Page 40 - Winter_2020

Lab/classroom. Note the open doorway allowing a direct connection to the outdoors.

“The symbiotic relationship between public art, in plant species found on site, and the seasonal colors of
building performance, ecological connectivity, and the natural environment of the wetlands into the heart
human comfort found in the water garden is the of the building.”
result of a holistic collaboration between Michael Although the building was opened for the 2020
Singer Studio and our design team,” Jones said. “By Winter/Spring semester, in-person use of the facility
integrating rainwater capture and filtration with was curtailed when the pandemic prompted the campus
both interior and exterior ecology, we reinforced the to shift to virtual learning. Even so, “comments have
building’s performance as a natural system. Excess been enthusiastic about the level of natural daylight
water activates the water feature and the surrounding and views, and the transparency into the learning
bioswales, and is kept out of the adjacent watershed. environment of the classrooms and labs,” Fredlund
The Michael Singer Studio integrated familiar patterns, said. “I’m particularly proud of the level of daylighting
both organic and manmade, found in the building’s achieved throughout the building, enhanced by the
academic program to create a strong connection and interior transparency of the labs and classrooms that
personal identity to the water garden. An interior put science and learning on display.”
garden wall brings the outdoors in and activates the Jones enjoys “how the building nurtures a sense
adjacent stairway and study area.” of discovery and exploration as you move through it.
The building’s interior spaces, the architects said, Materials, daylight, and views work in collaboration
“incorporate design strategies that reference the natural to create a wide variety of human-scaled spaces and
world. Green-colored glass, reclaimed wood siding, experiences throughout the building. I enjoy the
and living green walls mimic biological environments. tactility and sweeping form of the wood wall around
The patterning near the vertical circulation of the the auditorium, the relief and joy you feel when
building alludes to the vertical circulation of water and entering the atrium, the excitement you feel when
nutrients through trees, while colors and patterns on traversing a bridge four or five stories in the air, the
walls and carpets were chosen to add visual interest energy you feel when looking in on academic and
and evoke a sense of natural order and comfort. innovative collaboration, and the solitude of finding
Materials, furniture, and [the interior] color palette your favorite spot within the wide variety of spatial
were designed to celebrate the variability of color found scales, exposures, views, and daylight.”

38 A HEALTHY REGARD FOR DESIGN