Glass Pattern
Interior Corridors
Atmospheres
Final Parametric Skin Pattern
Pattern Development. Petals
Analog Tecnique Model. Motion. Design Team:
Kivi Sotamaa
Gabriel Esquivel
Cody Davis
Adam Tomski
Chiharu Sato
Clint Zehner
Client: CITY SPACE. JDS Companies. Columbus, Ohio
The Elegant Affect of the Evolved Object
Our task was to design a new type of housing development for Columbus Ohio: A fantastic, dense island of urbanity in the middle of an ocean of highways. Re-imagine the boutique hotel concept in housing: Small sexy apartments with opulent public spaces, a place where individual passion meets urban life.
The project is 300+ unit apartment building. The average size of unit was about 650 sq feet. Smallest apartment was 400sq feet, the largest was 2000 sq feet. The apartments are one hand be based on repetitive principles and on the other hand cater for individual tastes.
The public spaces include a bar/restaurant, gym, swimming pool, outside public areas.
The site has three sides to it: to west Olentangy River, to south Olentangy Road and to east and north the exit ramp on highway 315.
The Esquivel & Sotamaa team had to resolve and work on several design problems, whether structural or mechanical, affect of the exterior form or material distribution, in order to retain the architectural & sculptural qualities of the initial design.
The development of exterior skins was a very important component of the design idea, which was to produce a pattern that could generate an effect of motion, the decision was made to use a Dupont product called "Expresions Glass", which is a product has image interlayers digitally printed in full-color using, high definition ink jet and PVB interlayer technology. The result is high-quality imagery and design textures in safety glass.
The other skin was made of perforated metal using laser to cut out the same pattern used for the glass to continue the effect. This metal skin was used in public spaces like parking garage, courtyards, sky lobby and corridors. The interior of the apartment units were developed in in terms of different atmosphers, effects, color, fixtures and surfaces.
The structural impact of the project is a critical component in the overall cost. While the design is very exciting it is also minimalist in terms of the aesthetic use of materials. The front cantilever projected towrds the street (46 feet) is quite dramatic and adds to the excitement of this project. This unique design will mean that a great deal of the cost will be driven by the structural solutions. While the project includes repetition that can translate to construction speed, the offsetting of floors and the cantilever will have to account for racking and flex, wind uplift among other structural challenges.
