michigan architecture papers 4 — site/architecture — thompson
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MICHIGAN ARCHITECTURE PAPERS 4
site/architecture
THOMPSON AND ROSE ARCHITECTS
University of Michigan
College of Architecture + Urban Planning
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site/architecture
THOMPSON AND ROSE ARCHITECTS
FOREWORD
CONVERSATIONS AT MICHIGAN
SIX PROJECTS
APPENDICES
The academic setting is a privileged lookout from which it 1s possible to view !he world For the discipline of orch1tecture 1i~e the other professional disciplines housed within that settmg it provides on nvoluoble opportumty to observe the field of proct1ce. It is however a place which IS
also of he world and consequently con enable faculty and studenls to not only view rhot field of practice but to participate oct1vely in its cultivation.
RoTo BOOK MAP ONE
FOREWORD
The practice of architecture is changing
rapidly in response to an increasingly
globalized culture and, as a
consequence, the procurement and
design of buildings is becoming
increasingly generalized. As architecture
is commodified in this way so its
connections with a particular place, to a
moment in time, and with the interests of
a specific client or building user tend to
be made all the more tenuous.
In this context, the work of Thompson
and Rose is a significant exception in the
field of practice in the United States of
America. The work of this small, relatively
new yet already accomplished practice,
is directed by two young designers.
Combining the skills of architect and
landscape architect, they are developing
an approach which integrates concerns
of architecture and the detail of construction with preoccupations for the
characteristics of a particular place.
Inevitably their portfolio of work is
modest, but as the few built projects
clearly show, this is work which
demonstrates a passionate and
impressive commitment to an architecture
that is specific and not general.
It was for these reasons that the College
of Architecture + Urban Planning at
the University of Michigan sought out
Thompson and Rose. During the 1 998
Winter Semester they served as
distinguished visiting critics at the
College. As a part of this collaboration
they helped to make an exhibition of
work, met with students, gave a lecture
and, in collaboration with Michael
Grant, directed a graduate architecture
design studio. Michigan Architecture
Papers Four documents a series of
projects designed by Thompson and
Rose and records aspects of that
collaboration in an effort to make
some of the ideas, work and debate
that it prompted more accessible to a
wider audience.
The Michigan Architecture Papers seek to
present architecture of the highest quality
and provide a basis for the continuing
critical review of the discipline. They are
designed by students of architecture for
students of architecture. They seek to
record presentations and debates which
frequently take place at the College, yet
are often lost in the hectic bustle of the
academic year.
5
Collaborative studios that bring together
educators and practitioners are at the
foundation of architectural education.
The program at the University of
Michigan, first established by William Le
Baron Jenney, subsequently developed
by outstanding architects which have
included Eliel Saarinen, Emil Lorch, and
Robert Metcalf, and more recently
advanced though collaborative studios
with significant architects from practice
including Clark Stevens and Michael
Rotondi , has continued to foster that
tradition. This publication records one
such collaboration which took place
during the 1997/98 academic year.
It is made in an effort to assist in the
careful mapping of a territory of
education and to help to define a field
of practice in architecture.
Bnon Corter Professor and Choir of Architecture University of Michigan
6
CONVERSATIONS AT MICHIGAN
Based on a series of discussions at the
College of Architecture + Urban
Planning at the University of Michigan
between Maryann Thompson and
Charles Rose, Visiting Assistant Professor
Michael Grant and architecture students
Joseph Berlinghieri, Christopher
Lanzisera, Carla Swickerath, Margaret
Tomas and Kristina Winegar.
You hove worked extensively on the design of buildings and landscapes Does the consideration of 'site' toke on particular significance in your work2
CR: We are interested in creating an
architecture that 'sees' its site- an
architecture that stands in relationship to
its surroundings, heightens the
experience and effect of the natural
conditions that are at work on the site
and focuses, orients or reorients one's
perception of the site. We are exploring
an idea of site that is broad and
inclusive.
MT: We take time to understand a site and
seek to develop a poetic, even spiritual,
reading of the site. By analyzing the
specific conditions of a place - the
apparent movement of the sun, the
topography, geological conditions,
water and wind, flora, fauna, natural
phenomena and species diversity -
we attempt to develop a poetic
understanding, which in turn helps to
shape our intuitive responses to the site.
Such concerns tune the design process to
inform the concepts we generate to
create an architecture of the place.
7
How did the landscape affect your design for the Atlantic Center for the Arts2
MT: The Atlantic Center for the Arts is within
the Florida jungle. We were inspired by
the spatial qualities of this jungle -the
labyrinthine experience, the sense of
veiled layering both horizontally and
vertically, and the dappling of light
through the canopy. We were interested
in creating an architecture that would
heighten the sensory effects of this.
We created a passage through the site
which emphasized a sense of layering,
recalling the peripatetic nature of the
place. Throughout the design process
there was a constant dialogue between
the ideas of layering and revealing.
8
CR: The idea of weaving together landscape
and architecture was intriguing to us. A
boardwalk threaded through the jungle
links a series of clearings, creating
places of public gathering. The
relationship to the immediate landscape
inspired the schematic design: we did
not think of the buildings as objects. By
working simultaneously with the actual
conditions of the landscape and the
experience of the site, a labyrinthine
plan developed. The moments of
clearing which occur on the boardwalk
between the buildings are the objects;
the buildings recede. The project is a
collection of fragmentary views and
experiences, of concealed objects,
themselves whole but understood
primarily in moments of selected
recombination and integration. The
scheme is only fully understood through
movement and memory.
Ccufd > ,'u d,,~, r•bE. the? relorionshtp b£'1\V't'n tt <' bwiding.' and rhf' londsLopt'2
MT: There are shifts between subjective and
objective perceptual bias at the Atlantic
Center for the Arts. The client had
precise area requirements and the
artists needed rectangular spaces. We
could not vary from that. Because of the
nature of the site plan and because the
pavilions are set within and partially
hidden by the surrounding vegetation,
they are not presented as objects. The
volumes and planes contribute to forming
exterior spaces rather than asserting
themselves as objects. There is a sense
of revelation upon entering each
building , as the interior space is
suddenly understood as a discrete
volume. The interiors act as clearings
within the omnipresent jungle. They
become a peaceful light-filled domain
within the thick landscape. There is an
enigmatic tension between the
perceptual experience from within the
site as fragments along a promenade
and the conceptual reading from without
as sculptural objects.
CR: The buildings only reveal themselves
as objects at close range, not at a
distance . Close examination exposes
details that differentiate each pavilion -
tectonic and material changes that
respond to the specific program within .
The articulation of construction at each
pavilion , with respect to scale,
materiality and detailing , varies in
response to program. Our intention was
to make each piece of the project
particular to the activity it was designed
to serve.
Q
Could you elaborate on the way the designs for each of the studios were develaped2
CR: Our client was interested in making
each building specific to its function ,
rather than creating multi-purpose
spaces. Thi s provided an opportunity
to design a series of rooms which were
specific , both spatially and tectonically.
For instance, the client asked that the
dance space be " light and airy" -
suggesting that the spatiality of dance
be characterized by floating and
hovering . We interpreted this reading
by creating a strip of sandblasted glass
at the ceiling that encircles the room,
al lowing for a diffused, gentle light,
and placing a band of clear glass at
the finish floor, under the mirror, which
offers an immediate view of the tactile,
lush jungle.
10
MT: These two glazing conditions define a
space between the earth and the sky
which the dancer occupies. The
development of the interior spaces at
the Atlantic Center for the Arts are
inspired by what we interpret as the
'mytho-poetic ' quality of early
modernism . We believe that arch itecture
can communicate viscerally and can be
filled with meaning , not necessarily in
terms of symbol-making, but rather, in
terms of direct emotional experience.
Early Modernism is clearly on inspiration in your work Are there particular sources?
MT: We are influenced by many architects
in a variety of ways: we learned from
Aalto 's use of site-found materials at Villa
Mairea, and the resulting suggestion of
regionalism and site-contextualism.
The relationship between architecture
and site , as well as the sense of craft
and tectonic invention , employed to
create added layers of meaning is
remarkable . At Asplund 's Woodland
Cemetery the balance and duality
between the crematorium and landscape
is inspiring . The architecture forms a
wall which contains the site while
allowing the knoll and the open void of
the site to take on the primary reading.
His use of symbolism also inspired us .
CR: Le Corbusier has been an influence as
well. At La Tourette, for instance, we
were interested in the way meaning
is established through the coincidence
of structure, form and the significant
relationship to the ground plane. The
frame hovers above the sloping grade
creating an aloof home for the intellect,
while the sculptural cast concrete
bearing walls of the chapel engage
the ground and house the sacred
spaces of religious mystery.
ll
Hos art nt uenced you1 wall\?
MT: Many of our attitudes are fueled by
theories and work from the art world -
from issues of sculptural form to attempts
to create emotional resonance.
CR: We are constantly looking to the world
of the artist for inspiration. There are
moments when you discover that ideas
you are contemplating have already
been considered by others working in
another medium. Richard Serra's
Torqued Ellipses at the Dia Center for the
Arts in New York was a point of
revelation for us in its consideration of
the figured void. The sculpture addressed
the concrete relationship between the
object in space and the experience of
that space.
MT: When I was a student in Peter Walker's
studio at Harvard, the studio spent time
at Storm King, Pepsico and in galleries
in New York City. It was very influential.
Sculpture is of specific interest to us
because it requires being experienced
in the round.
12
For example, you have to move through
the installation by Serra to understand
the figured void. This celebration of the
direct human experience parallels our
own attitudes.
CR: In developing the program for the
Atlantic Center for the Arts, we had
many inspiring discussions with great
artists who were members of the
advisory board. The idea that dance
occupies the space between earth and
sky originated in a conversation with the
choreographer Trisha Brown. She
prompted us to find ways of giving a
mythic quality to that space. The design
of the painting studio developed out of
conversation with painters about light
and space. We designed studio spaces
which were visually, sculpturally, and
tectonically linked to the concerns and
aspirations of the artists.
Hmt> tssu< s, t prl'll enodt. ot'ectect
your orcf 1c TillE "
CR: Our commitment is to the palpable
experience of space and this
commitment relates directly to the
issue of promenade. In our
architecture the effect that the
building has on the body, mind,
and spirit is fundamental. The
potential for mystery in the
architectural experience is important
too . We are interested in exploring
an architecture that reveals itself
through movement and memory,
through an unfolding of visual and
spatial experiences which involve
the viewer in a process of discovery.
MT: In our work we attempt to explore
that process of discovery through
the promenade. We are interested in
creating an architecture that reveals
itself over time from different
perspectives and at different scales.
The comprehension of the work thus
involves a dialogue between the
viewer and the unfolding nature of
what is being viewed.
13
MT: For instance, at Straitsview Farm both the
location of the barn within the site and its
faceted form prevent the building from
being read as a singular object. Moving
around and through the barn yields a
transformed perception at different scales
and from changing vantage points. It
also creates a relationship of
participation between the building and
the viewer. This enigmatic and mysterious
quality is experienced through movement.
14
Con you comment on the scalar relationships of the Bartholomew County Veterans Memoriol2
MT: Scalar shifts play an important role
in the memorial's ambiguity and
emotional power. The scale of the
project oscillates. The tight spaces
between the columns can be
intimate, proportioned as they are
for a quiet yet intense relationship
with the letters that are inscribed in
the stone. Yet the very same spaces
can also be terrifying and sublime,
evoking death and the infinite.
These 'earth-bound' or 'rock-bound'
spaces, at once protected and
pressured, also are juxtaposed with
the view upward within the piece
which allows for a sense of release
and relationship to the sky. The
tapering of the columns, skyward,
helps this reading as it draws the
eye upward. Scalar shifts in this
piece address the duality and the
reconciliation of the infinite and the
individual.
CR: We wanted to work within a scale that
made sense urbanistically, marking the
new entry to Columbus and providing a
sense of relationship to the adjacent
courthouse. Yet, it was important to
create an intimate scale to accommodate
the act of private contemplation . From
the exterior, the piece addresses the
scale of the city, its rock-cut limestone
outer surface reads as a carved
monumental block, reminiscent of local
quarries.
To further this reading there are not
special bases for the columns, they go
directly into the earth . Within the grid,
however, the interior surfaces are smooth
and carefully sized to accommodate an
intimate relationship between the visitor
and the texts. The piece operates on
many scales. It is interesting to note that
these subtle devices were laborious to
work out. When you look at the project,
it seems simple. Achieving such
simplicity can be incredibly complicated.
In this proJect, as with the Atlantic Center for the Arts, there seems to be a tension between the ob;ect and the experience.
CR: The tension between the piece as
an object and the place as an
experience speaks again of the
ambiguity inherent in the project.
It can be read as both solid quarry
block and as perforated, inhabitable
space. The tension between object
and subject is inherent in the duality
between solid and void .
15
Does your 1\0rking process change fa, a
pro1ect n an urban seflmg2
CR: In the city, our response becomes more
abstract in its relationship to nature.
In the Urban Residence/ Gallery project
the envelope becomes site sensitive .
A courtyard at the heart of the project
becomes a spatially impacted distillation
of site . There are dramatic topographies
- in this case the buildings in Manhattan .
There are also solar concerns, it rains,
and we have resident populations to
consider - the artists and visitors from
the Dia Center for the Arts to the west.
There is still a natural landscape but
also a constructed landscape with
which to connect.
MT: A figural courtyard became the center
of the project. The scheme is woven
through the courtyard - the circulation
stitches back and forth , tying the
scheme together and allowing for the
presence of the court to be central to
the daily experience of the building .
Skylights at the street and party wall
further accentuate the sense of layered
encounter with the sun . The attempt is
to make the light palpable, to give it
a presence, to take what is thought of
as insubstantial void - light, air, space
-and make it visceral and solid . The
basic challenge remains the same -
how can you bring site into a project
and how can you create an
architecture which 'sees' its site.
-~- ~ . I 0-41~
~-
ATlANTIC CENTER FOR THE ARTS
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
BUILDING USE:
The artists ' resource center and
residency program bring together
master artists to research and provide
instruction in dance, drama, music,
sculpture, literature and the visual arts.
The program includes a black box
theater, dance studio, sculpture building
with an outdoor work yard , painting
studio, recording studio, dark room
and library.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
The site is an indigenous jungle in a
climate characterized by torrential
rains, oppressive heat and bright sun .
The space of the jungle is a dense
environment of dappled light and a
variety of shades of green . In the
absence of a single visual reference
point, the jungle offers a peripatetic
space, the experience of which is
dominated by a sense of disorientation .
Existing structures on the site are wood
frame pole structures. These include
housing, an admin istrative building
and gallery, workshop space, and an
outdoor theater.
19
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1. 2. 3. 4 . 5.
library mus1c room audio room sculpture studio outdoor work area
6. 7 . 8. 9 . 10.
painting studio dance studio dressing room gallery + reception black box theater
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DESIGN PHILOSOPHY:
The design intention is to intensify,
contrast and heighten the visual and
sensory effects of the site. Movement
and memory unify the experience,
rather than an awareness of the overall
structure. This pattern begins with the
labyrinth ine parking wh ich is integral to
the function of the place. Like the jungle,
there is a sense of visual and spatial
unfolding, as only small parts of the
scheme can be understood at one time.
The peripatetic space of the jungle is
amplified by the configuration of the
new boardwalk and placement of the
structures w ith respect to discrete views
and overlapping spatial moments, and
by the interwoven relationships of
bu ilding and jungle.
Each building is designed to house
a single art form -theater, dance,
sculpture, painting, music, and a library.
The interiors act as clearings within the
jungle, offering a sense of visual clarity
and relief. Within each workroom the
buildings frame, articulate and mediate
the ubiquitous vegetation, creating a
layered sense of enclosure.
23
24
The design research involved an
investigation of building in similar
latitudes - specifically ways of adapting
and tempering the existing climactic
conditions through architectural
invention, the study of precedent and
use of readily available materials.
The climactic conditions of the site
- light, wind, air, rain - and their
phenomenological effects are
reinterpreted and tempered through the
use of louvers which mottle the direct
light; large glass walls which maximize
the ambient northern light; light
monitors; hopper windows; wind
scoops; and large, linear rain scuppers.
25
Construction Systems:
The buildings and boardwalk are
elevated on wood columns resting on
concrete piers. The primary structural
system is a wood frame/heavy timber
hybrid . The structures are clad in stained
cedar which is fastened with stainless
steel screws. The base of the sculpture
studio is cast-in-place concrete . Roofs
are lead-coated copper, both flat lock
and standing seam . Doors are steel ,
wood, and lead-coated copper;
windows are brushed aluminum . The
adjustable louvers are cedar. Trellis
work and suspension rods are made
of painted steel.
26
FLORIDA GULF COAST ART CENTER
Pinellas County Botanical Gardens Clearwater, Florida
BUILDING USE:
The Art Center provides flexible new
facilities for a growing collection of
modern art as well as a public arts and
crafts program. The design for the
50,000 square foot art center campus
creates a community of public learning
set within a new sixty-acre botanical
garden . The program for the
interdisciplinary campus includes
galleries for the center's permanent
collection, and studio classrooms for
instruction in painting, photography,
metalsmithing, sculpture, ceramics,
printmaking, fiber arts, woodworking
and glass blowing . The center will offer
classes for adults and children taught by
professional artists.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Situated within the new sixty-acre
Pinellas County Botanical Gardens in
Tampa, the Art Center defines a
boundary between the Botanical
Gardens and the Pinellas waterway.
Across the waterway to the west is
Heritage Village, an open-air museum
of cracker architecture.
29
1. lobby looding dock 2. library kitchen 3. administrative offices gallery 4. conference room studio 5. storage gihshap 0 10 20 30 h
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY:
The project is organized around two
public circulation elements: a sinuous
colonnade running parallel to the
waterway, offering a promenade with
views into the gardens; and a footbridge
across the wetlands, connecting the Art
Center to Heritage Village. The public
center of the complex, with an
auditorium, library, cafe, sculpture
garden, galleries, and the museum store,
is at the intersection of these two paths.
Studio and shop bu ildings are placed
along the curving colonnade, which
becomes an outdoor 'classroom '
planned parallel to the water. It
continually returns the visitor to the
landscape. Gardens occur between the
buildings, and are viewed from the
colonnade and secondary south-facing
arcades.
31
32
'I • r
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS:
The bu ildings are simple volumes of
concrete block with lightweight steel
joists supporting membrane roofs. Metal
clad light monitors punctuate these
simple volumes and provide ambient
north light to the studios and galleries.
Overhanging awnings provide shade to
the interiors from the intense sun from the
south, west and east. Through these
elements, the buildings transcend their
direct, factory-like volumes, admitting
controlled natural light into the interiors
allowing the unique quality of the Florida
sun to be revealed in an architecture of sculpted roof-lights and projecting
sunshades. The colonnade, a path for
pedestrians, is defined by a lightweight
steel structure.
33
BARN AT STRAITSVIEW FARM
San juan Island, Washington
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BUILDING USE:
Situated on a working farm overlooking
the Strait of Juan de Fuca, this new,
multi-purpose barn accommodates a
farm office, wood and machine shops,
workspace for a veterinarian and
storage for a variety of large-scale
equipment and machinery. The 'L'
shaped configuration of the building
deflects the prevailing north-€astern
winds coming off the Pacific Ocean, and
shelters the adjacent work yard - a
square court defined by the building's
facade and a tall , slatted wood fence .
35
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
The new barn is located in a natural
clearing at the edge of a dense stand
of fir trees. This edge condition allows
for views from the work yard, through
the forest edge, out across a windswept
meadow and to the water below: the
foreground is darkly shaded, while
the distant water and mountains on the
western horizon are brightly lit. This
edge condition provides a view back
to the barn in which the reddish color
of its cedar cladding appears as a
luminous highlight against the shaded
green firs beyond .
37
38
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY:
This project employs the timber frame
tradition of the region in the service
of an expressive, sculptural architecture.
The resulting tectonic is dominated by
the elements of the timber frame, the
wood nailers and cedar slats of the
rolling doors. The building is sheathed
entirely in wood shingles and at the
scale of the site it is perceived as a
monolithic, faceted object. In this way,
the 'wrapped ' character of the building
allows for multiple readings at differing
scales and from changing vantage
points .
39
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS :
The construction system of the barn is
explicit. The structural frame of reclaimed
Douglas Fir timbers is sheathed with fir
nailers and clad with cedar shingles on
the walls and cedar shakes on the roof.
The frame rests on black pigmented
concrete column bases and a polished,
black concrete slab. Facing the work
yard, seven slatted, 16' x 9 '-6" rolling
cedar doors can be opened in fine
weather to link the interior of the barn
and the work yard to form one
contiguous space. Copper shields the
rolling door tracks and wheels from the
damp environment, and three-quarter
inch diameter painted steel crossbraces
give the frames lateral rigidity.
40
OFFICE FOR A PRIVATE INVESTOR
Bedminster, New jersey
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BUILDING USE :
The program includes a residential
apartment, which is inserted into the
second level of an existing house, and
an office space. The office occupies both
the first floor of the existing house and a
2,500 square foot addition along the
garden edge. This addition includes a
conference screening room, an office,
and spaces for two assistants, as well as
a kitchen and dining area.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
The 0.68 acre site is bisected by an
existing dry-joint masonry retaining wall
that extends perpendicularly from the
access road , south to a stand of mature
maple and ash trees. An existing 1930's
two-story gambrel roofed house and a
simple garage structure occupy the plinth
formed by the retaining wall. The
remaining half of the site is currently
unoccupied .
43
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY:
Trad itional office spaces tend to reinforce
entrenched modes of thought and
behavior. This 'home-office' proposes an
environment that resists the expectations
implied by the existing context and by
conventional typological notions of house
and office . The existing house is treated ·
as a foil to the addition . The arch itectural
order of the addition contrasts with the
existing house. The 'L' shaped plan of
the addition is developed around a
procession between the flat, rectangular
and introverted space of the entry court,
and the theater-like, extroverted space of
the lawn and the garden . The conference
room and office spaces form an irregular
edge of shifting, nested volumes.
Elements such as the pivoting leaves of
the presentation wall and the stepped
bench engage the visitor and provide
opportunities to move out from the office
into the garden. The design seeks to
create a playful environment and
facilitate spontaneous, informal
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS:
The addition employs a pigmented
concrete base and occasional pigmented
walls . The wood frame is punctuated
with heavy timber and steel elements.
The roof and several walls are clad in
lead-coated copper. Interiors are finished
with inexpensive plywood, stone and
wood floors.
interaction with in a typology traditionally L characterized by formality and constraint. 1!:1 ===~=~
44
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URBAN RESIDENCE/GALLERY
West 22"d Street, New York, New York
West 22nd Street
BUILDING USE:
The program calls for a complex loft
renovation and the expansion of an
existing three-story industrial building to
create a new gallery, workspace and a
residence . The ground floor houses a
retail showroom for the fashion house
Comme des Garc;:ons. There is a studio
apartment/atelier on the second floor.
The third , fourth and open-air fifth floor
constitute the primary focus of the project
-a 5,500 square foot residential loft
built around an open courtyard garden .
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
The site is in Chelsea in the heart of
New York's emerging gallery district.
The design uses the built context of the
city as its site . The project establishes
a framework for a natural precinct in
response to the urban landscape.
47
Fourth Floor
1. bedroom 2. garden 3. upper gallery 4. playroom
0 t6 h
Third Floor 1. mudroom 2. kitchen 3. dining room 4. foyer 5. study 6. gallery 7. living room 8. family room 9. courtyard
48
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY:
The residence weaves sculptural form
and multi-leveled courtyards with a
latticework of steel and wooden trellises .
Interior rooms are arranged en filade.
Each interior space relates to this interior
progression, as well as to the landscape
of the courtyard and sky.
The public spaces occupy the lower
level ; private rooms are situated above.
Views onto and through the garden from
various vantage points create a series of
layered spaces that fuse interior and
exterior, urban and natural, sculptural
and organic. Upper-story balconies
adjacent to the bedrooms and rooftop
terraces heighten the sense of liminal
space between interior and exterior.
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS:
The design introduces both natural and
residential materials, including stucco,
plants and grass, to the industrial urban
landscape in order to create a human
scale within the existing footprint of the
building . The exterior palette extends
into and connects with that of the
interior.
49
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY VETERANS MEMORIAL
Columbus, Indiana
BUILDING USE:
The program of the invited competition
for this memorial called for design
proposals for a monument to honor the
one hundred and fifty six veterans from
the county who gave their lives in
twentieth century wars . The winning
design included a request for the
community to submit personal letters and
journals written by veterans and their
families which were incorporated into
the monument.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Located on a public lawn alongside the
existing Bartholomew County Courthouse
- a late nineteenth century empire style
building of brick and stone- the site is
flat and expansive. Scattered deciduous
trees form a high canopy which extends
diagonally across the site from southeast
to northwest. The Courthouse terminates
a new vehicular entrance into the town
of Columbus.
5 1
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY:
The design for the memorial originated
in a spatial idea which seeks a deep
emotional resonance with the community.
The space w ithin the field of the grid of
twenty-five limestone pillars creates an
intense separate world which viscerally
engages the viewer. The dense solitude
of this interior space contrasts with the
open, tranquil landscape of the public
lawn and the grid of flowering trees.
The grid of pillars creates a profound
and meditative space - a place of
solemnity which engenders a powerful
sense of communal gratitude to those
who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
The upward visual movement of the
columns, silhouetted by the sky, evokes a
sense of awe in response to the deeds of
others, as well as a sense of
participation in events which transcend
the individual and everyday experience.
52
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS:
The outer surfaces of the sixteen outer
most pillars are rough-cut limestone,
unmarked by text. The inner surfaces
of the outer layer of the pillars are
smooth and hold the names of the
veterans and the dates of their births
and deaths. The smooth surfaces of
the nine inner pillars carry texts which
describe the experiences of veterans
from each of the wars . They include
letters sent to fam ilies in the county,
journal entries, telegrams and articles
from newspapers. This sanctuary
solidifies past deeds within the
everyday contemporary culture of the
county and allows future generations
to understand the histories of their
families, county and country.
54
PROJECT CREDITS
Design Principals:
ATLANTIC CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Project Team:
Construction Manager: Structural Engineer: Civil Engineer: Mechanical/Electrical Engineer: Geotechnical Engineer: Acoustical Engineer: Client:
FLORIDA GULF COAST ART CENTER
Project Team:
Construction Manager:
Structural Engineer: MEP Eng ineer: Geotechnical Engineer:
Site Engineer: Client:
BARN AT STRAITSVIEW FARM Project Team: Building Contractor:
Craksman: Structural Engineer: landscape Designer
Client:
56
Maryann Thompson and Charles Rose
Tim Downing, Michael Grant, Joe MacDonald, Francisco Theboud, Warren Van Wees, Michael Breau, Frank Dill, Lisa Iwamoto, David Martin, Patrick Maguire, Carrie Johnson Epoch Properties (Winter Park, FL), Dean Sondroni, Superintendent Ocmulgee Associates Inc. (Ipswich, MA), Wayne King, Principal
Jerry K. Finley, P.E. (Port Orange, Fl) MEngineering (Columbus, OH), Shige Moroi, Brad Shaffer PSI-Jammal Associates Uacksonville, Fl) , Don Stites, Don Budnovich
Cambridge Acoustical (Cambridge, MA) Suzanne Fetscher, Executive Director Ted PoHer, former Executive Director
David Martin, Christopher Hoxie, Heidi Beebe, Brian Bell, Samantha Pearson, Franco Ghilardi, Erin Cowhey, Lori Sang, David Whitney, Nancy Staab Peter Brown Construction Co. (largo, FL) , Tito Vargas, Project Manager Ocmulgee Associates Inc. (Ipswich, MA), Wayne King, Principal Babes Associates (Moirland, Fl), Gus Babes, Jr., Principal
BTL Engineering Services, Inc. (Tampa, Fl), David Faulkner, Engineer
DSA Group, Inc. (Tampa, Fl), Jim Bryce, Engineer Florida Gull Coast Art Center, Ken Rollins, Director
David Martin S.B. Inc. (Friday Harbor, WA), Steve Bobb, Contractor Giovanni Guistina (Friday Harbor, WA) B&B Engineered Timber (Keene, NH), Ben Brungrober, Engineer Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (Cambridge, MA),
Michael Van Valkenburgh, Principal Witheld
OFFICE FOR A PRIVATE INVESTOR
Project Teom:
Landscape Architect:
Civil Engineer: Lighting Consultant:
Graphic Designer:
Client:
URBAN RESIDENCE/GALLERY
Project Teom:
Contractor: Mechanical Engineer:
Structural Engineer:
Code Consultant:
Client:
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY VETERANS MEMORIAL
Project Teom:
Contractor:
Landscape Architects:
Lighting:
Structural Engineer:
Consulting Engineer: Client:
Michael Grant, Lori Song, Faith Rose, Dono Weeder, Kotorino Edlund.Siorsky, Samontho Pearson, Nicholas Popaelthimiou, Julie Kline, Catherine Kuhnle
Wolter S. Corell, Jr. {Millington, NJ) Gladstone Design, Inc. {Gladstone, NJ). Ron Kennedy Fisher Morontz Renfro Stone {New York, NY],
Hank Forest, Project Monoger Chermoyeff ond Geismar Assoc., {New York, NY],
Tom Geismar, Principal David Teiger
Lori Sang, Christopher Hoxie, Franco Ghilordi, Heidi
Beebe, Nancy Stoob Higgins Construction {New York, NY], Terry Higgins Reynaldo C. Prego Consulting Engineers {New York, NY),
Reynaldo Prego, Principal Voiromides Georgeopalis Engineers {New York, NY). Angelo Georgeopalis, Principal Code Inc. , {New York, NY], Beth Lochtefeld Michael Weinstein
Michael Grant, Aileen Hsu, David Whitney, Julie Kline,
Dono Weeder Dunlop and Company, {Columbus, IN),
Chris Mulloy, Project Monoger Michael Van Volkenburgh Associates {Cambridge, MA). Michael Van Volkenburgh, Principal Schweppe Lighting Design, Inc. {Concord, MA),
D. Schweppe, Principal Ocmulgee Associates Inc. {Ipswich, MA), Wayne King, Principal Erdman Anthony Associates {Boston, MA) Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans Committee
57
APPENDICES
MARYANN THOMPSON + CHARLES B. ROSE
HONORS + AWARDS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SELECTED COMPETITIONS +EXHIBITIONS
GRADUATE DESIGN STUDIO
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
MARYANN THOMPSON
Education
Teach ing
1998
1998
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design,
Master of Architecture, Degree with Distinction and
with the AlA Certificate of Merit
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design,
Master of Landscape Architecture,
Degree with LeHer of Commendation
Princeton University, B.A. Architecture,
Magna cum Laude
Visiting Critic, Department of Architecture,
Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
Distinguished Visiting Critic from Practice,
College of Architecture and Urban Planning,
University of Michigan
1997 Visiting Critic, Department of Architecture,
Rhode Island School of Design
1993-95 Visiting Critic, Department of Landscape Architecture,
Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
1993 Visiting Critic, School of Architecture,
Northeastern University
1992 Visiting Adjunct Professor, School of Architecture,
Rice University
60
Selected Lectures
1997 The Figured Void: The Recent Work of Thompson and Rose Architects, Roger Williams
School of Architecture Lecture Series
1997 Recent Work, Northeastern University
Department of Architecture Lecture Series
1 997 Five Recent Projects, The School of Art and
Architecture, The University of MossachuseHs,
Amherst
1997 Five Recent Projects, Architectural League of
New York 'Emerging Voices' Lecture Series
1992 Recent Work, Boston Society of Architects
1991 A Fresh Look at the Structural Theories of Le Corbusier, Department of Architecture,
University of California, Berkeley
CHARLES B. ROSE
Education
Teaching
1998
1998
1997
1997
1996
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design,
Moster of Architecture, Degree with Distinction
Princeton University, B.A. Architecture,
Summa cum laude
Visiting Critic, Deportment of Arch itecture,
Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
Distinguished Visiting Critic from Practice,
College of Architecture and Urban Planning,
University of Michigan
Mabie P. Marsh Visiting Professor, School of
Arch itecture, Renssolear Polytechnic Institute
Visiting Critic, Deportment of Architecture,
Rhode Island School of Design
Visiting Associate Professor, Deportment of
Architecture, MossochuseHs Institute of Technology
1 993 lecturer, 19th and 20th Century Architecture,
Deportment of Architecture, Northeastern University
1992 Visiting Adjunct Professor, School of Architecture,
Rice University
1991 Visiting Assistant Professor, School of Architecture,
Rice University
Selected lectures
1998
1997
Six Projects, College of Architecture and
Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Process: Arlontic Center for the Arts, University of Florida Deportment of Arch itecture,
H. Dean Rowe Memorial lecture Series
1997 William Owen Jones Endowed Lecture, University of Virg inia School of Architecture
1997
1992
1992
Five Recent Projects, School of Architecture,
Renssolear Polytechnic Institute
Recent Work, School of Architecture,
Rice University
Recent Work, Deportment of Architecture
and landscape Architecture,
North Dakota State University
1990 Recent Work, School of Architecture,
Rice University
6 1
HONORS + AWARDS
1998 American lnstiMe of Architects, National 1996 Baston Society of Architects, Unbuilt
Young Architects Citation Architecture Award, Bartholomew County
Veterans Memorial
1998 Building Stone lnstiMe, Tucker Award of Excellence, Bartholomew County Veterans 1996 Boston Society of Architects, Design Honor
Memorial Award, Witchbrook Meadow House
1997 American lnstii\Jte of Architects, National, 1996 Building Stone lnstiMe, Tucker Award of
Honor Award for Design Excellence, A~antic Excellence, Dormitories at Kenyon College
Center lor the Arts
1995 American Wood Council, Honor Award,
1997 American Wood Council, National Honor A~antic Center lor the Arts
Award, Barn at Straitsview Farm
1995 American lnstii\Jte of Architects, New England
1997 American lnstii\Jte of Architects, New England Honor Award for Design Excellence,
Honor Award for Design Excellence, Dormitories at Kenyon College
Atlantic Center lor the Arts
1995 Progressive Architecture Award: Citation,
1997 American Institute of Architects: Business Atlantic Center lor the Arts
Week/ Architectural Record Business Design Award, Offices of Gemini Consulting 1994 Boston Society of Architects, Design Honor
Award, Dormitories at Kenyon College
1997 Boston Society of Architects, Design Honor Award, Bartholomew County Veterans 1993 Boston Society of Architects, Unbuilt
Memorial Architecture Award, A~antic Center lor
the Arts
1997 I. D. Magazine Annual Design Review,
Design Distinction Award, A~antic Center 1990 American Wood Council, Honor Award,
lor the Arts Horsbrook School
1997 Architectural league of New York, 1988 Frederick Sheldon Traveling Fellowship,
"Emerging Voices" lecture Series Harvard University !Maryann Thompson)
1996 Boston Society of Architects, Design Honor 1987 Ago Khan Travel Grant, MassachuseHs
Award, A~antic Center lor the Arts lnstii\Jte of Technology and Harvard
University !Maryann Thompson)
1996 Boston Society of Architects, Unbuilt Architecture Award, Florida Gulf Coast 1987 Fulbright Scholarship !Charles Rose)
Arts Center
62
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jodidio, Philip, Contemporary American Architects: Volume IV, [Toschen : New York, 1998(.
Stungo, Naomi , Architecture in Wood, (Collman & King ,
1998(.
Stein, Koren, "Thompson and Rose's Equipment Building
in Rural Washington Stole Demonstrates thot there con be
Elegance in Utility," Architectural Record, June 1998.
Curtis, W ill iam J.R., "American Institute of Architects 1998
Honors ond Awards," Architectural Record, May 1998.
Darrow, Carl, "Borns East ond West: Straitsview Barn"
Wood Design and Building, Autumn 1997.
Nussbaum, Bruce, "Blueprints for Business: Business Week
Architectural Record Awards," Business Week, November 1997.
Stein, Karen, "Good Design is Good Business: Business
Week/ Arch itectural Record Awards," Architectural Record, October 1997.
Kroloff, Reed, "Columns of Memory, • Architecture, September 1997.
"Design Distinction: A~antic Center far the Arts, leeper
Studio Complex," ID Magazine Annual Design Review Edition, July 1997.
Kliment, Stephen A. ,"Vineyard Variations: Contemporary
Shingle Style on Martha's Vineyard," Architectural Digest, August 1997.
Stein, Karen,"Project Diary: leeper Studio Complex, A~antic
Center for the Arts," Architectural Record, June 1997.
Podjen, Elizabeth S., "Thompson and Rose Arch itects,"
Art New England, May/ June 1997.
londecker, Heidi, "Husbands ond Wives: Thompson and
Rose Architects," Architecture, June 1996.
Padjen, Elizabeth S., "The Design Process," Art New England, February 1996.
Rodriguez, Alicia, ed., "Reinventing the Square: A New
Focal Point for Columbus, Indiana," Landscape Architecture, February 1996.
"Architects Pay Tribute to Veterans with a Field of Pillars,"
Architectural Record, November 1995.
"42nd Annual P /A Awards. Citation : The A~antic Center
for the Arts," Progressive Architecture, January 1995.
"Modern-Gothic Dorms for a 19th Century Campus,"
Progressive Architecture, December 1994.
"Culture Comes to Smyrna Beach," Architectural Record, November 1994.
Hoyt, Charles K., "Dorms and Traditions: The Woodland
Dormitories, Kenyon College," Architectural Record, November 1994.
Boyes, Ke nneth, Living Architecture, (Anthrosophic Press:
New York, 1994(.
Rose, Charles and Thompson, Maryann, "Designer's Diary:
Imagining Art in the Florida Jungle," IN SITE, March 1994.
"Arts Center in the Florida Jungle," Progressive Architecture, February 1994.
Sanoff, Henry, School Design, (Von Nostrand Reinhold:
New York, 1994(.
Freiman, Zivo, "Young Architects" Progressive Architecture, July 1990.
63
SELECTED COMPETITIONS
1995 Winner, Monument lor the Town of
Addison, Texas. Thompson and Rose
Architects with M ichael Von Volkenburgh
Associates, Landscape Architects,
and Mel Chin , artist.
1995 Winner, Bartholomew County Veterans
Memorial, Columbus, Indiana .
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
"Equal Partners: Men and Women Principals in Contemporary Architectural Practice, • Smith College,
Helen Searing and Suzonnoh Fobing, curators,
Smith College Museum of Art, September 1998.
"site/ architecture: recent work by Thompson and Rose Architects, • University of Michigan, College of
Architecture +Urban Planning, January/ February 1998.
64
GRADUATE DESIGN STUDIO
Maryann Thompson and Charles Rose worked with a
graduate architecture design studio tn collaboration
with Vtsiting Assistant Professor Michael Grant during
the 1998 winter semester ot the University of Michigan.
The following students participated in that studio:
lt Mtn Ching
Sorawut Donudomki1
Kathleen Doyle
Ryu Kawai
Heather Krafka
Eric lee
jenmfer Muse
Randolph Pease
jeffrey Pretfer
Jo Ann Render
Chnstine S. Rosenberg
juthathip Techachumrean
Sophia Terrel
Ntrandorn Tongaroon
Whttney lynn Wood Whinnery
Randall Whinnery Ill
collogroph punl Rondo11 Whmnery Ill
This studio oHempted to explore strategies resistant to recent,
and essentially reductive, conceptions of architecture which
devalue the phenomenal experience of built form in favor of
a largely conceptual, languag&<lerived understanding of
meaning in architecture. These strategies reunite the intuitive
pursuit of spatial morphologies and the experiential
phenomena of architecture with an on-going and
complementary critique of the conditions of use which they
create. Central to the studio was an understanding of
architectural invention as a process which moves bock and
forth between an intuitive, empirical mode of exploration
through making, and a reasoned, critical analysis of the
artifacts thus produced.
The program for this studio was a community art center of
modest proportion, sited a short distance from the College
of Architecture + Urban Planning at the University of
Michigan. The art center was to serve both the local public
school system and the community at large, with studios for
print-making , pointing, and sculpture .
The 'hands-on' learning that takes place at such an
institution proceeds from specific experience to general
knowledge, and as such it contrasts with the more
'conceptual ' learning experience of a traditional academic
curriculum. Inspired by this observation, the studio engaged
in the production of a series of monoprints as an integral
port of the design process . The studio's first exercise was
the production of an analytic collagraph print based on an
observed site condition . These prints were then critiqued
and transformed through a model-making process which
explored a particular material, i.e. lead, wood, plaster, etc.
A building proposal and the Iorge scale development of
an element of building enclosure, a door, window, or wall
section, followed .
M ichael Grant
Visiting Assistant Professor 1997-98 Studio Critic
65
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As the design and making of architecture is only mode
possible by the energy and time that is contributed by
many different people over time so the preparation of
this document has been realized with the help and
co-operation of numerous individuals.
The Dean, faculty and staff of the College of Architecture
+ Urban Planning hove contributed in many ways
through their patience, hard work and reliable support.
Without the students however linle would hove been
possible. Many students worked to prepare the
exhibition site/architecture, Recent work by Thompson and Rose, in the College Gallery in January, 1998.
Thanks go to them all and especially to John Comozzi,
Brion Reboin, Stacy Cohill, Betsy George ond to Ph ilip
lee who rebuilt models which were reduced to
matchwood in transit. Others have worked hard in both
the studio and the seminar room to probe the details of
the architectural directions that Maryann Thompson and
Charlie Rose set out. Michael Grant, a former member
of the Thompson and Rose office who was appointed
Visiting Assistant Professor in Architecture at the
University of Michigan for the 1997/98 academic year,
helped to direct the graduate design studio with
inspiration and tenacity. Without his splendid efforts it is
also quite possible that this document would not exist.
The members of the design studio are listed separately,
as are those students who worked with extraordinary
care to develop and distill o series of long conversations
with Thompson and Rose into an important and
informative port of this publication .
66
Special thanks are due to Assistant Professor Michael
Grant and graduate student Simone GheHi for
developing some initial ideas for the book. However,
it is Caleb Clause! and Carla Swickeroth , students
from the undergraduate and graduate programs in
architecture at Michigan, who have been central Ia
the conception and real ization of th is publication .
Both hove worked tirelessly, yet with inspiration and
patience, to make it elegant, legible and coherent.
Maryann Thompson and Charles Rose have given their
time and resources to this collaboration with the College
w ith extraordinary generosity. The photographer Chuck
Choi generously made his images available for th is
publication . However it is the commitment Ia excellence
in the practice of architecture which the whale office of
Thompson and Rose has made through their outstanding
work over the last six years that has provided the
inspiration for this publication - without that work there
would have been no basis for our collaboration .
PUBLICATIONS
The Mich1gon Arch1tecture Papers
MAP 4 · Thompson and Rose Architects
MAP 3 · TEN Arquitectos
MAP 2 · Allies and Morrison
MAP 1 · Roll! Book
The john D1nkeloo i\1\emonollectures
Studio Granda
Dreams and Other Realities
Rafael Vii\oly The Making of Public Space
Richard Horden Light Architecture
Patkau Architects
lnve5tigotions into the Particular
The Raoul Wollenberg lectures
Richard Sennett The Spaces of Democracy
Michael Sorkin
TroHic in Democracy
Vincent Scully The Architecture of Community
Daniel Libeskind Traces of the Unborn
We are especially gratelulta Chuck Chai lor allowing
the College to use his photographs in this publication
and to Christopher Campbell lor his invaluable help and
line photographs.
Chuck Choi : pages 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 24, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 n, 50, 51 . 52, 54, 55, 58.
Ivory Serra : page 12. R1chard Serra, Torqued Ellipses, 1996/ 97; lnstallallon View, D1a Center lor the Arts,
New York, 09/ 25/ 97-06/ 14/ 98.
Thompson and Rose: pages 10, 26, 40 BR, 46, 47.
Christopher Campbell: pages 43, 45.
67