International Wood International Wood 2004 | Page 22

Steamed Beech brings a clean grain and
warm color to the lobby of Block 89's
Doty Street lobby.
We learned about Makoré on that trip – it comes from very large
trees, so there’s a lot of consistent production of veneer out of one
tree – and we knew then we wanted to use it, even though we didn’t
really have a place for it yet.”
One corner of Block 89 is still being planned. Valerio Dewalt
Train is designing that building as well, and Jennerjahn says he’s
looking at a variety of other exotic woods to create yet another
distinctive lobby space.
Urban Land Interests makes a policy of encouraging creative
design, and several Block 89 tenants have opted to make a
statement with imported wood species.
LEGISLATIVE FISCAL BUREAU
consistency and the horizontality in its linear grain. It’s also a very
deep, rich wood, and added a nice visual terminus to the lobby.
We accented that wall with randomly staggered half-inch
segments of aluminum, which protrude horizontally by varying
degrees, giving it a lot of visual interest and nice light play.”
“The Bee’s-wing Eucalyptus grain runs vertically, while the
Makoré grain runs horizontally,” says Carley. “That, with the color
differences between the walls and the lighting, create a lot of
contrast in this space,” says Carley. “There are actually multiple
walls with Makoré, going back into another elevator bay and leading
to the service areas of the building. The Eucalyptus wall actually
curves and goes through a glass wall separating a bank immediately
off the lobby, carrying that theme right into the tenant space.”
Both the Bee’s-wing Eucalyptus and Makoré are utilized in the
Main Street building’s elevator cabs as well.
“One thing that’s quite unique about Block 89 is that the
elevator lobbies on each floor have their own character,” says
Jennerjahn. “Normally in a commercial office building, the
common spaces have a palette that extends from the main lobby
through all the elevator lobbies. In this case the developer really
wanted each floor to have its own distinct character. This adds
variety, of course, and gives each tenant their own place, their own
‘address’ within the building.
“Many of our clients are tech-based companies who tend to
want more metal and glass, so it was a real pleasure to investigate
and work with a lot of different wood species. The wood-shopping
trip was a real eye-opener, and it definitely expanded the palette.
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IMPORTED WOOD
Bowen Williamson Zimmerman Inc. had originally worked on the
offices of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in Block 89 in the late
1980s. When it came time to expand into some adjacent space,
architect Mark Engman was called back to task.
“The building has a history of embracing the use of exotic
woods, some I wasn’t even familiar with,” says Engman. “Velario
Dewalt Train had set a sophisticated tone with their work in the
public spaces, so it seemed only natural to use African Mahogany
to continue that feel from the elevator lobby, along a 60-foot wall,
and into the new reception area and conference room.”
“BWZ echoed the ‘brick effect’ from the lobbies,” says Carley,
“but they used a highly figured Mahogany with a natural finish and
a fair amount of aluminum. It really shimmers. The doors have
diagonal stripes on them, part aluminum, part figured Mahogany.
We also used the Mahogany for a huge conference table, cabinetry,
and the reception area.”
“Carley, Wood is very good to work with, very precise, and when
we had questions regarding anything to do with working with the
wood, they just came in and took care of it,” says Engman. “This
project was a little bit unusual in the sense that we had a freer
hand with the material selections. We tried to take advantage of
this in an intelligent way.”