Alison Ledwith

modular system

Austin Center for Arts and Technology, 916 Springdale Road, Austin, TX

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Building upon the pottery studio project, a full-scale education center is proposed for East Austin. This project was designed in cooperation with Manchester Bidwell, an educational center in Pittsburgh, PA founded by Bill Strickland. This is a center that is not affiliated with the public school system, but provides arts and practical job training to those in need in the city. Due to a high success rate for the center, it has expanded into other cities around the country, and Austin is one of the locations in the early planning stages. To that end, this project has been designed around an existing building footprint, though only the foundation has been reused. The creation of interior and exterior courtyards, the reincorporation of landscape, and the presence of natural light are the three major themes.

Building Context

The adjacent site analysis shows that the majority of the surrounding areas are industrial or residential; indeed, the original purpose of this site was a warehouse. One of the core tenets of this educational institution is to set it apart from the surrounding neighborhood, which has been done through the use of landscaping in an otherwise barren region. Procession from the bus stop or parking through courtyard spaces is substantial to allow visitors time to reorient before entering the building.

A Center for Arts and Technology

Given the instructional program of the building, most of the program spaces have specific technical needs. Entry into the building occurs through the lobby and exhibit space, which is accompanied by public gathering spaces. Retaining the compression and release of the pottery studio, each art or technical studio has a similar entry, and each space shares a courtyard with an adjacent studio. The loft space provides naturally lit classrooms and auditorium space. The circulation for the loft includes windows into the art and technical studios; this allows tours to view the progress in the studios without disturbing the work.

Documentation

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Pottery Studio, Austin, TX

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This 2,000 square foot pottery studio is located on a fictional urban site in Austin, TX. The fundamental concept behind the studio is contrast, both between light and dark illuminance and between light and massive materials. Since a box of light is not a practical design from a solar heat gain perspective, this space carefully tempers the light and heat along the glazed wall. The glazed wall is a double skin facade whose interstitial space is used as the primary storage for the building. In contrast, the low, massive concrete wall has only a few small openings which wrap through the wall and ceiling of the building. The initial entry into the building is through a compressed opening in the concrete, resulting in a release into the main space. By placing the divide between light and darkness on an angle, the percentage of dark space increases as one moves further into the building. This provides a natural solid space at the back of the building for offices, pottery firing facilities, and a rest room. The plan has structural walls and a flexible workspace, here arranged so that the process of pottery making moves from the front entrance to the kilns located in the back of house.

Documentation

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Winery, Tow, TX

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This 30,000 square foot winery is located on the hill above the vineyards. Formally resembling a rock outcropping, this cantilever structure extends over the landscape and orients the visitor toward the view below.

Building Approach

Trees obscure the approach to the building until reaching the tip of the cantilever. The road circles the structure to allow a full view of the building and terminates at the rear. The threelevel winery is a collection of nine 40’ modules, which have been stacked and nestled in the landscape. The building is on axis with the vineyards and the lake beyond, which allows for views from modules.

The Operation of a Winery

Winery operation requires that an extensive set of programmatic requirements be met to facilitate the linear manufacture process. The second level is the main and entry level of the building, where trucks load and unload materials. The southwest bar of the building includes the laboratory, bottling line, and chemical storage facilities. The central bar includes the two-story fermentation tank space with an occupiable catwalk at ground level for tours and maintenance, as well as the barrel storage and cafe of the building. The northeast bar of the building includes sales, administration, and additional outdoor seating for the cafe.

In addition to the sectional organization, in plan the building operates with the tours taking place on the main and upper levels, while back-of-house operations occur on the lower level of the building. Finally, all spaces included on the main manufacture line have been designed for forklift operation and turning radii.

Sound Building

The project not only considers the programmatic requirements but also the technical requirements of structure and mechanical systems. The construction section and 1/2″ = 1′ bay model of the building demonstrate the structural premises of integrally cast concrete with slabs and walls as the sides of a “box beam.” Duct systems are sized in the mechanical diagrams and exposed in the work spaces; in contrast, a finish ceiling is included in the cafe and visitor spaces. Open web joist catwalks form the second level of the fermentation room for proper tank maintenance. Finally, the site plan meets requirements for parking, water retention, grading, and truck clearances and turning radii.

Interior

The thick walls necessary for the structural design create an earthy, cave-like quality in the interior spaces, with board-formed texture imitating rock strata. In areas where the thickness is not required for structural integrity of the cantilever, window openings have been included. In addition, the concrete walls are constructed with cavity spaces in the non-cantilever portion of the building; these cavities function as light wells with light filtering through gaps in the board-formed texture on the walls. Additional lighting is found at the oriented ends of the tubes; most ends are simply doubly-glazed, but the wine shop features water-filled wine bottles filtering the light to protect the integrity of bottled wine in the room.

Documentation

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