Two KieranTimberlake Projects Win AIA Philadelphia Awards
Henley Hall's bifurcated massing separates sensitive laboratory environments from classroom and gathering spaces to help achieve the ambitious energy goals. © Bruce Damonte
The Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects has recognized two KieranTimberlake projects with honors at the 2021 Design Awards Celebration.
Henley Hall's three-story open-air atrium vertically connects occupants while promoting airflow and natural daylight, centering the movement and life of the building around comfortable, highly efficient spaces for casual interaction. ©Bruce Damonte
Jeff and Judy Henley Hall at University of California, Santa Barbara, received the Gold Medal and the Sustainability Award. This project is a 49,900 square foot, LEED Platinum laboratory and education building, provides laboratories, offices, and collaboration space. Henley Hall's massing is split along programmatic lines to optimize comfort while minimizing energy use. This approach to program organization turned Henley Hall into a research building that breathes. Offices, classrooms, and gathering spaces are oriented around a three-story, open-air atrium in the east wing. In the west wing, sensitive and tightly controlled laboratory spaces are sealed from the elements. The east wing's automated natural ventilation system dissolves the boundaries between outdoors and in.
Further connecting the building to its stunning surroundings, a fritted glazing filters daylight to climate-sensitive research spaces. In the landscape are outdoor workspaces shaded by a deep umbra and flowering trees. The new Henley Hall provides a physical and spiritual home for the vanguard of energy research by integrating energy-saving measures that minimize operational carbon without sacrificing comfort, quality, or aesthetics.
The Iowa State University's Student Innovation Center genuflects to the light as it asserts its presence on campus. ©Peter Aaron / OTTO
Also honored at the event was the Iowa State University Student Innovation Center, which received a Merit Award. This 146,000 square foot building provides a flexible, dynamic space for undergraduates that encourages around-the-clock experimentation and collaboration.
Clad in a glass facade that balances aesthetic goals with environmental and performance priorities, each elevation manages the effects of solar heat gain while maximizing views to and from the building. This pleated curtainwall distinguishes the building on campus while signaling the quality of exploration conducted inside.
A moment of simultaneity in the main staircase of the Student Innovation Center. ©Peter Aaron / OTTO
Inside, the building hosts a variety of fixed and flexible spaces for a variety of users, including prototyping labs, fabrication studios, and open classrooms. Despite the high energy demands of the Student Innovation Center's various makerspaces—including a glassblowing studio with furnaces operating 24/7—the project received LEED Gold certification.
