Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture

264 Pages·2009·25.4 MB·English

by  Scott Murray

Contemporary
Curtain
Wall
Architecture

Contemporary
Curtain
Wall
Architecture
Scott Murray Princeton Architectural Press
New York
Contents
7 Introduction 81 Part III: Case Studies
83 Introduction
8 Part I: A History of the Curtain Wall as Concept and
Construct 86 The New 42nd Street Studios
10 1: The Chicago Frame and the Dilemma of the Wall Platt Byard Dovell White
New York, New York, United States, 2000
24 2: Visions of a Transparent Future
30 3: The Mid-Twentieth-Century Curtain Wall 94 Melvin J. and Claire Levine Hall
KieranTimberlake Associates
48 4: New Directions and New Priorities
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 2001
100 One Omotesando
64 Part II: Performance and Technique
Kengo Kuma and Associates
66 5: Curtain Wall System Design
Tokyo, Japan, 2003
74 6: Building Envelope As Selective Filter
106 William J. Clinton Presidential Center
Polshek Partnership Architects
Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, 2004
112 Green-Wood Mausoleum
Platt Byard Dovell White
Brooklyn, New York, United States, 2004
118 LVMH Osaka
Kengo Kuma and Associates
Osaka, Japan, 2004
126 Seattle Public Library
Office for Metropolitan Architecture
and LMN Architects
Seattle, Washington, United States, 2004
132 Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular
and Biomolecular Research
architectsAlliance and Behnisch Architekten
Toronto, Canada, 2005
140 Torre Agbar
Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Barcelona, Spain, 2005
148 Torre Cube 222 United States Federal Building
Estudio Carme Pinós Morphosis
Guadalajara, Mexico, 2005 San Francisco, California, United States, 2007
154 Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vison 230 Yale Sculpture Building
Neutelings Riedijk Architects KieranTimberlake Associates
Hilversum, the Netherlands, 2006 New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 2007
162 Skirkanich Hall 236 The Cathedral of Christ the Light
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 2006 Oakland, California, United States, 2008
168 Trutec Building 244 100 Eleventh Avenue
Barkow Leibinger Architekten Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Seoul, Korea, 2006 New York, New York, United States, 2009
176 Biomedical Science Research Building 250 166 Perry Street
Polshek Partnership Architects Asymptote
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2006 New York, New York, United States, 2009
184 ATLAS Building
Rafael Viñoly Architects 257 Acknowledgments
Wageningen, the Netherlands, 2006 259 Bibliography
262 Illustration Credits
190 Blue Tower
Bernard Tschumi Architects
New York, New York, United States, 2007
198 The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Steven Holl Architects
Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 2007
206 The New York Times Building
Renzo Piano Building Workshop and
FXFOWLE Architects
New York, New York, United States, 2007
214 Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
Krueck + Sexton Architects
Chicago, Illinois, United States, 2007
Published by Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Princeton Architectural Press Murray, Scott (Scott Charles), 1971–
37 East Seventh Street Contemporary curtain wall architecture / Scott Murray.
New York, New York 10003 p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-56898-797-2 (alk. paper)
For a free catalog of books, call 1.800.722.6657. 1. Architecture, Modern. 2. Curtain walls. I. Title.
Visit our website at www.papress.com. NA2940.M88 2009
721’.2—dc22
© 2009 Princeton Architectural Press 2009007097
All rights reserved
Printed and bound in China Special thanks to: Nettie Aljian, Bree Anne Apperley, Sara Bader,
12 11 10 09 4 3 2 1 First edition Nicola Bednarek, Janet Behning, Becca Casbon, Carina Cha,
Penny (Yuen Pik) Chu, Carolyn Deuschle, Russell Fernandez,
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any Pete Fitzpatrick, Wendy Fuller, Jan Haux, Clare Jacobson, Aileen
manner without written permission from the publisher, Kwun, Nancy Eklund Later, Linda Lee, John Myers, Katharine
except in the context of reviews. Myers, Lauren Nelson Packard, Dan Simon, Andrew Stepanian,
Jennifer Thompson, Paul Wagner, Joseph Weston, and Deb
Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify Wood of Princeton Architectural Press
owners of copyright. Errors or omissions will be corrected —Kevin C. Lippert, publisher
in subsequent editions.
The author gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the
Editor: Laurie Manfra Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and
Design: The Map Office, New York the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign.
Introduction
Recent years have seen a growing interest among contemporary architects in the
innovative use of the curtain wall, which can be broadly defined as the non-load-bearing
building envelope that typically hangs like a curtain from a structural frame. In 2008,
a New York Times Magazine article on the proliferation of high-profile buildings with
custom architectural enclosure systems declared, “We are living in a golden age…for
facades.”1 Indeed, curtain walls are transforming not only the aesthetic experience of
cities but also the technical performance of buildings with respect to energy efficiency
and occupant comfort. In contemporary practice, the curtain wall presents a microcosm
of issues important to architecture: climate-responsiveness and energy use, intelligent
utilization of resources, advancements in digital design and fabrication, and the timeless
desire to create buildings and spaces that function well and engage the imagination.
This book aims to explore the curtain wall as both concept and construct, placing
recent work by leading architects into the contexts of past and future developments.
The curtain wall remains one of the most enduring concepts of modern architectural
theory. From its origins in the late nineteenth century, the non-load-bearing facade has been
an influential component of each phase of modernism, driving innovation in response
to new challenges. The phenomenon of the curtain wall—like its technological impetus,
the frame structure—is ubiquitous and malleable. Through the articulation of materials
and parts, it can make a building anonymous or iconic; it can make it an energy hog or an
energy generator; and it can profoundly influence how people experience and use archi-
tecture, to name just a few of the issues that architects face when addressing the broad
implications of material selection, detailing, and fabrication methodology.
Developments in contemporary architectural design are best understood within their
respective historical and technological contexts. Therefore, this book is organized into three
parts, corresponding to history, technology, and contemporary design. “Part I: A History
of the Curtain Wall as Concept and Construct” traces key milestones, from initial con-
ceptions to subsequent developments in modern architecture. “Part II: Performance
and Technique” discusses the materials and methods currently influencing the design,
fabrication, and installation of curtain wall systems. “Part III: Case Studies” provides
analyses of twenty-four significant buildings completed since 2000.
1 Arthur Lubow, “Face Value,” New York Times Magazine, June 8, 2008, 48–52.
Essay Title 8
Part I:
A History of
the Curtain Wall
as Concept
and Construct
1 2 3
The Visions of a The Mid-
Chicago Transparent Twentieth
Frame Future Century
and the Curtain
Dilemma Wall
of the
Wall
4
New Directions
and Priorities
Part I: A History of the Curtain Wall as 1100
Concept and Construct
1
The Chicago Frame
and the Dilemma
of the Wall
1.1
Construction of the
Reliance Building’s
structural frame,
August 1894
1.1