Thirty Doors

Sited at the core of a newly developed urban center that is replacing a derelict shopping mall, the pavilion is the focal gathering space amongst a splash pool, stage / seating structure, and a soon to be erected open market hall. Designed for year-round use, the pavilion is composed of three programmatic elements. The first and primary element is an event gathering space intended to be open and welcoming to the public, yet capable of being closed and secured. The north end of the building contains four gender neutral restrooms supporting the event/gathering space and adjacent plaza. The third element, a mechanical room housing pumps and electrical equipment for the plaza and fountain.The skin, a flexible enclosure of wood sliding barn doors and offset pivot doors, may be adjusted to accommodate the wide range of porosity required by various uses. From fully open to fully secured the skin adapts as needed and changes the openness and massing of the building. Commissioned to be a low maintenance public facility, the client wanted warm welcoming finishes in a building highly flexible in use, while striving for LEED Silver performance, and maintaining a strict budget. The project requisites were met through carefully researched and tested selection of building systems and efficient overall detailing. Structurally the building isa hybrid mix of polished face & glazed CMU block, structural steel post and beams, and lightweight pre-fabricated wood trusses. Sliding walls of progressively louvered untreated Ipe woodslats form the enclosing vertical envelope, and is roofed with standing seam metal panels to complete an assembly of low maintenance, authentic materials. The warm larch wood ceiling glows in the evening light acting as a lantern pulling visitors to the heart of the plaza.