The honest expression of materials has been at the center of architectural design debate for centuries. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the increasingly conscious application of one material in imitation of another, architects were presented with a choice of how to respond to new technologies as construction became increasingly complex and sophisticated.
That the debate has been laden with moral and pejorative terminology indicates the significance that this issue has had to architects. Thus the reaction against the decorative “excesses” of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that dominated the Modern movement still resonate today even though much of the dogma of modernism has been rejected. On the occasion of his arrival in 1938 as director of the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Department of Architecture, Mies van der Rohe distilled the challenge:
“… each material possesses its special
[characteristics] which one must know in order to be able to work with them. … We expect absolutely nothing from the materials in themselves, but only through our right use of them. Then, too, the new materials do not ensure superiority. Any material is only worth that which we make out of it.”
At Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Atlanta, we have engaged this aspect of the modern paradigm to celebrate the tactile, visual and functional qualities of materials honestly in the design of our projects. In particular, various metals have proven to be materials that allow for the expression of their intrinsic qualities as well as lending themselves to the architectural functional imperatives of every project. Transforming these utilitarian roles into architecture that engages and delights can be achieved in many ways to resolve the basic requirements of construction, but two in particular lend themselves to expression in metals: cladding and screening. Together with the overall massing of a building they are the dominant impression on many of our projects.
By deploying pattern, texture and contrast in the composition of our work with metal cladding we leverage the inherent qualities of zinc, copper, aluminum and steel. The need to manage sunlight creates opportunities to add depth and movement to façades with sculptural screening elements that work at many scales. Two projects illustrate the possibilities that creative expression of materiality can achieve with these elements: the Georgia Public Health Laboratory facility in metro Atlanta and the Mark Jefferson Science Building at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich.
The Georgia Public Health Laboratory is the state of Georgia’s primary clinical laboratory facility. The building is constructed of granite recovered from tombstone scrap, providing an inexpensive and durable ground-level exterior. Recycled-copper shingles form the upper portion of this exterior wall. A sunscreen of curved aluminum tubes surrounds the glazed curtainwall in the two-story lobby. Providing both texture and color, the copper shingles are a sustainable and durable solution.
The aluminum sunscreen is a sculptural element that marks the entrance but also serves to manage sunlight and heat in the southwest-facing lobby. Forming a dramatic contrast to the granite, the copper and aluminum are the dominate visual expressions and have withstood the elements successfully for many years.
The Mark Jefferson Science Building at Eastern Michigan University faced a very different challenge. Facing west, the new addition is connected through pedestrian walkways to the original structure and runs parallel to its entire length, masking the front of the 1960s-era brick and stone trim building. Addressing the massive scale of the original facility, the addition breaks the scale of the architecture by stepping down with new glass and aluminum elevations. Contrasting the horizontality of this massing, this new elevation is enlivened by perforated metal screens that continue to break the mass of the building down by adding texture and pattern at changing scales as you approach the façade. In addition, the screens serve as shading devices on the west face, allowing in light but mitigating heat and glare.
While these two examples respond to program and climate in different ways, they are linked by the creative use of metal as an architectural solution due to its durability and flexibility to address many different challenges in contemporary design. During the design process, architects are charged to derive solutions that exceed the basic needs of program by creating a relationship between space and experience that transcends the physical. Creating this worth in our use of materials is an essential aspect of this process and distinguishes architecture from simply building by imbuing its forms and materials with more than function.
Don Bush, AIA, LEED AP, is a principal at Lord, Aeck & Sargent and leader of the architecture firm’s science and technology practice area. Located in the Atlanta office, he can be reached at dbush@lasarchitect.com.