Can architecture improve patient care? That's the question that led to the collaboration between KieranTimberlake Research and Dr. Bon Ku, an emergency department physician and Director of Jefferson University's Health Design Lab. Faced with few precedents for how layout affects communication between doctors, nurses, and patients, our team embarked on a two-year study to quantify the relationship between quality of care and emergency room design. Though still in analysis, our work has already begun to influence the Emergency Department layout at Jefferson University Hospital and was recently featured in a video on Wired. While the study's immediate impacts are exciting, Research Director Billie Faircloth is more interested in its larger implications. “The idea that you're giving people a way to study their space, thinking through some of the interventions they want to make, that's what's actually really important about the study.”
Our studio was recently featured in The New York Times for our innovative and sustainable approach to cooling.
KieranTimberlake's innovative, energy efficient studio was recently cited by Penelope Green in The New York Times article, “Do Americans Need Air-Conditioning?” Green's story comments on the paradox of overcooled spaces during the summer months, and highlights our passive cooling experiment in which we eschewed air-conditioning for the entire summer of 2015. Instead, we relied on fans, open windows, dehumidifiers, and a nighttime flushing system that exhausted hotter air that accumulated during the day and replaced it with cooler evening air. While we ultimately installed an air-conditioner the following summer, as Green notes, our studio is as “a model of energy efficiency” thanks to our mixed mode operation.
Also mentioned in the article is Roast, a comfort survey app developed by our affiliate company KT Innovations. As its name implies, Roast was born from our building manager's efforts to keep the office comfortable during our 2015 summer experiment. The first iterations ultimately led to a relaxed dress code, flexible work hours that avoided the afternoon heat, and additional fans. Over time, the survey evolved to collect feedback not only on temperature and humidity, but also brightness, noise levels, smells, cleanliness, productivity, and more.
We're excited to announce the completion of the first phase of the University of Washington's North Campus Housing project! Designed in conjunction with landscape architect OLIN, this placemaking initiative connects a previously disjointed university district to the original campus core. In addition to providing much-needed student housing, the three new residence halls, the first of five planned for the North Campus, form a new University community defined by a network of intimate and memorable outdoor spaces.
In this video, Partner Stephen Kieran and Associates Christopher Boskey and Melissa Clark discuss how the new buildings capture the classic Pacific Northwest landscape and the ways in which the architecture fosters a close-knit community.
Designed by KieranTimberlake, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s new master plan doubles the size of the existing Mütter Museum and provides space for an additional exhibit gallery and rare book display.
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia's $25 million renovation and expansion campaign was recently highlighted in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Best known as the home of the infamous Mütter Museum and its troves of medical oddities, the College is the oldest medical society in the United States. The centerpiece of its campaign, the largest in its history, are renovations and restoration work that will improve visitor experience and expand and reorganize the College's available space.
The Bulletin Building and adjacent Drexel Square will breathe new life into an important Philadelphia landmark and will help anchor the Schuylkill Yards Innovation District.
KieranTimberlake's work on Philadelphia's iconic Bulletin Building was recently featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Commissioned by the Brandywine Realty Trust, the project reimagines the former headquarters of the now-defunct Evening Bulletin newspaper at 30th and Market Streets in the city's booming University City neighborhood.
Since 2018, KieranTimberlake has partnered with UNICEF, GerHub, Arc'teryx, The North Face, the University of Pennsylvania, and others to reimagine the traditional Mongolian ger in order to find low-cost, high-value solutions for decreasing coal consumption and improving indoor air quality in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.
We began by working closely with Mongolian communities to better understand how they kept their homes warm and improved their gers' thermal performance during brutal winters—the city is the world's coldest capital and regularly sees temperatures below -40 ºC. Five families allowed us to collect thermal data on their homes over the winter, providing our team with valuable insights into real-life fuel use and building performance.
The Folger Shakespeare Library’s underground addition will welcome visitors with a new garden and universally accessible entrances.
The Folger Shakespeare Library recently announced its partnership with KieranTimberlake to renovate and expand its historic, Paul Cret-designed building. The project is part of a comprehensive master plan that will transform the Library's facilities for a new, broader, and more diverse audience.
The expansion will revive the building and grounds with new and renovated exhibition and education spaces and universally accessible main entries, lobbies, and visitor amenities, as well as improved circulation. Many of the interior updates will be housed in the underground addition located beneath the Library's signature raised terrace along East Capitol street. To either side of this addition, new gardens designed by landscape architect OLIN will welcome visitors and serve as a park-like amenity.
Earlier this month the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis announced that it will unveil two of the four KieranTimberlake-designed capital projects that will transform the campus, reshape the student and visitor experience, and enhance the prominence of its on-campus art museum.
The newly constructed Anabeth and John Weil Hall will house state-of-the-art graduate studios, classrooms, and digital fabrication spaces. At the same time, a major expansion and renovation of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will strengthen the museum's visibility, better showcase its renowned collection, and accommodate larger and more varied special exhibits.
2019 is officially upon us, and while we're proud of what we've accomplished in the past year, we're excited to see what the future holds. From making buildings more comfortable to drinking less coffee (...maybe), we have big plans for the New Year. What will you accomplish in 2019?
A series of reclaimed white oak panels installed in new buildings at the University of Washington reflect the topography of different mountains visible from campus. The installations are a tribute to the University of Washington’s special relationship to its surrounding landscape.
Melissa Clark and Erica Ehrenbard discuss their work on a series of wood panel installations made for the University of Washington.
To accommodate its growing undergraduate population, the University of Washington commissioned KieranTimberlake to develop housing for the northern edge of its Seattle campus. This project, which came to be known as the New North Campus, includes a new master plan and series of residence halls, each with a mix of building-specific and campus-wide programming, as well as a network of outdoor spaces designed to foster community and attract students to an underutilized portion of campus. Last fall marked the completion of the project's first phase, and we celebrated the opening of Madrona, McCarty, and Willow Halls.
