Having taught at several universities, Kieran and Timberlake shared the observation that typical architectural studios focused too much on design outcomes and not enough on developing research skills and critical reflection on research findings. Rather than assign an isolated design problem and give students a few weeks to solve it, the two architects wanted to engage their students in deeper and more complex ways. This desire led them to abandon the traditional structure of a design studio in 2008 in order to place students' emphasis on research-based design in one of the most unique, dense, and challenging urban environments: Dhaka, Bangladesh. As Popp explains, Kieran and Timberlake "would challenge their students to do research – to focus intensely on an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar possibilities and constraints, and figure out what the real challenges were."
Pound Ridge House, a private residence located north of New York City in Westchester County, New York, was recently featured in the Spring 2016 edition of Dwell magazine. The article, written by Aileen Kwun, draws attention to the care KieranTimberlake took in ensuring that the residence's signature reflective exterior would not pose a threat to local birds.
During the design process, the team sought to create a home with an exterior that blended in with the wooded site and an interior that brought the beauty of the natural landscape indoors. Designers knew they could create this desired effect with a glass facade, but also understood that the home's reflective surface could pose a threat to birds that frequent the wooded site. The question then became how to harness the beauty and function of a glass exterior without impacting birds and wildlife.
In earlier studies completed in partnership with the manager of the American Bird Conservancy's Bird Collisions Campaign, KieranTimberlake learned that bird strikes happen most frequently with large, continuous reflective surfaces. By using smaller panels with different levels of reflectivity, bird strikes could be reduced significantly. Using this information, designers created a facade composed of multiple rectangular tiles made of glass, brushed stainless steel, polished stainless steel, and tin zinc-coated copper. The different sizes and reflectivity of these panels not only greatly reduce bird strikes. As Kwun writes, "the benefits are also aesthetic: With its unique facade, the home is both attuned to the landscape and private, filled with 'curated views.'"
Once customized circuit boards could be produced in low volume, KieranTimberlake was able to advance the development of Pointelist™, a high-density sensor network.
Pointelist™, KieranTimberlake's wireless sensor network, was recently featured in Architect magazine. The article, written by Wanda Lau, is part of a series following up on past winners of the magazine's R+D Awards, which recognize research, materials, and technologies that have advanced the field of architecture.
Philly Beat, our guide to Philadelphia, highlights some of our favorite hot spots in the city's most beloved neighborhoods.
The AIA Convention comes to Philadelphia on May 19. Not sure what to do in your downtime? Click the link below to check out our guide to food, neighborhoods, and nightlife in the City of Brotherly Love.
James Timberlake makes his acceptance remarks for the Spirit of UDM: Alumni Achievement Award
Photo courtesy of the University of Detroit Mercy
Partner James Timberlake was honored as a distinguished alumnus this past week at his alma mater, the University of Detroit Mercy. Timberlake was the recipient of the Spirit of UDM: Alumni Achievement Award, an honor given by the university to recognize outstanding graduates who have excelled in their chosen field and have demonstrated leadership both in their careers as well as in their greater community.
During a celebration weekend honoring award recipients, Timberlake credited the university with his early professional development. "These folks, and the university at large, helped to transform me and guide me to a dream that I've had since I was five," Timberlake said in his acceptance speech, "and that was to become an architect."
KieranTimberlake is pleased to announce the opening of KieranTimberlake: Drawn + Quartered, an exhibit of drawings, scale models, and mock-up experiments that survey the role of research and prototyping in our design process.
Nicknamed the "Moss Belt," the Pacific Northwest's climate means that bio-growth is ubiquitous.
When working in a new climate, researchers and designers at KieranTimberlake go to great lengths to investigate the design challenges inherent to the environment. During an early design meeting for the North Campus Housing project at the University of Washington, KieranTimberlake's team observed a campus landscape brimming with moss, algae, and lichen. These types of biological growth (“bio-growth”) are ubiquitous in the Pacific Northwest, clinging to windowsills, carpeting sidewalks, and decorating buildings. Located in a temperate rainforest climate zone with plentiful rain and cloud cover, the University of Washington's campus presented a unique set of challenges for the design team.
Partner Stephen Kieran was a guest earlier this month on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC, New York City's NPR station. Focusing on his work with fellow partner James Timberlake on the Dhaka Design-Research Laboratory, Kieran discussed the challenges facing the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, as well as the book inspired by their research, Alluvium: Dhaka, Bangladesh, in the Crossroads of Water.
Home to a population three times as dense as Manhattan and built on a constantly changing floodplain, Dhaka is one of the most extreme cities on earth. Kieran and Timberlake have been working with the University of Pennsylvania School of Design for nearly a decade in a research design studio that studies the relationship between the people of Dhaka and the various waterways that connect the city. Their research has culminated in their book Alluvium.
When asked about the book's title, Kieran stated that "we in the U.S. really think of land and water as very separate things. [Bangladeshis] as people don't have a sense of the otherness or separateness between land and water. They think of the two as one in the same. Hence the term "alluvium," which is land suspended in water."
A mind map animation was featured in the exhibit. Mind maps reveal where actions will have reactions, suggesting a network of possible points of intervention.
Associate Professor Naomi Frangos from the New York Institute of Technology's School of Architecture and Design recently invited Partner Stephen Kieran to speak about KieranTimberlake's ethic of improvement and the ways in which it leads to invention and innovation. Kieran discussed the tactics used to give rise to empathetic planning and design, citing examples from the firm's practice as well as from his work with fellow partner James Timberlake on the Dhaka Design-Research Laboratory.
The Dhaka Design-Research Laboratory is a cross-disciplinary design studio held at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design. Through intensive research and annual visits, the studio seeks new ways to stimulate relevant design interventions, and to model a research-based approach for urban planning in both the developing and the developed worlds.
