark
exterior. With the party wall to the east, and
0 15 FT.
SECOND-LEVEL PLAN
5 M.
the retail storefront to the south, the west
elevation, facing the courtyard, is the main
with rotting wood, and past the point of cast-stone facade incorporated into the new source of daylight, with generous high-perfor-
complete conservation,” explains Adam structure. It received approval from the city in mance casement windows.
Sokol, whose firm was a 2019 Design Van- 2017, one of the first projects in Buffalo to do Notably, 15 Allen Street is one of the first
guard. The site could only accommodate six so under the new code. all-electric buildings in Buffalo, with ultra-
residential units under existing zoning laws, a The building’s roughly rectangular foot- efficient heat pumps and solar water heaters,
financially prohibitive proposition, consider- print covers approximately 90 percent of its all of which help keep energy use and costs
ing the cost of restoration, even with the lot. The 10 rental units consist of 650- down. But, without all of the bells and whis-
associated tax credits. However, the project square-foot one-bedrooms, with one two- tles, it may just be 15 Allen Street’s location
was made viable by the subsequent passage of bedroom apartment and two loft-style du- that provides the greenest credentials. “The
the Green Code, and the State Historic Pres- plexes. Residents share a courtyard and bi- most important aspect of the project’s sustain-
ervation Office and National Park Service cycle storage with adjacent 19 Allen Street, a ability is that it is an infill building, with no
signing off on the partial demolition of the mixed-use project also owned by Wang—it vehicular parking, that’s far bigger than almost
historic building, with just the brick and formerly housed ASAP’s studio before the anything else you could do,” Sokol concludes. n

94 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
 THE apartment finishes are light and simple
(above). A single point of egress saved valuable
square footage (right). Glulam columns and
beams support the retail space (far right).

Credits
ARCHITECT: Adam Sokol Architecture Practice
ENGINEERS: Siracuse Engineers (structural);
Foit Albert Associates (civil)
CONSULTANT: Joy Kuebler Landscape
Architects (landscape)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Peyton Barlow Company
PHOTOGRAPHY: © BRETT BEYER (2); ALEXANDER SEVERIN (BOTTOM, LEFT)

CLIENT: May Wang/Mayflower Allen Property

SIZE: 12,000 square feet
COST: $4 million
COMPLETION DATE: May 2022

Sources
EXTERIOR CLADDING: Watsontown Brick
(brick); ATAS (metal panels); A. Jandris & Sons
(architectural concrete masonry)
ROOFING: Holcim Elevate (elastomeric)
WINDOWS AND DOORS:
Kolbe (wood frame and entrances)
HARDWARE: Emtek (locksets); Zweil (pulls);
Sugastune (hinges)
INTERIOR FINISHES: Sherwin-Williams (paints
and stains); Daltile (floor and wall tile); Roppe
(resilient flooring)
LIGHTING: Kuzco, Nora (downlights)

95
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

SAN MATEO COUNTY NAVIGATION CENTER | REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA | OFFICE OF CHARLES F. BLOSZIES

Building Blocks
A factory-assembled modular system aims to quickly shelter those transitioning out of homelessness.
BY CLARE JACOBSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW MILLMAN

The San Mateo County Navigation Center (SMCNC)—supportive separate bedrooms, connected into single- and two-story buildings;
interim housing for formerly unhoused people “navigating” their way to and units with two separate bedrooms and en suite baths stacked into
permanent quarters—was built for speed. The Office of Charles F. three-story structures—that acknowledge the differing needs of
Bloszies coordinated the facility’s design-build delivery and developed residents. “They are designed as permanent, code-compliant struc-
its prefabricated modular construction system, as well as oversaw a tures,” says Charles Bloszies, who was both architect and structural
team of government, community service, and design professionals, to engineer of SMCNC, “but in theory could be taken apart and reas-
complete the 2.5-acre, 53,800-square-foot, 240-unit center in sembled on another site.” Additional modules contain toilets, support
California’s Silicon Valley in less than a year. spaces, and food-service facilities. The strategy’s savings in time and
Covid-19 necessitated this speed. “When the pandemic hit, the construction brought the cost to $237,500 a door—less than half that
number of homeless people in San Mateo was increasing, but the of conventional construction, according to Bloszies.
number of shelter beds stayed flat,” says Joe Stockwell, former board Yet SMCNC does not feel as if it was rushed. Much of this has to do
chair of nonprofit LifeMoves, which manages SMCNC. San Mateo with the site planning, which makes the center look less like an emer-
County’s interim housing model of many beds in a single shared gency shelter than a well-established campus. The plan is organized
room was no longer permissible, and a county-owned bayside site in around what Bloszies refers to as a piazza. “A central orienting feature is
an industrial area offered a clean slate to develop private accommoda- very important to the residents,” he says, “because they are coming from
tions. The plan developed with prefabricated 10-by-40-foot modules a rather chaotic environment.” Four fingerlike bars of housing spread
containing two housing types—simple sleeping units, with four from this place in an arrangement that both allows light into the units

SLEEPING units are accessed via stairs (this image)

and exposed walkways (opposite).

96 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
97
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

MODULES with bedrooms (opposite, bottom

left) are stacked into bars (opposite, top).
Larger buildings accommodate amenities
(opposite, bottom right).

and creates interstitial green spaces. The

1 central area, with a basketball court, is de-
signed to be lively, while those on the sides are
meant to be quieter, offering residents places
that match their personalities.
9 5 Another key to the success of SMCNC is
2 5
7 the quality of its materials, which were chosen
not only for their durability and ease of main-
8 tenance but also for their hominess. These
5 4
include wood stairs and corridors, large corner
2 3 windows, thoughtfully placed built-in shelv-
ing, porcelain-clad steel toilets, and fiber
cement exterior panels in numerous textures.
1 The predominant color is gray, in a variety of
tones. “The idea here is to have a calm pal-
ette,” Bloszies adds.
Two large buildings—a community room
and a dining hall with commercial-grade
kitchen, each with a garage-door opening to
the outdoors—were constructed on-site while
the modular units were being fabricated.
Then the modules were trucked in and craned
into position. “All the plumbing projects
0 50 FT.
SITE PLAN
15 M.
outward,” says Bloszies, “so that, when one
box is placed atop another, everything con-
1 SLEEPING UNITS WITH BATHS 5 STAFF OFFICES 9 LAUNDRY
nects.” The amenities include case-manage-
2 SLEEPING UNITS 6 DINING HALL 10 BATHROOMS ment and counseling spaces and medical and
3 SECURITY 7 COMMUNITY CENTER dental clinics—services that previous Life-
4 MEDICAL SERVICES 8 RESIDENT SERVICES Moves centers contracted off-site. “With a

Sleeping Unit with Bath Sleeping Unit Toliets and Showers Storage

Support Services Food Service Support Services Toilets

98 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24
 PHOTOGRAPHY: © MATTHEW MILLMAN + JONATHAN MITCHELL (RIGHT)

99
 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

clean slate, we could design and construct

something that not only gives people dignity
and privacy,” Stockwell says, “but do it in such
a way that brings our residents into a social
milieu where everything’s available for them.”
Bloszies had done work for the San Fran­
cisco Department of Homelessness and Sup­
portive Housing before moving into modular
design—a move motivated, in part, by the
pandemic’s demand for social distancing.
SMCNC is the second of four Bay Area
navigation centers he has designed, and each
new project has evolved from its predecessors.
First his team completed a 102­door center in
Mountain View in eight months. SMCNC
added bathrooms to the sleeping units. A
third project in Palo Alto, currently under
construction, includes family units, while
another in San Jose will add private kitchens.
Bloszies has plans for his modular prototypes
to extend beyond the Bay Area to other com­
munities in need. “We set this up to be what
we’re calling open­source design,” he says,
eager to share his knowledge and drawings
with other architects. “So if you want to build
one of these, call us up.” n

Clare Jacobson is a San Francisco–based design

writer and editor.

Credits
ARCHITECT: Office of Charles F. Bloszies —
Charles Bloszies, principal in charge; Michael
Bullman, Mark Warren, project managers; My-
Linh Pham, Aidan Atman, designers
CONSULTANTS: BKF Engineers (civil);
Meyers+ Engineers (m/e/p concept, telecom,
energy modeling); EcoFire Sprinklers (fp);
Rosendin Electric (design-build electrical); Air
Systems (design-build m/p); CMG Landscape
Architecture (landscape); Oneworkplace (ffe)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: XL Construction
CLIENT: San Mateo County Project
Development Unit
SIZE: 53,800 square feet
COST: $54 million (construction)
COMPLETION DATE: May 2023

Sources
MODULES: Silver Creek Modular
CLADDING: Ceraclad (rainscreen); GE Elemax
(moisture barrier)
ROOFING: Carlisle, Johns Manville, Holcim Elevate
GLAZING: Vitro Architectural Glass
DOORS: Arcadia, Assa Abloy, Pacific
Architectural Wood Products, American Building
ELEVATOR towers Supply, Cornell, Amarr
serve as wayfinding WINDOWS: Pella, Arcadia
landmarks. INTERIOR FINISHES: Sherwin-Williams
LIGHTING: Gotham, Lithonia, Acuity

100 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

 SUBMIT YOUR PROJECTS!

Record
The editors of Architectural Record are now
accepting entries for RECORD HOUSES.
This annual issue showcases residential

Houses
design that upends expectation, pushes
disciplinary limits, and redefines established
vocabularies in imaginative ways.

2024
Winning projects will be selected by an
editorial jury and featured in September.

DEADLINE EXTENDED: MAY 17, 2024

For submission details, visit architecturalrecord.com/call4entries

E-mail any questions to ARCallForEntries@bnpmedia.com. Include “Record Houses” in the subject line.
PHOTOGRAPHY: © DAVID SUNDBERG

A 2023 RECORD HOUSE:

HILL HOUSE, LAKEVILLE,
CONNECTICUT, BY JOEB
MOORE & PARTNERS.
 2,900
American homes that our clean solar energy
could electrify per year.*
In 2023, 79 solar PV panel installations around the world
generated 35.4 GWh of clean energy.

Kingspan’s Global Planet Passionate program strives to add

solar PV systems to all our wholly owned facilities
and achieve 60% direct renewable energy use by 2030.

Our 10-year global sustainability program set

ambitious targets across four focus areas:
carbon, energy, circularity and water. Learn
more at planetpassionate.kingspan.com.

*U.S. EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator. 14,758 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
 CEU AFFORDABLE HOUSING & ENERGY PERFORMANCE

Role Models
Three housing developments achieve lofty social and environmental
goals on tight budgets.
BY KATHARINE LOGAN

IT SOMETIMES seems as though the cation nonprofit. Similarly, the number of

affordable-housing sector—which is presum- affordable-housing projects registered with
ably watching every dollar to scrimp or one of the certification programs adminis-
scrounge—regularly achieves standards of tered by the International Living Future
PHOTOGRAPHY: © FRANK OUDEMAN

energy performance and livability that much Institute (ILFI) has more than doubled in
of the market-driven sector barely aspires to. the same period, with even more projects
The square footage of Passive House–cer- piloting the Living Building Challenge
tified multifamily development, for example, Affordable Housing Framework. Nearly 80
has more than tripled in the last five years, percent of multifamily projects that certified BETANCES RESIDENCE, in the Bronx, New
with affordable housing accounting for over as GreenPoint Rated between 2020 and 2024 York, restores the urban streetwall at the
90 percent of the sector, according to Phius, a are affordable, with a dramatic upswing in the front facade (above), but has a courtyard at
Passive House training, advocacy, and certifi- percent achieving the Gold or Platinum level. the rear (top).

103
 CEU AFFORDABLE HOUSING & ENERGY PERFORMANCE

not only about housing—it’s about quality

housing,” says Darin Reynolds, a partner with
COOKFOX. And, even though housing is
the core mission, adds Katie Ackerly, a princi-
pal and sustainable-design director at DBA,
“that purpose often aligns with making the
world a better place in multiple ways.” The
health impacts of the built environment are
especially significant in the affordable sector,
“more so than for market-rate buildings,” says
Susan Puri, affordable-housing director at
ILFI, referring to data that correlate low-
income communities with poor air quality
and other environmental hazards, “because
for a long time the built environment has
perpetuated social inequities.”
The second factor is social policy, espe-
cially when it’s expressed through funding
criteria and incentives. For example, federal
low-income-housing tax-credit programs
(LIHTC), which provide a significant por-
tion of many affordable developments’ bud-
gets, are distributed through competitive
programs (known as qualified allocation
plans, or QAPs) run by state housing-finance
agencies. A growing number of QAPs award
points for environmental responsibility. In
fact, Phius largely attributes the surge in the
SOCIAL spaces at sector’s uptake of Passive House to incentives
Betances look out in the QAPs of more than 17 states.
onto the courtyard The third factor linking affordable housing
(left) as does the and building performance is long-term own-
lobby (above), where
ership, which aligns both with social housing
light from a generous
window calls developers’ mission and with common fund-
attention to the ing requirements. LIHTC-funded projects,
texture of its for example, are required to preserve their
corbelled brick wall. affordability for 30 years. With a long-term
view, reduced operating costs can more than
reimburse up-front premiums, if any, associ-
ated with developing a high-performance
building (as long as funders’ caps on per-unit
costs don’t get in the way).
These three factors—client mission, fund-
ing-backed policy, and long-term owner-
ship—pushed the performance goals of each
of the three example projects. The specifics of
the achievements and the strategies for real-
Under LEED, 438 affordable-housing devel- senior residence in the Bronx, New York, by izing them on limited budgets vary with the
opments, representing 6,521 units, achieved COOKFOX Architects; Coliseum Place, a circumstances unique to each project.
certification in 2023 alone. Living Building Challenge Affordable Hous- For Betances Residence, requirements to
What’s driving the sector’s sustainability ing Pilot and GreenPoint Rated Platinum provide below-market housing for seniors, to
PHOTOGRAPHY: © FRANK OUDEMAN

and livability achievements, how do ambitious building in Oakland by David Baker certify under Enterprise Green Communities
goals fit into tight budgets, and are there Architects (DBA); and 981 Davie Street, a (a point-based environmental standard for
lessons for fostering more environmentally Passive House–aspiring tower in Vancouver, affordable housing), and to achieve exemplary
and socially responsible multifamily housing British Columbia, by ZGF Architects. energy performance came as conditions of
nationwide? record put these questions to The ambitions of all three projects, and funding. Built on two formerly empty lots,
Phius, ILFI, and the design teams behind similar achievements sector-wide, can be one owned by the New York City Housing
three outstanding affordable-housing projects: largely explained by three primary factors. Authority and the other by New York City
Betances Residence, a Passive House–certified The first is developers’ social mission: “It’s Housing Preservation and Development, the

104 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

 Podium courtyard
Views to
Oakland Hills

Bike storage

Open “green” stair

On-grade
common
space

Entry

COLISEUM PLACE AXONOMETRIC DIAGRAM

COLISEUM PLACE in Oakland, California, has a landscaped podium (top,

right) and is wrapped in a shade screen (top, left). Rooftop photovoltaics
meet the energy needs of common areas, such as the lobby (right).

Passive House–certified Betances provides buildable square footage, an economical nificant cost, Reynolds says, “but it adds an
IMAGES: © BRUCE DAMONTE (TOP, LEFT AND RIGHT, BOTTOM, RIGHT); COURTESY DBA (BOTTOM, LEFT)

152 units of supportive housing for at-risk block-and-plank structure, consisting of incredible value for the people who are expe-
seniors and achieves a 69 percent reduction in CMU bearing walls and precast concrete- riencing that space.” Other common-area
energy-use intensity (EUI) compared to a plank floor slabs, makes a floor-to-floor materials, chosen for their evocation of na-
baseline building (17.4 kBtu/sf/yr versus 56). height of 9 feet viable. This enabled more ture, include wood slats along the lobby ramp
The eight-story structure, completed in units to be constructed within the site’s height and wood-fiber ceiling panels, a low-cost
2022, was built for $560 per square foot and limit while still providing ceilings of 8 feet choice for softening the space’s acoustics.
$440,000 per unit. The developer, Breaking and higher for residents. “We’re trying to achieve multiple things
Ground, says the budget is in line with com- A high-performance envelope and energy- through simple choices,” Reynolds says. “For
parable affordable multifamily projects where recovery ventilators provide benefits beyond a client like Breaking Ground, which pro-
requirements for paying the local prevailing energy savings. These include quality indoor vides social services to their tenants, design-
wage apply, and Reynolds says it’s signifi- air in a neighborhood with some of the worst ing to support occupants’ health and well-
cantly lower than a market-rate development. asthma rates in the country and quiet interiors being can help save money in the long run.”
To get the most bang for the buck, despite the proximity of highway traffic. As with Betances, the social and environ-
Betances is designed to maximize floor area The building’s material palette was care- mental performance of Coliseum Place,
within a tight zoning envelope. Much of the fully selected to reinforce the project’s values. completed in 2022, resulted from a combina-
ground floor is recessed more than 50 percent Cost-effective brick cladding conveys a sense tion of funding- and mission-driven priori-
below grade, a move that gains almost an of dignity and permanence that’s especially ties. Located beside a commuter rail station,
entire story of usable space in addition to the welcome in what may be residents’ first expe- the six-story, 59-unit development for low-
zoning-allowed floor area. A central court- rience of housing stability in years. Brick also income and formerly unhoused families is
yard, also recessed, provides daylight and lines the walls of the lobby, where it is cor- adjacent to what’s intended to become a larger
views that make the library, social services, belled to create patterns and plays of shadow transit-oriented development. With the non-
and other common areas on this floor feel as in the daylight from generous windows to the profit developer Resources for Community
though they’re at grade. Further boosting the courtyard. The lobby brick doesn’t add sig- Development seeking to surpass the LEED

105
 CEU AFFORDABLE HOUSING & ENERGY PERFORMANCE

Rooftop photovoltaics supply the annual

energy needs of common areas in the all-
0.99 form factor
electric building. Decentralized heat pumps
Highly insulated roof
and wall assemblies reduce domestic hot-water energy loads by
about 40 percent compared to a conventional
central water heater. And air-conditioning
and air filtration improve resilience in the face
of increasingly hot and smoke-filled seasons.
In line with the pilot’s ambition of reducing
negative health impacts, both for residents and
High-performance,
triple-glazed windows for workers, DBA specified toxin- and plastic-
Operable windows free interior finishes; however, in what Ackerly
calls “a value-engineering sob story,” a number
of these were substituted out. Another aspect
Integrated solar shading
of the Living Building Challenge, the require-
ment that a building source all its water on-site
High-efficiency heat- High-efficiency
and clean all the water it releases, was rejected
recovery ventilators domestic hot water from the outset. “There are good reasons that
we have municipal-scale infrastructure,”
Minimized thermal
Ackerly says. “In asking what to prioritize, you
Balanced window-to-
bridging really have to start with, ‘What does this
wall ratio community need?’ ”
A grant-funded study that DBA conducted
after the completion of Coliseum Place,
however, suggests that there is a way in which
affordable housing may be suited to doubling
as infrastructure. The study’s challenge was to
design a multifamily building that eliminated
all energy demand from the grid between 4
and 9 p.m., typically the period of maximum
981 DAVIE SECTION/AXONOMETRIC DIAGRAM
energy draw, when power plants have to ramp
up production fast—burning fossil fuels to do
Platinum rating that had become its standard, so—and when, as a result, energy is dirtiest.
the project enrolled in the ILFI Affordable Reducing energy use during this period can
Housing Pilot. Pilot projects attempt a range have a greater impact on carbon emissions
of ILFI certifications (including Living than reducing energy use overall. The exercise
Building Challenge, Core, Zero Carbon, and revealed that an oversize central hot-water
Zero Energy), with access to educational tank could serve as a thermal battery, heating
sessions, peer-to-peer discussions, and sup- water during off-peak hours and supplying it
port from the institute’s technical staff, all during peak hours without drawing further
with the goal of breaking down barriers to from the grid. (This is different from Coli-
deep-green housing. “We learned a ton about seum Place’s decentralized system, which
what’s appropriate for affordable housing in focused on reducing total energy consump-
terms of these aspirational goals,” says DBA’s tion.) The additional thermal storage uses a
Ackerly—“what it takes to get there, and also system that is already in the building—over-
what it means when a certification is driving sizing it even adds a level of redundancy that
your goal-set versus supporting a set of inher- owners value—and could eliminate 35 percent
ent goals and quality assurance.” of the building’s afternoon peak for less cost
Built for construction costs of about than battery storage (another way of storing
$500,000 a unit—“which was pretty typical energy in buildings to reduce peak loads). “It’s
and pretty alarming at the time,” Ackerly a really high-benefit, low-cost way to achieve
says, “and now of course costs in this market this kind of evening-out-the-peak goal,” Ack-
are even higher”—Coliseum Place consists of erly says, “and that should be the focus of
a simple stepped massing wrapped in a shade everything right now.”
IMAGES: COURTESY ZGF

screen. A bamboo-filled exterior staircase Another project reevaluating the systems

connects common amenities, fosters active best suited to achieving affordable and envi-
uses and social interaction, and provides both ronmentally responsible housing is 981 Davie
a close-up with nature and expansive views to Street, a 17-story hybrid mass-timber tower
San Francisco and the East Bay Hills. now under construction and targeting Passive

106 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

 tender. “The provincial funding authorities
weren’t used to having to lock in certain
players,” Wilson says, “so that was an educa­
tional process.” Ultimately, however, “as
required for a publicly funded project, techni­
cally speaking all portions of the project were
subject to competitive bidding between mul­
tiple prospective subcontractors.”
In addition to the housing it provides, 981
Davie serves a significant policy goal: model­
ing the viability of advanced building systems
for broader market uptake. “This project
forms part of the tradition of the federal and
provincial governments providing funding in
order to make experimental, cutting­edge
projects possible that ordinarily would be
dismissed as unviable by the market,” Wilson
says. “If we want to create better living envi­
ronments, the money for research has to come
from somewhere. The argument here is that it
doesn’t have to be somehow underpinned by
market value—that it’s possible for the public
sector to lead even market developments, and
A STRUCTURAL SYSTEM combining CLT slabs and steel columns (above) should speed construction that it should do so.”
at 981 Davie (opposite), in Vancouver, British Columbia. The building will provide 154 affordable units. In allocating their careful budgets for
maximum social and environmental effect, all
House certification. Projected to cost $67 low­section steel (HSS) for the vertical mem­ three projects, Betances Residence, Coliseum
million, with federal, provincial, and munici­ bers and cross­laminated timber (CLT) slabs Place, and 981 Davie—as well as the many
pal funding, and developed by the Commun­ for the horizontal. The HSS is cheaper and other high­achieving affordable­housing
ity Land Trust in consultation with New lighter, and the connection detail is faster and projects now being built—share in that lead­
Commons Development, the building in­ simpler than it would be with comparable­ ing role, showing what’s possible. n
cludes a mix of units, from studios to three­ strength timber columns, and the flat slabs
bedroom, with 6,800 square feet of amenities eliminate the need for beams and facilitate
and outdoor space. Located in a neighbor­ the installation of services. To keep pace with CONTINUING EDUCATION
hood known for its thriving LGBTQ com­ the structure’s speed of assembly while main­ To earn one AIA learning unit (LU), including one hour
munity, the building includes 154 affordable taining quality control and airtightness, the of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read “Role
units, with 31 of them designated as support­ project uses a proprietary prefabricated enve­ Models,” review the supplemental material found at
ive housing for individuals and families living lope system, including operable triple­glazed architecturalrecord.com, and complete the quiz at
with HIV/AIDS, and houses in its two­story windows and fixed shading devices. While continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com. Upon passing the
podium a nonprofit community center that there’s an associated cost premium, Wilson test, you will receive a certificate of completion, and
works to improve queer, transgender, and says, prefabrication offers the potential for your credit will be automatically reported to the AIA.
nonbinary people’s lives. robust and high­performing assemblies, as Additional information regarding credit-reporting and
The City of Vancouver’s green buildings well as significant savings from a construc­ continuing-education requirements can be found at
policy requires projects subject to rezoning to tion schedule slated to take a week and a half continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com.
achieve exemplary energy performance by per level, including structure, envelope, and Learning Objectives
either of two paths: the penultimate level of balconies.
1 Explain how public policy and funding streams
the province of British Columbia’s Energy The use of prefabricated systems also
help affordable housing achieve high levels of
Step Code or Passive House certification. affected the project’s delivery method, since
energy performance.
The 981 Davie team elected to target Passive consultants, contractors, and manufacturers
House because the developer sees value in the had to be brought on board earlier than would 2 Discuss how materials choices can save money
quality assurance and reduced operations have been typical with tendering through a while supporting occupants’ health and well-being.
costs that achieving the standard represents, conventional design­bid­build process. 3 Describe strategies for designing housing to
says ZGF project architect Daniel Wilson. Instead, the project is being delivered under a reduce energy demand during peak hours.
Because of the site’s densely developed construction­management contract, with the 4 Outline the anticipated schedule and energy-
urban context, which offered no staging general contractor preselected for advisory performance advantages of the structural and
room at all, the project uses prefabrication for services during preconstruction and subse­ envelope systems designed for 981 Davie.
both structure and envelope. The structure is quently retained for construction. Portions of
pioneering a hybrid system, developed by its the project’s scope were pre­bid by relevant AIA/CES Course #K2405A

engineers, Fast and Epp, consisting of hol­ subcontractors in advance of a comprehensive

107
 COCKTAIL NAPKIN
SKETCH CONTEST 2024
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 2024 issue of Architectural Record and shown online in
the architecturalrecord.com Cocktail Napkin Sketch Gallery.

SUBMIT SKETCHES
BY AUGUST 26, 2024
5 INCHES
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
NAME
these dimensions.
• Use ink or ballpoint pen.
• Include the registration form below or from the website.
FIRM • 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
August 26, 2024.
ADDRESS

For more information and official rules visit:

architecturalrecord.com/cocktail-napkin-sketch-contest
5 INCHES

Due to the volume of entries, cocktail napkin sketches

YEARS IN PRACTICE PHONE EMAIL
will not be returned.

SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS

JOB FUNCTION: IN ONE ENVELOPE TO:
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New York, NY 10118
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❒ STUDENT ❒ OTHER
BACKGROUND FEATURES
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Entry form the size of 5 x 5 cocktail napkin, for reference. SPONSORED BY:
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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: Max Tuohey; courtesy of JDS Development Photo: Ed Wonsek; courtesy of The Architectural Team

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Photo: Max Tuohey; courtesy of JDS Development

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N
umerous publications have as a background, this course looks at some uses that address the safety of people
and the protection of property.
reported that urbanism, just like of the techniques, approaches, and latest
the human population, is on the product offerings available to satisfy some 4. Determine the options to incorporate
in-wall plumbing fixtures to enhance
rise all around the world. With that trend of these varied design criteria for successful
cleanliness, health, and compliance
comes a denser built environment based on multifamily housing projects. with accessibility requirements in
an urban fabric that promotes free circula- living units.
tion and multifamily, multistory housing. DESIGNING OUTDOOR SPACES
Even in predominantly suburban and rural While the tendency is to think first of the
To receive AIA credit, you are required to
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read the entire article and pass the quiz.
are found to create village-like atmospheres project, the reality is that outdoor spaces are Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
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ties with sustainable and green building designs. These outdoor spaces allow residents
design seen as a top priority for residents– and guests to enjoy the use of either an exten-
and for sales efforts. In numerous housing sion of indoor living areas or a separate,
markets, multifamily housing, such as public outdoor amenity space. As such, they
condominiums or townhouses, is also seen can provide users with desirable features
as an affordable option for many with the such as outdoor kitchens, fire pits, bars, liv-
purchase price of single-family housing ing areas, gardens, green roofs, pool areas,
out of reach for many first-time home seating areas for reading, recreation spaces, AIA COURSE #K2405B
buyers. With all of these considerations and other desired uses.

110 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

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people and more households than single-
family homes and lead the way in injuries
CONTINUING EDUCATION

and fatalities. This has been exacerbated

by the recent growth in wildfires which
has impacted entire communities. As such,
many localities are adopting Wildland-
Urban Interface (WUI) codes that require
greater fire resistance in residential con-
struction of all types in order to provide a
larger time frame for people to escape fires.
In all cases, the choice of materials used to
Standard outdoor deck components can be customized and used creatively to create sustain-
achieve adequate or required fire resistance
able and wellness-focused outdoor amenity spaces in multifamily buildings as shown here at
the Reed Row Apartments in Washington, D.C., by R2L:Architects. becomes a significant point of design and
specifications.
One- and two-family construction
Such outdoor amenities are not only Sustainability Features is routinely based on wood framing and
appealing and marketable to prospective Some manufacturers are dedicated to de- sheathing, but increasingly, so is multifam-
residents, but they can also offer considerable creasing their impact on the environment by ily housing. This is due to several factors.
benefits to the health and wellness of all who designing products that are part of a more First, it is often the most economical choice
experience the natural elements of sun, wind, circular economic system, such as using that is easy to work with using well-known
and vegetation. Rooftop decks help to boost recycled and recyclable content. Similarly, carpentry tools and methods. Second, wood
morale and strengthen relationships within wood tiles can be crafted from premium- is still one of the most environmentally
the community of residents in a multifamily grade remnants and harvested in an envi- friendly and energy/carbon-saving materials
building. They can also incorporate natural ronmentally responsible method designed to in construction. This has prompted the
elements such as planters or vegetative preserve the economic viability of rainforest growth of multifamily buildings using wood
materials and thus create biophilic design hardwoods. Wood tiles can be associated structural systems and even mixed-use
opportunities. Native plants and natural with governing groups such as the Forest buildings with concrete “podiums” for
building materials offer occupants a visual Stewardship Council (FSC) to ensure they the lower level(s) and wood-constructed
and material connection with nature. Green address quality standards and best practices dwelling units above. Finally, updates to
spaces benefit occupants’ health and wellness of wood acquisition and plantation farming. the International Building Code (IBC) have
by enabling programmatic flexibility; these Once installed, pedestal decks can help to recognized that wood members with larger
spaces can be used for recreation, refuge, and/ reduce a building’s carbon footprint through mass or with fire-retardant treatment can
or restoration. a reduction in a roof’s ambient temperature, be as safe or even safer than steel framing,
potential for green space, rainwater collec- which can lose its integrity during fires.
Raised Modular Decks tion initiatives, and/or reduced need for roof
The means to create appealing outdoor replacement). A raised, air-permeable, open- Designing with Fire-Retardant Wood
spaces is often realized by using a raised grid pavement system can help reduce the In light of all of the above, fire-retardant
modular deck system. Such modular systems cooling loads of the building and facilitate pressure-treated wood (FRTW) in the form
are versatile and give architects and others water drainage. Incorporating a pedestal of dimension lumber and sheathing are now
the design flexibility to create unique and deck system can also provide pedestrian readily available which are code-compliant
beautiful rooftop environments and out- access to green roofs. solutions for exterior walls and roofing. In
door spaces. By utilizing adjustable height Modular deck systems can contribute to multifamily construction, it can also be used
pedestals to support the deck, uneven or well-known sustainability rating systems for separation between units in some cases.
sloped surfaces can be easily accommodated. including LEED, SITES, WELL, and More specifically, FRTW is wood impregnat-
Architects can include a mix of pavers and other green building certification systems. ed with chemicals during manufacture that,
surface materials including wood, stone, Incorporating outdoor raised deck areas has been tested under ASTM E84/UL 723
structural porcelain, crushed rock, grating, in multifamily projects provides multiple “Standard Test Method for Surface Burning
artificial turf, concrete, and planter cubes opportunities to create more sustainable and Characteristics of Building Materials.” In or-
and benches, to create unique, custom looks. healthier living environments. der to be code acceptable, the tested product
Versatile, adjustable pedestal deck systems must have a flame spread index of 25 or less
can be utilized over any structural surface– FIRE SAFETY and meet a Class A rating of 10 minutes plus
on bare structural decks, rooftop decks, roof Fire safety has long been a primary concern no evidence of significant progressive com-
membranes, green roofs, terraces, compact- in all multifamily properties. While property bustion when the test is continued for an ad-
ed grade, pavement, pool surrounds, or in fires continue to happen across all building ditional 20 minutes. While still considered a
water features. Through the modular design types, one-or-two-family dwellings annu- combustible material, code-acceptable FRTW
of surface materials and accessories, design- ally account for the largest number of fires does not support combustion, and its burning
ers can create an abundance of different followed next by apartment or multifamily rate is limited when flame is applied.
design visions without the need for custom dwellings. Of significance, when multifam- The greatest advantage to using this
or costly materials. ily dwellings burn, they often impact more type of product is found in the construction

112 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

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of mid-height multistory buildings such as
apartment buildings built of the code-defined
CONTINUING EDUCATION

Type III construction. Type III-A includes

exterior walls that carry a 2-hour rating with
combustible materials allowed on the interior,
but 1-hour rated floor. Type III-B is almost
the same as III-A, but floors and roofs are not
required to be fire resistant. FRTW is also
permitted in some parts of Type I and II con-
struction (often used in high-rise buildings) in
certain locations as permitted in the IBC. In
some jurisdictions, there is growing interest in
protecting against wildfires by using FRTW
in other building types as well. That means
it could apply to Type IV construction for
exterior walls and roofs and possibly even
Type V if that were to be adopted.
While this is all good news for those Fire-retardant pressure-treated wood (FRTW) is recognized as a code-acceptable option for
who design, construct, or own multifamily framing walls and roofs for many multifamily buildings.
buildings, it must be noted that the treatment
process can affect the wood. Depending on
the wood species (spruce, pine, fir, etc.), the include not only material selections but also multiple mounting options available such as
type of product (stud, joist, plywood, beam), the selection of components and accessories clips (metal or plastic), aluminum j-channel,
and its application (wall, floor, roof), the that enhance the overall look of bathrooms standoffs, and mastic. The edges of the mir-
structural strength originally associated with in multifamily projects. In particular, the use ror can be flat-polished, pencil-polished, or
the untreated wood is reduced somewhat of mirrors in such bathrooms becomes an beveled edge. They can be ordered in custom
when treated with a fire retardant. Therefore, interior design element that can address all of sizes but will likely be more economical when
the FRTW manufacturer is required to these design requirements and contribute to ordered in bulk for multiple dwelling units
provide strength adjustments based on the an overall living experience. Framed mirrors requiring the same size.
intended use of the wood, which must be could act the same way as a piece of art that Floating/Infinity Mirrors: A more
factored into the structural design of the enhances a room, particularly if powder- elegant option uses a frameless floating
building. In practical terms, that may mean coated colored frames are used. The mirror mounted mirror. The frame is wholly or
that FRTW plywood is approximately 1/8 itself can reflect different room elements or partly concealed with a depth that places the
inch thicker than its untreated counterpart. aspects when viewed from different angles. mirror edges out from the wall surface, thus
Dimensional lumber may or may not be giving it the illusion of floating or extending
impacted enough to change any lumber Mirror Types into “infinity.” The frame depth is customiz-
sizing during design but is readily calculable. While mirrors and medicine cabinets are able to suit different design needs and theft-
Overall, fire-retardant-treated lumber common design components for bathrooms, resistant concealed mounting is available.
must meet IBC code requirements for there are lots of options to choose from. Such products are generally made to order in
fire-retardant-treated wood as defined in When selected and incorporated into an custom sizes but ordering in quantities may
IBC 2303.2 for wood used as a construction overall design, they can enhance the ap- help with the pricing.
material. It must also be labeled according to pearance and perceived quality of the entire Framed Mirrors: Rectangular mirrors
the requirements in IBC 2303.2.4. With all of multifamily property. From a marketing with a metal or wood frame can provide a
the familiar versatility of wood framing and standpoint that means good interior design traditional or contemporary look that can
sheathing, FRTW allows for creative designs that includes tasteful, cost-effective lighting be selected to meet a range of design intents.
that are safe, code-compliant, and economical. and mirrors can improve customer percep- Wood-framed products can be specified by
tions of a living unit. It can also be more selecting from a wide variety of molding pro-
USING MIRRORS TO advantageous to consider manufactured mir- files. Metal framed mirrors can have a clean
ENHANCE INTERIOR DESIGN ror products that meet not only the design and simple look with a stainless-steel frame
The interior design of multifamily living requirements for a project but the construc- and mitered corners. A variation on a flush,
spaces, particularly bathrooms, often focuses tion schedule and cost aspects as well. framed mirror is an ADA-compliant fixed
on ways to help small spaces look or feel With the above in mind, here are some of tilt mirror, which has a frame that is thicker
a bit bigger than they actually are. At the the basic options to consider. on the top than it is on the bottom in order
same time, they need to meet functionality Frameless Mirrors: This is a classic, to achieve the needed tilt angle for someone
requirements for convenience, cost limita- economical choice with crisp, clean edges in a wheelchair to use. In all cases, the mirror
tions of development budgets, and market re- that allow for full-width visibility and edge- frame can be integrated with a concealed
quirements for overall design quality. Often, to-edge reflection. It is great for areas with mounting system which can reduce the time
this combination of criteria translates into smaller dimensions or a tight-fitting installa- and cost of installation.
clean, elegant, contemporary solutions that tion. Installation is very straightforward with Rounded Rectangular Mirrors: For a

114 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

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bathroom design in multifamily units can
readily be satisfied by paying attention to
CONTINUING EDUCATION

the types of plumbing fixtures used. A very

popular European approach that has been
the norm for decades uses fixture systems
with many of the functional parts behind
a finished wall. Such in-wall installation
systems improve the overall aesthetics of
the bathroom design because they remove
unsightly hardware—for example, the
toilet tank—from view. In-wall systems
for toilets, urinals, bidets, and washbasins
are based on a concealed steel frame that
attaches inside the wall and supports wall-
hung plumbing fixtures.
As a result of this concealed approach,
the visible part of the fixture seems to "float"
in the bathroom, creating visual appeal and
some added practicalities. In-wall fixture
systems open up the entire floor for easy
The use of mirror products with different framed or frameless choices and finishes can floor cleaning under the “floating” fixture.
enhance the interior design of multifamily bathroom spaces. These fixtures also stay clean longer since
there are fewer seams and crevices than
traditional fixtures for dirt and germs to
more contemporary look, mirror products are GREEN, EFFICIENT BATHROOMS accumulate. Since some of the fixture is
available with a metal frame that has rounded Interior living space is at a premium in moved into the wall, greater accessibility
corners and a small floating gap. Not only are popular urban and suburban areas across the can be achieved–there are fewer obstruc-
they more elegant, but some have a very easy, United States. Nonetheless, residents of multi- tions and more clear floor space than in
safe mounting system, saving the building family buildings are generally willing to live in a standard bathroom setup. Of particular
owner expense in the installation process. denser settings as long as they align with their importance in multifamily buildings, the
Rounded mirrors or pill-shaped mirrors are values and meet their lifestyle requirements. system is designed to operate more quietly
also seeing a resurgence in popularity. It has also been documented that residents than a standard floor-mounted toilet, reduc-
LED Lighted Mirrors: Most bathrooms highly prioritize amenities that meet sustain- ing noise transfer from space to space.
require lighting around the mirror, and ability and eco-friendly design standards, not
LED lighting technology is being di- just for energy but also in bathrooms where Water Management
rectly integrated with the mirrors. Whether water conservation is essential. According to An in-wall toilet system offers particu-
lighted from behind (through a frosted or a Nielsen survey, 73 percent of millennials lar water efficiency benefits in a multi-
etched area) or a simple halo effect around are willing to pay more for sustainable solu- family building. According to the U.S.
the edge, this approach is becoming very tions. They indicate that "Despite the fact that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
popular with both renters and owners. Millennials are coming of age in one of the the highest percentage of water use in
LED technology draws very little power most difficult economic climates in the past buildings comes from domestic restrooms.
while giving additional ambiance to the 100 years, they continue to be most willing This makes the size of the toilet tank par-
installation. Upkeep is simple as the lights to pay extra for sustainable offerings–almost ticularly important. Though the standard
typically last 30,000 to 50,000 hours. The three out of four respondents." flush volume is 1.6 gallons, for sustainable
lighting not only provides even and useful Beyond the green building preference, projects, especially in regions with water
illumination for the user but can enhance these consumers also want smart tech, and conservation needs, a reduced size tank at
the design of the space with controllable they routinely prefer well-designed, and 1.28/0.8 gallons per flush is becoming more
light qualities. Mirrors can be backlit or upscale bathrooms that work with the overall desirable.
side-lit with different frosting options over design intent of the project. In many cases, The design of the flow mechanism and
the LED lighting which can range in color there is a need to provide accessible bath- the controls that actuate it allow for good
between 3000k, 4000k, 5000k, and 6000k. rooms, too, with the need to provide proper performance using reduced amounts of
In all cases, UL-tested and rated products clearances and spaces around bathroom water. Just as importantly, toilets with
are available and should be selected for fixtures. This all needs to be balanced with dual-flush controls are common, since
electrical safety. an efficient layout that doesn’t take up extra they allow the user to determine how much
Regardless of the type selected, manu- square footage, particularly when budgets are water is used for each flush appropriate to
factured mirror products can influence the being scrutinized. the need. With such dual-flush technology
marketability and design quality of multi- built-in, a household or facilities manager
family spaces while helping to meet budget Concealed Installation Systems can reduce their water usage by thousands
and scheduling constraints. Many of the observed trends and desires for of gallons of water per year. In-wall toilet

116 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

Reimagine the Outdoor Experience

Private Residence, Evergreen FL | developer: E2 Homes

ROOFTOP DECKS PLAZAS GREEN ROOFS POP-UP PARKS WATER FEATURES DECK SUPPORTS WOOD TILES
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Ugly QR code. Beautiful Decks.

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Photos courtesy of Geberit

materials, or conventional wood decking
systems can be used in a grid pattern to meet
CONTINUING EDUCATION

different design requirements. Typically,

a galvanized steel paver tray is adhered to
the back of structural porcelain pavers or
other materials prone to breakage to provide
impact resilience and additional strength.
The paver trays are available in a variety of
standard sizes, compatible with large format
ceramic tiles, and allow accommodation
for thicknesses of 2 cm. With or without a
support tray, the deck surface materials can
In-wall toilet systems conceal the supports and plumbing in the wall and allow for a cleaner,
be removed during building use for routine
more elegant appearance when projects are completed.
maintenance, repairs to the roof, or to gain
access to other systems.
installation systems typically include such makes them impervious to water, mold, and If a lighter-weight surface material is
dual-flush technology activated by touch (or freeze-thaw cycles. Their adjustability offers preferred or required, wood tiles are a good
touchless) panels flush-mounted on the wall tremendous design flexibility compared alternative, weighing only one-third as much
above the toilet. to traditional deck-building materials and as concrete pavers. Typically made from
Bluetooth-enabled touchless actuators methods. Using a gravity system, the supports hardwoods in a variety of species, wood tiles
and buttons are an option for hygiene and do not penetrate but rather protect roofing are generally commercial-grade products. If
water management in both residential and waterproofing membranes thus causing maintaining the wood color is desired, wood
and commercial settings for owners and no damage or harm to the surface below. The tiles can be periodically cleaned and sealed.
property managers. With an app, the battery pedestals can be used to elevate the deck sur- Left to weather naturally, the wood tiles will
level can be checked, and settings can be face to meet the threshold, therefore providing develop a silvery-gray patina. Wood tiles can
adjusted from a distance. All devices can be an even and level transition from one space to be crafted from premium-grade remnants
configured and grouped by units or loca- another. This allows easy access for building and harvested in an environmentally
tions, water usage data can be exported, and occupants with varying levels of mobility. responsible method designed to preserve the
even a cleaning mode can be set in advance. economic viability of rainforest hardwoods.
This provides a time-saving solution to water Deck Surfaces
management and maximizes water savings The versatility of adjustable pedestal deck
in individual condominiums or an entire supports means that they can be used to
multifamily building. elevate a variety of decking surface mate-
rials. The common options include pav- Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP is a
SPECIFYING OUTDOOR DECK SYSTEMS ers made from concrete or stone, such as nationally known architect and a prolific author ad-
Modular pedestal deck systems are versatile granite or travertine. Similarly, structural vancing more livable solutions through better design.
and can be incorporated into almost any mul- porcelain tiles, fiberglass grating, composite www.pjaarch.com, www.linkedin.com/in/pjaarch
tifamily project to create usable, sustainable,
and affordable outdoor spaces. They consist of
standardized components that can be selected, Photos courtesy of Bison Innovative Products

specified, and customized to meet project

needs, budget requirements, or green building
goals. Regardless of where or how they are
used, though, adjustable deck systems com-
monly incorporate three types of components
as described in the following sections.

Deck Supports
Fixed or adjustable height pedestals are the
fundamental support system for outdoor
decks and have become recognized as one of
the most labor- and cost-efficient methods of Modular wood tiles on raised deck supports provide a welcome variety of outdoor spaces
creating a level deck over a moderately sloped at the LEED Platinum Certified Visionaire Apartments in New York City designed by the
surface. High-density polypropylene plastic architectural firm of Pelli Clarke Pelli.

118 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

 ADVERTISEMENT

PRODUCT REVIEW
Multifamily Housing–More Popular Than Ever

CONTINUING EDUCATION
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Photo courtesy of Geberit

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pedestal deck systems create level rooftop decks over sloped control. Now also available in brushed red gold, matte black,
surfaces, support a variety of different surface materials, and can and other sophisticated options, they elevate any restroom with
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Photo courtesy of ProWood
Rendering by Danica Lu

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Rectangle LED Mirror is a mixture of the most popular mirror styles treated wood products for multifamily and commercial
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119
 EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
CONTINUING EDUCATION

Photo: Ed Wonsek; courtesy of The Architectural Team

The Raffles Back Bay Hotel and

Residences in Boston use a unitized
curtain-wall system with an estimated
lifespan of 60 to 70 years.

Longevity and Sustainability CONTINUING EDUCATION

of Curtain Walls 1 AIA LU/HSW

1 GBCI CE HOUR
0.1 ICC CEU

Will your facade last a few decades or a millennium?

Learning Objectives
After reading this article, you should
Sponsored by The Ornamental Metal Institute of New York be able to:
By William B. Millard, PhD 1. Apply your understanding of new
efficiency properties for facade
design with the goal of increasing
curtain-wall longevity and reducing

D
esigning a building with sustain- realize powerful gains in the whole build- embodied carbon.
ability, resilience, and longevity ing’s performance. 2. Learn serviceability characteristics that
in mind calls for a recognition The 2024 Design Challenge sponsored can contribute to the life cycle of a
of complexity and interdependence. Each by Metals in Construction magazine and the curtain wall.
component of a building contributes to its Ornamental Metal Institute of New York, 3. Analyze the recyclability potential of
constituent parts of a curtain wall.
embodied and operational carbon footprint, eliciting proposals to design the curtain
4. Balance resilience and sustainability
its occupants’ experience, its architectural wall system of a new building at least 50
attributes with properties promoting
expression, and its economic performance. stories tall for a site on Broadway in midtown healthy interior environments for
The building envelope is a particularly pow- Manhattan, posits at least a 75-year antici- occupants to achieve the best
erful determinant of these outcomes, since pated service life for the proposed systems. performance and aesthetic goals.
it comprises a large volume of materials, This represents a substantial extension of the
endures climatic and atmospheric stressors, longevity commonly observed and expected
To receive AIA credit, you are required to
and mediates between exterior and interior in contemporary practice, say several experts read the entire article and pass the quiz.
environments, transmitting or consuming in sustainable envelopes. Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
widely varying amounts of energy in the Mic Patterson, ambassador of innovation complete text and to take the quiz for free.
process. The contemporary curtain wall, a and collaboration at the Facade Tectonics
product of over a century of technical evolu- Institute (FTI) and a member of the Design
tion, can be one of a building’s vulnerable Challenge jury, cites a remark by Anthony
points, showing its age faster than the rest of Wood, executive director of the Council for
the structure does. The converse of that ob- Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, at an FTI
servation is that improving a curtain wall’s conference. “He said, ‘How long should a AIA COURSE #K2404P
quality and longevity is an opportunity to building last? It should last until we’re done

120 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT LONGEVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF CURTAIN WALLS

with it,’ which I think is the right answer.... the material cycles involved in design and improving in thermal performance while
They should be modifiable, adaptable, and product choices. generating challenges in serviceability and

CONTINUING EDUCATION
repairable as need be until we are completely durability. Brian McFarland, AIA, principal
done with them.” There is no one-size-fits-all SYSTEMIC AND at CetraRuddy, traces the evolution of
criterion for a facade system’s durability, COMPONENT LONGEVITY facade technology from early examples like
Patterson says. “It needs to be adaptable “Facade-related design decisions often SOM’s Lever House, the second curtain-wall
enough to accommodate changes in use and come with tradeoffs,” comments Isabelle building in New York City (after the United
all of the forces of obsolescence.” Hens, environmental designer at the San Nations Secretariat Building), to today’s unit-
Patterson commonly encounters facade Francisco office of environmental design ized curtain walls and insulated glass units
contractors’ expectations of 20 to 35 years for consultant Atelier 10. “The window-to-wall (IGUs). After “stick-built curtain wall, which
the life of a curtain-wall system, with 50 years ratio will impact embodied carbon, since was aluminum extrusions that you then
as the customary upper limit, and he finds the glazing assembly will have a different applied glass to, and then you put a pressure
these figures unnecessarily low. “That ignores embodied carbon than the opaque as- plate on the outside of the glass,” came unit-
the synchronicity that needs to exist between sembly; operational carbon and thermal ized curtain walls in four- to five-foot units
the aspirations for the building itself and the comfort, since it will alter the solar heat going floor to floor, a less continuous skin
facade system,” he continues. “If you’ve got a gains; interior occupant experience, since than the previous generation’s “multi-floor
building that is designed to last 100 years and the window-to-wall ratio determines how continuous verticals.”
a facade system that’s still designed to last 75 much daylight and direct sun enters the Further improvements included thermal
years, you end up needing a new facade system space; and exterior architectural expres- breaks with nonconducting isolators at
before the building expires. And if you put a sion, by changing the facade articulation.” the pressure plate, then structurally glazed
new one on there, that’s good for another 75 Decisions about each of these factors are curtain walls with “no metal on the outside of
years, then you lose 50 years of facade-system best taken holistically, she adds, rather than the wall, so even though it’s not the greatest
service life. And so there’s all kinds of wasted assessing components in isolation. insulator in the world, you do have the IGU
durability going on in buildings and facade The lifespan of a complete system outside of the metal to create some thermal
systems just because we don’t pay attention comprises the lifespans of its parts, which break between the exterior environment
to that.” There is no reason, he believes, frequently differ. Vishwadeep Deo, facade and the metal.” The unitized curtain wall
that certain buildings reflecting the most consultant and vice president at Thornton improves speed of erection and reduces labor
advanced realistic design and construction Tomasetti, points out that once a curtain-wall costs; it is “one step better than what we used
practices—coordinating components’ durabil- system is installed, its enclosure infrastruc- to call thermally broken, but it does also have
ity rather than leaving it to chance—cannot ture is “derived from multiple different its issues,” McFarland continues, including
last a century, perhaps even 1,000 years. components and pieces. Individually, those thermal bridging from aluminum framing
In the U.S. curtain-wall industry, Patterson component pieces themselves have a very behind the glass and condensation from in-
reports, it is common to market systems with different lifespan; some could go away within sulation on spandrel panels with a galvanized
a 35-year expectancy as “zero-maintenance 20 [to] 25 years and need to be replaced, while back pan for protection during shipping.
systems to the building owners, which is what some of the others with metal in the enclosure IGUs came to dominate curtain walls
they want to hear. Basically, what we’re saying could last up to 75 and beyond.” around the 1980s, replacing the early single
is, ‘This thing is good for 35 years, and then Expectations for the durability of glazing of the cheap-energy era predating
it’s done,’ because there’s no way to maintain aluminum, glass, and other materials depend the 1970s petroleum crisis, improving on
it or retrofit it.” With few options for replacing on multiple variables, Deo notes, including early curtain walls’ poor insulation with a
or upgrading a facade system, “the only viable location, exposure to assorted destructive modular assembly: a frame, double (later
economic strategy in too many cases is to forces (weather, salinity, ultraviolet light, triple or quadruple) glazing, spacers, her-
just rip the entire thing off and put a new one and pollutants), and maintenance cycles. A metic sealants, thermal breaks, and optional
up”—the antithesis of sustainable practices, building in a marine environment will face components including interior thin-film
particularly when designs unwittingly create high risks of corrosion, as will one exposed to coatings, fritting, and argon, krypton, or a
obstacles to the disassemblability, reuse, and acid rain. A system that includes sealants will vacuum to reduce heat conductivity in the
recycling of materials. need periodic inspections and replacements. cavity between the panes.
The concept of zero maintenance, though A curtain wall system’s design can add to
attractive from a short-term perspective, these variables, he continues; even if an owner
appears roughly as realistic as a perpetual- performs regular maintenance and preserves
motion machine. Patterson and other the overall integrity of a facade, sections of it Bill Millard is a New York-based journalist who has
commentators contend that more farsighted may be inaccessible and may fall into neglect. contributed to Architectural Record, The Architect’s
approaches are within reach, however, for Curtain-wall technology has progressed Newspaper, Oculus, Architect, Annals of Emergency
professionals who take a long-range view of considerably over the decades, steadily Medicine, OMA’s Content, and other publications.

The Ornamental Metal Institute of New York is a not-for-profit association created to advance the interests of
the architectural, ornamental, and miscellaneous metal industries by helping architects, engineers, developers,
and construction managers transform designs into reality.

121
 EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
CONTINUING EDUCATION

Photo courtesy of Inpro

The use of color in wall coverings can greatly

promote biophilia in healthcare environments.

Going Above and Beyond CONTINUING EDUCATION

with ADA Compliance

1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU

1 ADA STATE ACCESSIBILITY/BARRIER-FREE

Creating spaces that are safe, welcoming,

Learning Objectives
and healthy for all occupants After reading this article, you should
be able to:
Sponsored by Inpro Corporation | By Andrew A. Hunt 1. Describe the concept of universal
design and how the seven guiding
principles can impact the health
and safety of occupants in the built

A
rchitects are in the unique posi- thoughtfully included in projects. Also, environment.
tion today to design interior spaces this article will dive into the Americans 2. Discuss the role signage plays in
ADA compliance in supporting the
that are more welcoming, safe, with Disabilities Act (ADA), providing
well-being of people with disabilities.
functional, and accessible than ever before. an overview of the history, impact on the
3. List the emotional benefits of
The definition of well-being has shifted in built environment, and current regulatory incorporating biophilia into the
recent decades, and now it includes emo- protections offered to people with disabili- design of signage, wall protection,
tional health as well as the physical health ties. Specifically related to the ADA, it will and art for occupants of all ages.
of occupants. The promotion of emotional provide direction on signage in commercial 4. Explain how elements like cordless
well-being raises interesting and challenging spaces, schools, and hospitals. Next, this blinds and inclusive gender neutral
questions for architects and designers. How article will discuss the positive aspects of bathrooms can create a more
can we enhance the design of interior spaces specifying wall protection and murals that welcoming and accessible space for
and promote biophilia to bring the warmth can calm occupants of all ages, young and occupants and visitors.
of nature into the built environment? Can old, and encourage a more meditative and
we go beyond the basic requirements of the peaceful space through biophilic art. Finally, To receive AIA credit, you are required to
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to we will explore some other related design ele- read the entire article and pass the quiz.
create spaces that aren’t just compliant with ments that can create a more healthy and safe Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
regulations but welcoming for all occu- space, both emotionally and physically, for complete text and to take the quiz for free.
pants? How can we incorporate the concept occupants. Examples such as the specifica-
and guiding principles of universal design tion of cordless blinds to protect children;
into projects to create safe, accessible, and non-gender bathrooms designed to create
healthy environments for everyone? inclusive, private, safe, secure, functional,
This article will explore the concept of and accessible spaces; and “emotionally safe”
universal design and explain the benefits rooms in schools where children can express AIA COURSE #K2404U
to occupants when these principles are big feelings in appropriate private areas.

122 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND WITH ADA COMPLIANCE

Photo courtesy of Inpro

THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES
OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Universal design is a principle that aims to
create environments and products that are
accessible and usable by people of all abilities,
ages, and backgrounds. In the realm of com-
mercial architecture, architects play a pivotal
role in ensuring that their designs adhere to
universal design principles.
It’s important to design around inclusivity
and accessibility for both legal and ethical
reasons. For example, the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States
mandates accessibility requirements for
buildings around design features including
ramps, handrails, elevators, parking, door
width, and more. Planning for accessibility
from the get-go can, at minimum, help avoid
design headaches later in the process, and will
prevent legal issues from arising.
Ethically, a building designed in such a way One of the principles of universal design refers to designs that communicate messaging effec-
that all occupants can navigate and utilize the tively, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities. Here the restroom sign
building’s facilities independently creates a incorporates visual reference, language, and tactile (braille).
sense of belonging and empowerment.

The Guiding Principles use for people with varying experience, maintain a neutral body position. A sink that
of Universal Design knowledge, language fluency, and concentra- has a lever handle, for example, takes less ef-
There are seven principles that guide univer- tion levels. Simplicity and consistency are fort to operate than one with a knob handle.
sal design, which were developed by a team key. An instruction manual that utilizes The final principle of universal design is
of architects, product designers, engineers, drawings instead of text is a great example, as appropriate size and space for approach and
and environmental design researchers at the it side-steps questions about what language or use of an implement, regardless of a user’s
Center for universal design at North Carolina vocabulary level its reader might have. body size or mobility. A drinking fountain,
State University and first published in 1997.1 Perceptible information is the fourth for example, should have a front-facing
The Center is no longer operational, but the principle. This refers to designs that com- control button and be at a height that both
principles established there have influenced municate messaging effectively, regardless standing and sitting users can operate.
policy, law, international agreements, and of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory To bring together all the universal
design across the world. abilities. Communications become more design principles, consider the elevator.
The first principle is equitable use, which perceptible as they are made through more An elevator is a great tool for people with
essentially consists of the core meaning of uni- avenues. For example, a thermostat that varying abilities.
versal design–a design that is useful to people utilizes tactile, visual, and audible cues is
with diverse abilities. Entryways that utilize easier for more people to use.
power doors with sensors and sports arenas Universal design also prioritizes a
that have integrated and adaptable seating are tolerance for error by minimizing hazards
examples of design for equitable use, which and any consequences that may come from Andrew A. Hunt is Vice President of Confluence
provides equivalent means of use for various accidental actions. One way to do that is to Communications and specializes in writing, design,
users when identical means aren’t possible. provide fail safe features, like a car key that and production of articles and presentations related
Flexibility in use is the next principle, is double cut so that it can be inserted into a to sustainable design in the built environment. In
which refers to design that accommodates keyhole in either direction. addition to instructional design, writing, and project
a range of preferences and abilities for use, Designs that require low physical effort management, Andrew is an accomplished musician
and one that offers choice when applicable. increase accessibility, as well. This may and voice over actor, providing score and narration
Scissors designed for right- or left-handed mean various things in design function, but for both the entertainment and education arena.
users are an example. goals include minimizing repetitive actions www.confluencec.com, https://www.linkedin.com/
A third principle is simple and intuitive and sustained effort, and allowing users to in/andrew-a-hunt-91b747/

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. inprocorp.com

123
 EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
CONTINUING EDUCATION

While breakdowns in the hot water system once

plagued Ruby’s Inn near Bryce Canyon in Utah, a
tankless hot water system retrofit solved the problem.
Photo courtesy of PERC

The Future of Hot Water CONTINUING EDUCATION

1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU

in Commercial Operations Learning Objectives

Tankless Water Heaters Save Energy, Money, After reading this article, you should
be able to:
and Space with Next-Level Technology 1. Identify the critical hot water needs
for commercial operations and the
Sponsored by PERC — Propane Education & Research Council limitations of storage tank systems.
2. Define the features and benefits of
By Kathy Price-Robinson tankless hot water systems.
3. Identify myths and realities of
tankless systems.
4. Discuss major retrofit projects to

A
steady flow of hot water is like good THE PROBLEM: LACK OF HOT WATER = replace failing storage water heating
systems with tankless systems.
health; you don't appreciate it until DISGRUNTLED CUSTOMERS
it's gone. Hot water is critically Consider this situation at a historic, sprawl- 5. Describe innovations and the
future of tankless water heating.
needed in commercial operations, where its ing establishment in Utah. When up to six
absence can mean the difference between tour busses simultaneously roll up to the
making a profit or not, keeping the doors iconic Ruby's Inn complex on the edge of
open or closing up shop. How can a hotel, res- Bryce Canyon National Park, the travelers To receive AIA credit, you are required to
taurant, fitness center, hospital, care center, tumbling out of the busses usually want one read the entire article and pass the quiz.
school, or other facilities stay open without thing above all: a hot shower. Upon ar- Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
hot water? They can't. Still, threats to a steady rival, the visitors would not be aware of the complete text and to take the quiz for free.
supply of hot water plague establishments strain that dozens of concurrent showers
daily: aging storage tank systems, overloaded put on the tanks of a conventional hot water
systems, broken systems, and more. system. The visitors would not know about
Considering the critical need for hot water the tons of laundry done by the staff every
in commercial operations, architects, design- day. They wouldn’t realize that Ruby's Inn
ers, specifiers, and property managers should is 25 miles from the nearest natural gas line.
understand what can go wrong when the flow The customers have likely been on a bus for
of hot water lessens or stops, and the potential hours. They simply want hot showers when
for natural gas or propane tankless water they arrive. But if the massive complex with
heaters—which also save energy, money, and hundreds of hotel rooms and an RV park fails AIA COURSE #K2405L
space—to solve the problem. to deliver the required hot water, bad reviews

124 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT THE FUTURE OF HOT WATER IN COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS

Photo courtesy of PERC

and refund requests are sure to follow.
That is where the business found itself

CONTINUING EDUCATION
several years ago with a faulty and failing
storage tank hot water system. The inn was
founded in 1916, long before Bryce Canyon
was a national park. Over the decades, the
inn expanded and rebuilt to its current size
of more than 700 hotel rooms and other
amenities. That equals a massive demand for
hot water and colossal repercussions when
that hot water supply fails. The inn operators
searched for a solution that would provide a
more effective water heating system.
"Our goal was a reduction in the discounts
we had to give," said Ron Harris, part of the
management team at Ruby's Inn. "We had
to completely refund a room and sometimes
an entire building block because guests took
a cold shower in the morning. We looked An array of tankless water heaters at Ruby’s Inn saves energy and space and provides
at about $60,000 a year in discounts and reliability to keep the establishment running smoothly.
refunds." And with the refunds came less-
than-favorable reviews. "Couldn't get water
to a comfortable temperature," or "The water springs, which naturally created and stored the kitchen and filled with water heated on
was barely warm," said reviewers on Trip hot water. When Homo erectus learned to the stove where family members took turns
Advisor in 2011. harness the power of fire around 1 million getting clean, presumably in preparation for
years ago, they heated water using skins on Sunday church.
The Solution: Propane Tankless a stone-lined fire pit. Indigenous Americans
Water Heating Retrofit heated stones in a fire pit and then trans- Invention of Tank-Style
All those complaints stopped a few years ferred them to a container of water. Gas Water Heater
ago when Ruby's Inn underwent a retrofit In ancient Greece, circa 5th century In 1889, a Norwegian immigrant in
of its hot water delivery system. The solu- B.C., Homer and other Greek writers told Philadelphia named Edwin Ruud invented
tion ultimately included 175 new propane us the Greeks, for whom athleticism was the first automatic tank-style gas water
tankless water heaters with 35 tankless rack paramount, favored a variety of public baths heater. Advertisements at the time touted
systems and four hybrid commercial water for health and relaxation. During the Roman that water heating was no longer tied to the
heating systems. With the more efficient Empire, starting around the 1st Century kitchen stove but was done in the basement,
tankless units in place, the resort has had BC, the Romans expanded the concept of and you didn't even have to light a match. It
no issues with hot-water supply or customer public baths. According to historical studies, was called a "mechanical masterpiece." After
complaints, freeing staff time and money for Roman baths were open to all citizens and that, heating and storing large amounts of
other efforts at the resort. And perhaps just allowed them to relax, mingle, and gossip, water in tanks until it was needed became
as importantly, Ruby's Inn saves about $6,000 with separate baths for women and men. the norm. The sound of a water heater firing
per month on propane alone. The baths consisted of heated rooms and off and on during all hours to keep the water
The online reviews of Ruby's Inn have pools, many sited to harness the sun's heat. within 10 percent of the thermostat setting
certainly brightened in tone. "There was Some systems, called hypocausts, employed until needed became a familiar scenario and
plenty of hot water," stated a reviewer on water heated in fiery wood-burning furnaces a virtually non-stop consumption of natural
TripAdvisor in 2024, and "The water pressure beneath the raised floors of the baths. The gas, propane, or electricity.
in the shower was unbelievable and so hot resulting steam rose through chambers
that you hated to get out!" wrote another beneath the floors. Tiles and decorative
satisfied guest in 2023. mosaics lined the floors.
Public baths in the style of the Greeks Kathy Price-Robinson is a nationally known
THE HISTORY OF HOT WATER and Romans did not catch on in the United remodeling and construction writer. Her award-
Hot water provides thermal comfort, a means States, partly because of taboos toward pub- winning remodeling series titled Pardon Our Dust
of cooking, and cleanliness. To get these ben- lic nudity. Early American bathing focused ran for 12 years in the Los Angeles Times.
efits, some ancient humans settled near hot on the "Saturday bath," a tin tub drawn into www.kathyprice.com.

The Propane Education & Research Council is a nonprofit that provides leading propane safety and training programs and
invests in research and development of new propane-powered technologies. PERC programs benefit a variety of markets
including residential and commercial buildings.

125
 DATES & Events

Ongoing Exhibitions tion, and disrupted hydrological cycles—from a global perspective.

On display are over 75 works from the fields of design, architecture,
WATER PRESSURE: Designing for the Future art, and science, that open up new routes for change, with a special
Hamburg, Germany look at the ecological challenges currently faced by the port city of
Through October 13, 2024 Hamburg. See mkg-hamburg.de.
The Museum of Arts and Crafts (MK&G), in collaboration with the
London-based design firm Jane Withers Studio, presents an exhibition Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania
examining solutions to today’s water crises—scarcity, flooding, pollu- Washington, D.C.
Through March 1, 2025
An immersive exhibition at the National Building Museum presents
a virtual exploration of five unrealized projects by Frank Lloyd
DOORS & DOOR HARDWARE
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realities of Wright’s unbuilt works including the Point (1947), a
self-service garage for Kaufmann’s Department Store (1949), the
Point View Residences designed for the Edgar J. Kaufmann
Charitable Trust (1952), the Rhododendron Chapel (1952), and a
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Advertisers Index
Advertiser Page Advertiser Page Advertiser Page

ARCAT 29 DoorBird 15 Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope 74

Architectural Record - Education Exchange 35 EarthCam, Inc. 38 Ornamental Metal Institute of New York 120, 121

Architectural Record - Find us on Social! 10 Endicott Clay Products 71 Petersen Aluminum 42

Architectural Record - Innovation Conference 72 Geberit 113 Pilkington North America 50

Architectural Record - Inpro Georgia-Pacific Gypsum 2, 3 Propane Education

Academy of Digital Learning 73 and Research Council 12, 124, 125

Inpro 122, 123

Architectural Record - May Webinars 30 ProWood LLC 115

Joto-Vent System USA, Inc. 40

Architectural Record – Record Houses 2024 101 Salsbury Industries 55

Kaynemaile Limited 25

Architectural Record - Sketch on a Schlage 6, 7

Cocktail Napkin Contest 108 Kingspan Insulated Panels 45

Skyscraper Museum 8

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. CV2, 1 Kingspan Planet Passionate 102

SlenderWall CV3

ASI Visual Display Products 11 Landscape Forms, INC. 36

Tamlyn 39

AZON 17 Meek Mirrors 111

Technical Glass Products 4, 5

B+N Industries, INC. 26 MetronGroup 49

Uline 41

Belden Brick Company, The 56 Nakamoto forestry 54

Vitro Architectural Glass

Bison 117 NanaWall 9 (Formerly known as PPG Glass) 19

Bok Modern 48 National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association CV4 Wooster Products 32

DeepStream Designs, Inc. 33 New Millennium 20

Publisher is not responsible for errors and omissions in advertiser index. R Regional Insert

127
 SNAPSHOT

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above its front entrance from the street. After dark, the installation
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REgroup alongside wife and partner Julia Lewis, of the screen-
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128 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD M AY 2 0 24

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