The facade study was a two-week-long sketch project as a sort of introduction to curtain-wall construction and the study of context and vernacular.
Park Street Church in Boston had previously built a ministry annex on the property just behind the main chapel in the historic Beacon Hill District. The challenge was to design a facade for the existing structure that would represent the functions of the annex in a contemporary manner.
The office building was a simple five-story reinforced concrete pan structural system with dual party walls. A hung concrete panel system seemed to adapt itself to the structure in a way that each floor could be individually represented on the facade. On the ground level, the entrance scooped in to create a recess for visitors and workers to engage with the Commons across the street. The middle three levels were similarly represented with a band of windows and the sky room at the top opened up by means of a large 2-story opening. Facing the south created the opportunity for textural play with light and shadow through undulating seams within the interconnected panels.
LOCATED: Boston, Massachusetts
STATUS: Unbuilt design study