New Methods: Pugh-Scarpa Architects

A beautifully designed site, that really demonstrates the great work of this firm.

http://www.pugh-scarpa.com/indexmain.html

In particular: Portfolio > View all Projects > Page 2 > CoOP (middle bottom)

Oddly enough, my first link I'm showing is a wall. This wall designed here is amazing in how it looks like a beautiful mistake. I love what happens when nature visually interferes (even if the interference is all man-made). Here is a quote from their site about this project:

"The design examines the tension between materials, form and experience. The interior can be viewed as "a skin or surface wrapper that moves in and out alternately concealing and revealing the building fabric." The layering and sculpting of the newly formed surfaces weave together disparate and contrasting materials. Recalling film director Alfred Hitchcock's interest in openings as metaphors, here, too, voids are as important as surfaces, revealing an earlier pattern of materials or use.

Of particular interest is the idea of transcending traditional craft and elevating humble materials without trying to make them into something other than what they really are. It is an attempt to find and reveal the extraordinary from within the ordinary. The exploration encourages the user to forge a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the fundamental, yet delicate relationships that exist between themselves, the natural world, its vital resources, and our collective cultures.

Two basic materials, wood and plastic are transformed from benign surfaces into sculpted space. The one hundred foot long wood wall was created by a direct transfer method. Computer models were sent directly from the architect to a computerized CNC router where 74 Glue laminated beams of varying thickness were sculpted by direct automation, virtually eliminating the traditional handcraft. Several studio entry doors were integrated into the pattern of the wood and seamlessly disappear. The result is a surface that is spatial, has depth and comes alive with movement. The perception that wood is a static dead material is ransacked. It is, in fact, alive with energy and moves through the space with its occupants and visitors.

In contrast to the carving method of the wood construction, 1/8" colored acrylic panels were layered to a thickness of 1" for the facades of the adjacent lead lined offices. The panels are backlit from large skylights located within the interior of their respective offices and are transformed into a material of considerable spatial dept and color. The movement of light and people engages and activates the entire space, creating a quality of time and movement. Light is also used as an ordering device: drawing you into and through the space. It is a register of the passage of time as well as a social connector. As in the construction of the wood wall the acrylic panels reveal the extraordinary from within something very ordinary."

More photos of the wall production:
http://www.woodmags.com/wlb/magazine_rack/2004_winter_48/coop/photos/index.php3

I originally found this firm here: http://www.realestatearchitects.com/index.php/gallery/firm_single/pugh_scarpa/ when looking for a link on glass that is outdoor grade and transforms from opaque to transparent with the flip of a switch. --> If you know what I'm talking about, please inform. :)