Half Dose #76: Johnson Chapel at Trinity School

Manhattan is full of hidden gems, spaces tucked into the blocks formed by the island's famous grid. A religious space that comes to mind is a chapel by Louise Nevelson tucked under the Citicorp Center in St. Peter's Church. Unlike her usual black palette, the space is all white with a skylight and window bringing soft light to the small space layered with her relief sculptures. In a similar vein, though unfortunately not open to the public, is the Johnson Chapel at Trinity School on the Upper West Side, designed by Butler Rogers Baskett Architects (BRB).


[photo by Woodruff/Brown Architectural Photography]

The renovation is described by the architects as "one of subtraction, refinement and integration" with natural light "introduced by a light slot along the north wall, reflecting diffuse warm sunlight deep into the space." A simple palette of white wall and ceiling planes with wood flooring and wall panels/seating is accentuated by a stone bed and fountain sitting below the skylight, behind the chapel's altar.


[photo by Woodruff/Brown Architectural Photography]

Daylight can be seen as religious architecture's constant building "material," from the stained glass expanses of Gothic churches to the creative expression of light in Tadao Ando's concrete architecture. Light is seen as a representation of God and the afterlife, an intangible material that speaks of something beyond the confines of the space occupied. Here light rakes down the rear wall from above, focusing attention towards the altar and the implied space beyond it; nothing new here but highly effective, nevertheless.


[photo by Woodruff/Brown Architectural Photography]

BRB created a minimal space devoid of the signs of the mechanical engineering nevertheless present. The bed of rock covers a ventilation system where air is introduced into the room, and the lowered ceiling plane hides returns for the same system. Hiding these and other systems usually expressed by grilles, fixtures and other elements is a very difficult task. Architect and engineer must work together early and thoroughly to assure the space's surfaces remain planar and pristine. The architect must also detail carefully to ensure this effect. It's no wonder that BRB has garnered a number of awards (including SARA and AIANY) for this small yet powerful space.


[photo by Woodruff/Brown Architectural Photography]

Links:

:: Trinity School
:: Butler Rogers Baskett Architects
:: Woodruff/Brown Architectural Photography

Half Dose #71: Grand Teton National Park Discovery and Visitor Center

Completed in the summer of 2007, the Grand Teton National Park Discovery and Visitor Center -- officially the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center -- by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson still racks up the awards, most recently a 2009 AIA Seattle Honor Award and a 2009 Western Red Cedar Architectural Design award. It's easy to see why in the playful yet restrained design that echoes the surrounding mountains of northwest Wyoming.


[photo by Nic Lehoux]

When I think of a national park visitor center the one overlooking Mount Rushmore, as portrayed in Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest, comes to mind, mainly because I've never been to a national park appointed with such a building. I'm not sure if the cafeteria in the visitor center in the film is modeled on the real thing, but a few things come across in the film set: a spacious interior, a modern/rustic aesthetic, and expansive views of Mount Rushmore. The Grand Teton Visitor Center has all these qualities, though its view is much less focused than the South Dakota landmark.


[photo by Nic Lehoux]

The main parti of the design is a U-shape that creates an intimate outdoor space and opens up a large perimeter of windows to the mountain views to the north. Services and other ancillary spaces are located on the east and west (an auditorium addition is planned for the west side), leaving the central spaces open with generous light from the south-facing courtyard. [floor plan]


[sketch and plan by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson]

Further, the sloping section means the north-facing glazing is taller than the exterior walls facing the courtyard. This may seem at odds with the particularly cold Wyoming winters, but it serves more of a symbolic than a practical purpose: the slope and expanse of glass open up the building towards the mountains while the serrated plan echoes their rugged topography.


[photo by Nic Lehoux | sketch by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson]

In terms of appearances, the building brings to mind the phrase "extreme vernacular," in the sense of "to the extreme!" The Visitor Center recalls traditional wood buildings -- mostly in the courtyard and solid east-west ends -- but it departs sharply from the vernacular by combining the sloping roofs with a highly irregular plan and large expanses of glass.



[photos by Nic Lehoux]

Even the tree-trunk columns and beams depart from any traditional role in the selective use of them: they are not continuous, only used in an upside-down U-formation when needed at varying angles that echo the exterior wall but do not follow them precisely.


[photo by Nic Lehoux]

This last photograph clearly illustrates the expansive views captured with the 30-foot (9-meter) high glass walls. In this large space the Discovery displays get a little lost; I can see people quickly gravitating to the glass walls and benches past them. Remembering North by Northwest, I can see a lovely cafeteria in this space.

Half Dose #70: East Village Penthouse & Rooftop Garden

New York's Pulltab Design recently sent me some images of a rooftop project that features a little bit of "urban rust." Situated atop a 1900's walkup in Manhattan's East Village, the design is "a space for both reading and entertaining," consisting of a penthouse and garden.


[photo by Elizabeth Felicella | courtesy Pulltab Design]

The penthouse and garden are two projects for the previous and current owners. The former encompasses a single room and adjacent outdoor space, and the latter creates more outdoor space in an area to the left of the below diagram.


[exploded aerial view | image source]

Materials were selected for their changing qualities over time. They are primarily teak, bronze, zinc and Cor-ten steel. The first is used for the single-room penthouses's columns, windows and doors; custom bronze brackets were created for the space; zinc lines the steel used to collect rainwater from the roof; and Cor-ten steel guardrails follow the old building's parapet and defines the small outdoor room adjacent to the penthouse. These guardrails of "urban rust" recall the sides of dumpsters, though I'm guessing this is a comparison neither architect nor client would want to acknowledge. Nevertheless the top image illustrates how well this material works in its location, anchoring the otherwise lightweight addition.



[photos by Elizabeth Felicella | courtesy Pulltab Design]

Beyond the Cor-ten steel guardrail lies the project's second phase (below), created for the succeeding owner. A palette of wood and metals with active patina prevails again, but the latter is used sparingly, defining a small lily pool. Plantings are used with partial height walls and a trellis to create a sense of privacy and provide shade.


[photo by Bilyana Dimitrova | courtesy Pulltab Design]

But the focus of this second rooftop intervention is the hand-carved block of white oak with its keyhole-shape, stainless steel fountain. Like the metals used throughout the roof, this block is intended to weather over time, marking the seasons and the years.


[photo by Bilyana Dimitrova | courtesy Pulltab Design]