3rd YEAR STUDIO PROJECT
CULTURA
The most important tenants for industrialage factories were uncompromising structural
efficiency and day lighting. These forces drove
the strong structural rhythm and large open floor
areas made possible by concentrating structural
elements towards the exterior. Float glass was not
yet invented so spun glass was used. This method
of glass production limited the size of each pane
so several panes were combined in to one frame
to create the signature gridded windows that have
become a feature of warehouse living.
Cultura employs a superstructure to hoist
programmatic blocks from the ground plane
allowing for a vertically stratified ground floor
with multiple points of access from grade in to
separate streams of programming allowing for
distinct separation of high-end private living
from public venues including retail and dining.
The strong gridded pattern of the fenestration
connotes warehouse windows while the
unforgiving structure becomes the main formal
gesture harkening to an industrial lifestyle.
Site Demand:
Movement
Site Demand:
Movem ent, Shopping, Social
Interactions
Site Demand:
Movement, Shopping, High Level
Social Interactions, Meeting Node,
Deliveries
LIVELY ENVIRONMENT
Site Demand:
Movement, Shopping, High Level Social
Interactions, Meeting Node, Deliveries,
Services, Egress, Daily Comings and
Goings,
UNCOMFORTABLE CONGESTION
Retail
Restaurant
Retail
Residents
Restaurant
Retail
Residents
Restaurant
VERTICALY STRATIFIED “GROUND”
FLOOR
Retail
24 | CULTURA
The design for this residential tower asked how
the successful model of retrofitting warehouses
with loft spaces could be adapted for a new build
project. The intention was to not simply copy the
layout of lofted units and fit them in to a typical
modernist glass tower, but to distill the aesthetic
strengths of warehouse-living and apply those
values to the design of a new building.