BUILDING

The original Victorian building at 8 Stratton Street was built in 1871 in the Free Gothic Revival style, and is Grade II listed. This project combines the listed building with its neighbour at No 9 Stratton Street, to provide the UK headquarters for an umbrella organisation based in the Middle East, operating a number of separate businesses from a single office building.

Image courtesy Squire and Partners

BRIEF

The client sought a distinctly British identity for the London headquarters, and in particular to draw on the history and character of its Mayfair location. There was also a desire to utilise existing lightwells to bring an element of an English country garden into the building, designed to highlight the changing seasons.

Accommodation needed to provide an office suite for the Chairman, four floors of flexible office space, and a shared lounge at ground floor. The lounge was to function as a generous open space with intimate areas to accommodate small meetings, or groups of people waiting to access the larger meeting rooms and other areas within the building.

Image courtesy Squire and Partners

DESIGN APPROACH

Squire and Partners' designs took inspiration from the existing building, which externally and internally displayed a rich mix of decorative elements such as Romanesque details to mouldings, ornate floral motifs in wrought iron and more structured geometric patterns on façade brickwork and floor tiles. A design approach was developed which painstakingly restored original elements – such as mouldings, ironmongery and stonework – and introduced new elements rooted in the history of the building to create a distinct identity for the building, mixing the geometric and organic decorative styles.

Image courtesy Squire and Partners

A quatrefoil motif which features on the external mouldings of No 8 Stratton Street, and repeated on the original staircase and floor tiles internally, was reworked to create a motif used throughout the building interior. The motif has been used on bespoke elements such as bronze coloured wall panels, stair runners and as etchings on glass partitions.

LOUNGE AREA/GARDENS

The main space on the ground floor is designed as a lounge serving the companies housed within the building. It immediately defines the identity of the building, being richly decorated in a palette of rosewood, bronze, silks and a pair of striking oversized circular chandeliers.

Image courtesy Squire and Partners

Bespoke timber cabinetry using the quatrefoil motif has been created to illustrate the high level of detail synonymous with the Mayfair tradition of tailoring and craftsmanship, and evoke a sense of a traditional library space for books and artefacts. A dark parquet floor provides a gently reflective continuous surface which links with the dark wood furniture.

The lounge space is flanked on two sides by courtyard gardens filled with indigenous British plants addressing the English country garden brief. Squire and Partners worked with award winning landscape designer Kim Wilkie on the selection of plants and layout of the gardens, which visually and physically connect the indoor and outdoor spaces. The courtyards continue the theme of providing intimate pockets of space, with a series of benches and garden furniture separated by large bespoke bronze planters. Internally, the garden theme continues where a raised level of seating on a marble plinth connects directly to the central courtyard, and bronze planters bring foliage inside the building.

RECEPTION AREAS AND MEETING ROOMS

Reception areas are defined with a strong palette of rosewood panelling with bronze edge detailing, a lit white glass niche and a striking black Portoro Macchia Fine marble fronted reception desk at ground floor. Meeting rooms are separated by glass partitions softened with sheer fabrics, with upholstered chairs to provide comfortable seating for waiting guests. Rosewood panelling in each reception area conceals access doors leading to tea points, wardrobes and storage space.

A large formal meeting room at ground floor has been painstakingly refurbished to enhance the existing original period features. Full height timber panels lining the walls, oak shutters, a fireplace, window mouldings and other original details have been carefully restored, extending the life of these decorative elements and creating a sophisticated private meeting space.

Image courtesy Squire and Partners

OFFICE FLOORS

The upper office floors have been designed to incorporate more modern elements, introducing a balance to the traditional aesthetic while still maintaining the overall identity of the building and allowing for each tenant to make their own mark. Office spaces are largely open plan with informal meeting tables provided around the perimeter of each floor. Storage areas and kitchens are provided for each office tenancy, along with an outside terrace on every level which continues the garden theme and affords natural light into the workspace.

Image courtesy Squire and Partners

CHAIRMANS OFFICE

A suite for the Chairman on the first floor includes a reception area, waiting room and private office, and is lined with bespoke hand painted silk wallpaper by Fromental coupled with traditional 'Carriage' green paint and gilded mouldings. The established palette of Rosewood, bronze and marble is continued in the suite, which also features three Venini 'Wavy Star' glass chandeliers commissioned for the project using the original mouldings from the 1970's. A mixture of sheer and heavier textured fabrics on curtains and upholstered furniture gives a luxurious and opulent feel to the very British series of rooms.

FURNITURE

Outdoor seating: Emu Heaven table and chair from RHA Furniture
Office Furniture: Plan Moebel, Herman Miller, Vitra
Other Furniture: Odd Chair Company, Brands, Davidson London, the Coach Potato Company, Midlands Antique Warehouse, Skandium, William Yeoward, Lutyens, Chaplins, Adam Williams, Decorus, Julian Chichester, George Smith, Robert Langford, Somerville & Scott
Landscape architect: Kim Wilkie
Mouldings specialists: Stevensons of Norwich
Gilding specialists: Hare and Humphreys
Company that created the quatre foil patterned panels: Based Upon in Greenwich
Bronze planters: Bronzino
Joinery company: Metrica in Germany
Main contractor: Lend Lease
Stone subcontractor: Szeremly
M&E subcontractor: Imtech Meica

Bike design, render courtesy Liu Chien-Sheng

This bicycle design is trying to challenge the imagination of the form, and create a new idea for the motion system.

Design language of the bicycle is figured by natural form. Simplified body form which component with smooth shaped elements. The essence of this bicycle design is to create a sexy curve. It presents as soft as water and shows the strength and beauty at all different angles.

Non-spoke-wheel is the extension of the form concept. Eliminated the tedious supporting spokes and strengthen the rim structure, and extend the natural curve in two wheels to present the shape of light.

Bike design, render courtesy Liu Chien-Sheng

Introduction of green energy is a global trend in the design. Power generator is driven by cycling foot pedals which installed in the main axle, and produced power is stored in a battery for front, rear and side lights. The light system is not only a function for lighting, but it silhouettes the beauty of the body itself.

+ Concept

Bike design, render courtesy Liu Chien-Sheng

Solidification of the fluid

The form outlined in dynamic flow, presenting a perfect combination between natural beauty and industrial technology.

Bike design, render courtesy Liu Chien-Sheng

Non-spoke-wheel

To break the traditional concept of the bicycle structure, eliminating the supporting spokes to empty the structure in the middle of the wheels, and directly strengthen the rim frame.

Bike design, render courtesy Liu Chien-Sheng

Self-power generating system

The power is generated while people cycle on the bicycle and electricity is stored in the battery for LED illumination system.

+ Designer: Liu Chien-Sheng

+ All images and drawings courtesy Liu Chien-Sheng

BIG + Architectural Nexus + Dunn Associates + VBFA + Envision Engineering + Big D design the winning proposal for the renovation and expansion of Kimball Art Center in Park City, projected for completion by Mid-2015.

Kimball Art Center, render courtesy BIG

The Kimball Art Center, home to Sundance House during the Annual Sundance Film Festival, invited an international group of architects to submit designs for an interior renovation of the existing Kimball Art Center and the construction of a new building directly adjacent to the original, located centrally in Park City, Utah. The winning project, announced by The Wall Street Journal this past weekend, was selected by an official jury while giving voice to the visitors of the Kimball Art Center – including those who recently attended the ten day Sundance Festival in January. The construction is expected to begin in mid-2013, with completion by 2015. Other finalists included major U.S based offices, including Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Sparano + Mooney Architecture, Will Bruder + Partners Ltd., and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.

Kimball Art Center, render courtesy BIG

It was hard for the jury to choose between the five excellent finalists. BIG won the competition by proposing an iconic building that honors the spirit of Park City's past and looks ahead into the 21st century. BIG's design boldly reinterprets the Kimball Art Center's place in the city skyline with this amazing new structure for the arts.

Maurice Cox, Jury Member and architectural educator at the University of Virginia, former director of Design for the National Endowment for the Arts

Kimball Art Center - Diagrams, drawing courtesy BIG

BIG's design for the new Kimball Art Center, inspired by the urban development of Park City, the Kimball site, and the city's mining heritage, envisions the building as an anchor for the street life on Main St. and as a gateway and landmark for Park City. The new Kimball is designed with the flexibility, character and personality necessary to become a natural incubator for public life.

BIG built the strongest case for the continuity of Park City's history—a bold, poetic new landmark to resurrect the spirit of the Coalition Mine Building that burned down in the 1980s. The design concept supports our mission to present engaging exhibitions, education, and events, and enhances the natural flow between the three in a uniquely free-form way. As the Kimball Art Center expands in scope and reputation, embracing both the local community and a growing group of international visitors and art collectors, BIG's design sets a course for the future.

Robin Marrouche, Executive Director, Kimball Art Center

Kimball Art Center, render courtesy BIG

At 80 feet, the new Kimball Art Center matches the height of the formerly neighboring Coalition Building. The building footprint and lower gallery sit in relation to Main St. and the city grid, and as the building rises it turns to greet visitors entering the city via Heber Ave, creating an iconic yet contextual building at the city's doorstep. Referencing Park City's mining heritage, the façade is constructed of massive stacked timber elements, creating an open publicly accessible space inside.

The raw charm of Park City and the Kimball Art Center is rooted in a culture of appropriating the structures of past industry to accommodate spaces for cultural life and leisure. The plumes of smoke from the chimneys have turned into clouds of snow from the snow cannons. The old garage is now an art museum. With our design for the new Kimball we seek to continue this tradition by using the construction technique of the old mines and the railroad trestles that have marinated for decades in the Great Salt Lake to create a raw spacious framework for the art and artists of Park City – a very traditional material and technique deployed to produce a highly contemporary expression. Where the Coalition Building once stood as a landmark for Park City as a mining town– the new Kimball will be a beacon for Park City today as a home for an exploding cultural life and a sprawling creative community.

Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG

Kimball Art Center, render courtesy BIG

The twisting façade of the building encloses a continuous spiral staircase, leading the visitors from the ground floor to the generous roof terrace, which can be used for outdoor exhibitions and events. Skylights allow light to wash down the gallery walls below. In between the two galleries is a restaurant, which spills out onto a sculpture garden on the rooftop of the existing, historic Kimball Art Center building.

Kimball Art Center, render courtesy BIG

The existing building is converted into an educational hub, complementing the function of the new Art Center. At its heart is a flexible double height auditorium for screenings and exhibitions. During summer, the façade towards Heber Ave opens up to the street and exposes the internal activities. The roof of the existing building is equipped with solar thermal panels concealed by indigenous plants. An outdoor sculpture garden loops around the perimeter of the roof.

The new Kimball Arts Center takes advantage of Park City's climate, with an objective to meet a LEED platinum rating by harnessing sources of natural heat, using natural daylight, maximizing ventilation, and recycling rainwater. Generous skylights and large ribbon windows flood the building with diffused natural light, greatly reducing energy costs for lighting. Operable skylights trigger natural stack ventilation. A ground-coupled heat exchanger is drilled deep into the ground in non-built areas. The heat pumps either extract heat from the circulating water in the winter, or reject heat in the summer.

Kimball Art Center, render courtesy BIG

+ About BIG

BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group is a New York and Copenhagen based group of architects, designers and thinkers operating within the fields of architecture, urbanism, research and development. BIG has created a reputation for completing buildings that are as programmatically and technically innovative as they are cost and resource conscious. In our architectural production we demonstrate a high sensitivity to the particular demands of site context and program. BIG's recently completed projects include The Danish Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo (2010) and The 8 House (2010) being recently distinguished with a National AIA Honor Award and Wall Street Journal's Innovator of the Year Prize . Projects being designed in North America, include the New York City based 600 unit West 57th Tower designed for Durst Fetner Residential which will break ground in the Spring of 2012 and the interactive Valentine's Heart Sculpture currently on display at the Times Square in New York City.

www.big.dk

+ About Kimball Art Center

Known as Kimball Corner, the original building on the property operated as a livery stable built to serve Park City’s tiny mining community. In 1929, the site transformed into the Kimball Bros garage and for 43 years served Park City’s automotive needs. In 1976, arts enthusiast Bill Kimball and friends transformed the dilapidated garage into a nonprofit community center for the visual arts. Bill Kimball wanted a gathering place for the community to enrich their lives and experience the transformative power of the arts. The Kimball Art Center (KAC) is the heart of Park City’s historic and vibrant arts community. It is a non-profit center for the arts, committed to engaging individuals of all ages in diverse and inspiring experiences through education, exhibitions and events.

For more information, go to www.kimballartcenter.org.

+ Project facts

Project: The Renovation and Expansion of Kimball Art Center.
Client: Kimball Art Center
Location: Park City, Utah, USA.
Size: 2.800 m2, 30.000 sf
Collaborators: Architectural Nexus, Dunn Associates, Van Boerum & Frank Associates, Envision Engineering, Big D Construction.

Partner-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Christoffersen
Project Leader: Leon Rost
Team: Terrence Chew, Suemin Jeon, Chris Falla, Andreia Teixeira, Ho Kyung Lee

+ All images and drawings courtesy BIG