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Design Vault Ep. 18 The Lively with John Zimmer
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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John has been a practicing architect for over thirty years. He combines a passion for design with a deep knowledge of construction technologies, building codes, and project management.
John has taught a senior-level design studio at Cornell and has been a guest design critic at both Cornell and Parsons. John has designed a variety of award-winning public and private sector works that range in size from whole city blocks to small studio apartments. His resume includes dozens of cultural, educational, commercial, and residential projects, and is balanced between ground-up new construction and renovations. Guided by a belief that the best results are achieved when equal attention is paid to both concept and craft, his process is open, flexible, collaborative, and tailored to suit different clients’ particular needs.
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Jersey City’s liveliest neighborhood is the Powerhouse Arts District. It’s no coincidence that luxury rental, The Lively, offering studios to three-bedrooms, is named so, given the breadth of cultural, recreational, and social activities taking place inside and outside the building. In fact, the Nimbus Dance Company is housed within the mixed-use podium and is situated behind a glass curtain wall along with a 150-seat black box theater, dance studio, rehearsal space, and triple-height lobby that doubles as an event space. The top floor of the tower is equally active and offers resort-like amenities, including a fitness room, communal dining space, library, game room, lounge, co-working space, children’s playroom, roof deck with pool and dining areas. The building is distinguished by its ivory brick and glass facade accented by a bronze frame motif. The façade exudes its own energy created by the multi-story window bands that are arranged in a syncopated pattern.
The Lively
Designed by Fogarty Finger
Read Case StudyTRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;02 - 00;00;05;13
Doug Pat (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;15 - 00;00;34;07
John Zimmer (JZ)
And they had this requirement for the black box theater. You know, the project came with this with its approval, but it got a zoning bonus for having the theater in the base of extra height. It was a give back to the community that was written into the zoning. And we always knew it was going to be a theater and we always knew it was going to be for a nonprofit arts group.
And that arts program, as part of the building was in the DNA of the project from the very beginning and informed a lot of the decisions moving forward became part of the personality of the building throughout, not just the theater itself.
00;00;34;10 - 00;02;37;20
DP
This is my guest, John Zimmer. I'll share more about him shortly. In this episode from The Design Vault, we highlight John's project in Jersey City, New Jersey, called The Lively. The Lively is a mixed use 18 story tower in Jersey City's Powerhouse arts district. The building features residential living situated above retail and public art spaces. The entry portals at the base define the black box theater and residential portions of the building.
Double and triple height lobbies open up to the street through curtained glass walls at the base. The building's deep and varied openings and bronze windows and frames give a wonderful complexity to an otherwise familiar building form. The structure features a custom white brick with darker mortar, which gives the edifice a warm residential appearance. The bricks well scaled modularity complements the organized and complex facade.
The project's esthetic and exterior elevations are reserved yet elaborate, familiar but novel, unpretentious, yet elegant. Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is Design Vault. John is a partner and director at Fogarty Finger Architecture and Interiors in New York City. He's a graduate of Cornell University's School of Architecture. He's been practicing for over 20 years. He focuses on design, construction technologies, building codes and project management at the firm.
John spent the early part of his career in San Francisco. He later moved to New York City, where he worked for architectural firms and owned a small practice. He designed a wide variety of award-winning public and private sector works that range in size from studio apartments to city blocks. His resumé includes dozens of cultural, educational, commercial and residential projects and is balanced between new construction and renovations.
So welcome, John. Nice to have you with us today. So tell us a little bit about Fogarty Finger Architecture in New York City.
00;02;37;25 - 00;03;42;16
JZ
Sure. Thank you for having me. Pleasure to be here. So Fogarty Finger was founded just 20 years ago, pretty much on the nose. We're celebrating our 20th anniversary, and it was founded by two SOM alumni, one of whom Chris Fogarty was a kind of ground up corn shell guy at SOM. And the other Robert Finger was commercial interiors.
They got together and that basic structure has kind of defined the DNA of the firm ever since. It's very much a firm that offers both ground up architecture and interiors, and you'll find many firms that offer one or the other, but not both and not both in equal proportions. So our firm is very serious about both. The firm is about 130 people right now, has grown a lot in the last ten years.
The size of the projects has grown a lot, and I think that's a testament to the work we've been doing, but also the attitude of client service that comes initially from Chris and Robert and from SOM. just trying to deliver for our clients the product that they need while at the same time creating an architecture that satisfies us.
00;03;42;23 - 00;03;44;13
DP
And what kind of projects do you guys take?
00;03;44;19 - 00;04;19;25
JZ
On the ground up side? We're happy to take a look at anything. Most of our portfolio is multi-family residential, although we have a handful of commercial office buildings as well. We do building repositioning on all the ground up stuff. We also offer the interiors as well on the commercial interior side, and I don't work on that side of the office, but they do work for some of the largest landlords in town and do both test fits and build the suit spaces.
There's a strong hospitality element developing, so really a multi-disciplinary practice looking at a lot of different project types.
00;04;19;27 - 00;04;21;12
DP
And you guys have more than one office.?
00;04;21;19 - 00;04;27;06
JZ
We do. There's an office in Atlanta and also a small office in Boston as well.
00;04;27;10 - 00;04;29;11
DP
And where are you guys located in New York City?
00;04;29;17 - 00;04;35;23
JZ
We're in Tribeca on Walker Street. Been there for ten years or so. Eight years, something like that.
00;04;36;00 - 00;04;38;09
DP
So what's your role in the office currently?
00;04;38;11 - 00;04;53;05
JZ
So I'm a director. We are divided into somewhat of a studio system, a loose studio system, and there are two ground up studios. I lead one of them. I have a team of about 20 people. I'm involved in all aspects of the projects from day one to CFO.
00;04;53;07 - 00;04;58;14
DP
Basically, I would imagine your hours are pretty long with people working for you.
00;04;58;16 - 00;05;05;12
JZ
They still are, although obviously there is a team of very hardworking people with me that put in even longer hours than I do.
00;05;05;14 - 00;05;12;08
DP
So let's dig in and talk about the building. Tell us about The Lively in Jersey City. How did your office get the project?
00;05;12;10 - 00;05;50;20
JZ
The project had gotten a preliminary approval with a different owner and a different architect. The people that became our client, when they took on the project, looked at the planning and also the facades. But I would have to say more than anything, the planning of the building and thought it was problematic. It's a difficult site to do residential floorplans and it's got an acute corner there at one.
So, challenging site to get efficient residential layouts and we put an alternative plan in front of them that really increased the efficiency of the building and the commodious ness of the residential layouts, basically.
00;05;50;23 - 00;05;52;28
DP
So it wasn't a competition to get the project?
00;05;53;06 - 00;05;59;16
JZ
It wasn't a competition, it was an invited RFP, But I think it was the strength of the proposal that we put forward that got us the job.
00;05;59;18 - 00;06;02;08
DP
So could you give me a little history of the location?
00;06;02;11 - 00;06;55;27
JZ
Sure. The Powerhouse arts district in Jersey City is so named because there is a somewhat iconic Powerhouse there. It had been an industrial area that was targeted for redevelopment, and they had design standards for the entire district that were meant to maintain that character, not necessarily industrial, but loft style focus on the arts. The entire district has a strong focus on the arts, which is part of the reason we have the black box theater in the lively.
It's experienced a lot of new development over the course of the last decade and it's pretty great today. When I first started going over to the Powerhouse ten years ago. I get out of meetings and the sidewalks would be deserted. And today it feels like Brooklyn. It feels like the East Village. I mean, it is incredibly, for want of a better word, lively.
So it's a great neighborhood now, and it's all happened in the last decade. It's an exciting thing to have been a part of, honestly.
00;06;56;04 - 00;07;00;27
DP
So scope of the project, what were the client's programmatic requirements?
00;07;01;00 - 00;07;57;24
JZ
Well, 180 residential units. Lennar is one of the biggest home builders in America, but they were mostly doing suburban subdivision work. They got into the urban markets. I can't tell you exactly one, but they were still a little bit new to it when we took this project on. And they were ambitious. They wanted to be at the absolute top of the market for a residential building in Jersey City.
And obviously, as any developer does, they wanted to maximize rentable square footage and get the most bang for their buck. And they had this requirement for the black box theater. And the project came with this with its approval, but it got a zoning bonus for having the theater in the base of extra height. It was a give back to the community that was written into the zoning, and we always knew it was going to be a theater and we always knew it was going to be for a nonprofit arts group.
And that arts program, as part of the building was in the DNA of the project from the very beginning and informed a lot of the decisions moving forward became part of the personality of the building throughout, not just the theater itself, really.
00;07;57;26 - 00;07;59;13
DP
How long's the building been finished?
00;07;59;20 - 00;08;00;21
JZ
It's about two years.
00;08;00;24 - 00;08;02;07
DP
Is the theater getting used?
00;08;02;09 - 00;08;03;10
JZ
It does, yeah.
00;08;03;13 - 00;08;10;11
DP
That's great. So let's start with a site. I would imagine there are no unique topographic features. Relatively flat or. Or not?
00;08;10;17 - 00;08;36;02
JZ
Well, it's relatively flat. The unique topographic feature would be that it's below the 100 year flood elevation. That's always a big deal. And the sidewalks there, I think, are about five feet above sea level. So flood protection, resiliency, ground floor uses. How do you enter the building? How do you avoid nuisance flooding when it's not a 100 year storm?
Those were all big aspects of the design of the ground floor of the pedestrian experience.
00;08;36;05 - 00;08;37;17
DP
So break away walls?
00;08;37;24 - 00;09;07;04
JZ
There are deployable flood barrier systems designed in. So the flood elevation is seven feet above the sidewalk. In the event of a massive, take a Hurricane Sandy kind of thing. They would deploy these flood barrier systems. Don't know if you're familiar with them, but they keep them in storage and they come out and they both enter the building or they spread them around the building.
They can be self-supporting and they have to be deployed in a certain amount of time because it's an emergency response system. So a big part of all the projects in this area.
00;09;07;09 - 00;09;11;20
DP
And what about zoning code? You had mentioned you had a height issue.
00;09;11;22 - 00;09;54;13
JZ
Yeah. So the building got, I think, 65 additional feet for having the black box theater in it. That was one zoning aspect. You can see the cantilever here over the sidewalk. There was a sidewalk widening requirement in the zoning, so that made it obviously challenging. You've got 17 stories of residences coming down over a cantilever that allows the sidewalk to be wider at the base.
That was an interesting challenge. There's a little bit of parking in the building that came from the zoning. So obviously some structural challenges there as well. Whenever you're putting that many residences over the top of a parking garage. The second floor here that you see through the window, that is also designated art space in the zoning, also a requirement.
00;09;54;16 - 00;09;59;26
DP
So I don't do tall buildings. How many extra floors does 65 feet get you?
00;09;59;29 - 00;10;26;28
JZ
I think it was basically five because the top floor amenity space, rooftop amenity, which was specifically permitted by the zoning bonus, I think it really made the building, the massing and the expression of these mid-range buildings is a little bit tricky. They're not as tall as they want to be, to be a tall building, and they're not as low rise as they want to be, to be a low rise building.
And I think the extra stories really helped to give it a little bit more verticality. It's a better piece of architecture for it.
00;10;27;01 - 00;10;30;19
DP
So tell us about the building plan. You said there's a sharp corner.
00;10;30;21 - 00;11;14;06
JZ
Yeah, very acute corner. There's two lot lines and it has a corner lot. So right where you have your corner window with two exposures, there's a very acute corner and I can't remember the actual degrees, but anytime you have a building and it's not just a corner that's a problem. And in fact the corner isn't really a problem.
You may not be able to put a sofa in that corner, but the corner per se is not a problem. It's kind of a cool room to be inside of. But what it means is that the apartments on each of those two different streets are on different geometries. And so if you're going to have a rectilinear apartment on streets that are at such different geometries that all crashes into each other at the corner and at the corridors and at the courtyard.
So it becomes very challenging to plan buildings that feel sensible and projects that have this kind of site.
00;11;14;09 - 00;11;21;01
DP
So how long do the planning process takes? So City Review design to construction, what was kind of start to finish?
00;11;21;04 - 00;11;31;17
JZ
I would say it was probably 14 months, maybe 15 months from RFP to groundbreaking, something in that range, which is kind of typical for a building this size.
00;11;31;19 - 00;11;33;17
DP
And construction. How long did that last?
00;11;33;22 - 00;11;37;10
JZ
That was about 24 months, I think.
00;11;37;13 - 00;11;49;12
DP
So let's talk a little bit about esthetics style. What did the client say to you? Did they have any ideas? Were they showing you images that they'd like, buildings that they wanted you to look at?
00;11;49;14 - 00;13;38;12
JZ
Our main client point of contact was also an architect, so he didn't want to impose a specific sensibility. He wanted to see what we would come up with in our office does this kind of work. We don't really do much historicist work. It's all modern. And in fact, a contemporary design is part of the zoning in the Powerhouse Arts District.
They're not looking for a recreation of a 19th century Main Street because that's not what this part of town ever was. From its get go, there was never any question it was going to be a contemporary building as far as where we drew our inspiration from and what we were looking at. You know, I mentioned the difficulty of the massing for these midnight buildings.
I think the gathering together, the window openings into these vertical slots helps to emphasize the verticality of the building. We have this prominent gold portal for the black boxes here and the building entrance. And that became an idea that we repeated throughout the facade frame, these moments on the facade. And I think generally we try to be pretty rigorous about how the facades are designed.
Obviously you've got structural continuity, but then you've got what always happens in residential design is you've got living rooms that are one width and you've got bedrooms that are a different width. And so a strictly rational grid is probably not going to serve you well for a residential building the way it does for a commercial building. So you're often trying to find a way to manage that if your interest is fundamentally in having a kind of rigorous and rational facade, you're trying to find a way to manage those partitions hitting the wall.
And what does that mean? And at the same time, I think creating a facade with movement and interest and dynamism and that play on the facade I think was always an important part. And you could say it is part of the emphasis on the arts and the theater and dance, but also obviously just an interest in creating something fresh.
00;13;38;15 - 00;13;40;27
DP
So was there a city review of the esthetic?
00;13;40;29 - 00;14;04;29
JZ
There was, yeah. They loved it. They loved it from the get go. Honestly, it was great. I think the planning board there has seen a lot of different things and was quite happy to see a building that was elegant and carefully composed and well-made. I'm pretty sure we got a uniform unanimous vote of approval at the Planning Board and there were no negative comments about the esthetics.
00;14;05;01 - 00;14;08;20
DP
What did you guys bring in? Did you bring in boards with images or 3D?
00;14;08;22 - 00;14;40;18
JZ
They weren't set up to have digital presentations back when this was going through. They are now obviously everyone, all of the local jurisdictions became fully digital because they had to. Back then it was easels and boards and you sat there with a couple of easels and flipped the pages and described what you were doing. And we had renderings certainly full 3D visualizations of the building that we presented and a palette of materials.
They're very interested. In fact, in Jersey City, they require you to bring the actual physical materials you intend to build with to the planning approval.
00;14;40;25 - 00;14;46;24
DP
So why did you guys choose Brick? You probably could have used another material for the exterior facade.
00;14;46;27 - 00;16;37;10
JZ
We could have certainly. You know, there's many things we do do facades out of lots of different materials, obviously. But for residential buildings in particular, I think the scale and the intimacy of brick are a sure way to give the building a residential character. It makes people both potential tenants and non tenants on the street and everyone have a very warm response to Brick almost instinctively.
It's one of those things that the mind already knows, right? People respond to it quite well. I think the flexibility of brick was part of it for this. Obviously that acute corner right there is a custom shape. You can just do that in brick, right? You can just say, okay, I've got a corner that is 72 degrees and you just do it.
You just make it. So that part of it I think is pretty great. And the flexibility, the color in this particular case, this is a custom colored brick, semi-custom. We had a lot of flexibility. It's a coated brick. So we had a lot of flexibility with the coating and coming up with the exact color that we wanted, which was a lot of trial and error.
There were actually months of back and forth and getting it just right. And, you know, I do think color is incredibly important and you can spend a year and a half designing a building and two years building it, and then you get the color wrong and all anyone sees is the fact that the color is wrong. So it's incredibly important to get right.
It allowed us to do that. You know, if you're going to do a porcelain, here are the three porcelain, you know, and this is what you're going to get. It also helps in the way brick turns corners. We wanted to have these gold shrouds in some areas and not in others that frame certain openings Doing returns in window openings in brick is incredibly easy because it's a brick.
You just turn the corner in porcelain or terracotta or other materials. It becomes quite difficult. Is it just a shadow gap at the corner or is it two flat panels coming together to meet? So I think having that ease of turning corners supported the design concept of these intermittent gold shrouds.
00;16;37;17 - 00;16;40;18
DP
Now, was that correct? The window frames are bronze?
00;16;40;21 - 00;16;43;24
JZ
With a painted aluminum, but yeah, they're bronze colored.
00;16;43;26 - 00;16;46;29
DP
There are a series of framed out window openings as well.
00;16;47;01 - 00;16;47;17
JZ
Yeah.
00;16;47;18 - 00;16;49;01
DP
And what material is that?
00;16;49;03 - 00;16;53;27
JZ
That's also aluminum. Okay. Yeah. We have yet to do a building with actual sheet bronze.
00;16;53;29 - 00;16;56;12
DP
When I read it, I was like, Is that just the color?
00;16;56;16 - 00;17;06;01
JZ
Which is the great thing though, actually is color is usually free if you're going to do something out of aluminum, the one thing you can afford to do is change the color.
00;17;06;03 - 00;17;20;23
DP
That's a great point. Colors free. What I really like about this and the use of masonry is it afforded you the ability to make some of these window openings really deep? Yeah, it's really beautiful, especially with curtain, wall, glass. I mean, it's really pretty.
00;17;20;26 - 00;17;48;09
JZ
I think you get that play of light and shadow, you know, in a curtain wall building, you're struggling to get a couple of inches of depth, right. The economics of that and the construct ability of that are unrelenting, but between the depth of a brick cavity wall automatically gets you seven or eight inches and then he shrouds project, I forget, but let's just say it's another six or seven inches. Now you've got 15, 16 inches of depth, which creates a wonderful shadow on the facade and really helps to punctuate the facade.
00;17;48;11 - 00;17;54;06
DP
That kind of plays into my next question. So what were some of the unique construction details on this building?
00;17;54;13 - 00;18;20;10
JZ
Yeah, certainly the shrouds, I think you see them more now. I think they were less common when we first did them. They are quite deep, which made the attachment to the building. I'm like say more difficult, but it had to be done differently. A lot of times these will be clipped on to the window extrusion and the window manufacturer can simply provide them.
You know, obviously the wind wants to tear these things off of the building. So there's a decent amount of load on these that required some careful detailing around the attachments of them.
00;18;20;13 - 00;18;23;15
DP
So there's some structure on the interior that gets tied back.
00;18;23;17 - 00;19;13;03
JZ
Yeah. These buildings basically go back to structural studs as opposed to the window and there's a heavy-duty anchor clip extends into the shroud that helps to make it rigid and attach it to the building. These deep soffits at the overhangs, you know, obviously something that had to be looked at fairly carefully. Generally speaking, a brick cavity wall is a well known thing.
Builders know how to build it, architects know how to detail it. But when you start introducing these kinds of deep shrouds, the corner windows in order to make those successful, what the window manufacturers want you to do is take a big square window and put it next to a big square window and all of a sudden your corner window has 12 inches a middle in the middle of it, and it looks like a column instead of a window.
And so detailing that to make it keep the sightlines narrow and keep it elegant, that was a detail in challenge that took a lot of time making sure the flood protection doesn't become too intrusive. That's a detail challenge. There were a handful of things.
00;19;13;05 - 00;19;15;21
DP
And what about sustainability for the building?
00;19;15;23 - 00;19;49;09
JZ
Well, it's a P-TECH building, P-TECHS are the the through wall air conditioners. They're environmentally not great. So starting from that, you have a difficult time making it the most sustainable building in the world. Unfortunately, electric P-TECHS, but there are other green features in the building. Certainly you see this in a lot of buildings at this point, but a super efficient lighting, formaldehyde free, no off gassing materials, locally sourced brick, natural material, locally sourced green roof, significant stormwater management features. It's not a leader in environmental design.
00;19;49;09 - 00;19;53;09
DP
Sure it is. I was I guess I was wondering if it was something that the city was looking for.
00;19;53;15 - 00;20;00;06
JZ
It was not a requirement, but I think there's enough consciousness about it at this point that people want to incorporate these features if they can.
00;20;00;09 - 00;20;03;24
DP
So when you consider the building, you're working in 2D and 3D.
00;20;03;29 - 00;20;08;14
JZ
Yeah. So this was drawn in AutoCAD. We weren't working in Revit back when this was first drawn.
00;20;08;14 - 00;20;09;15
DP
Are you now in Revit?
00;20;09;18 - 00;20;22;07
JZ
We are, yeah. We model absolutely everything, but we would do that mostly in SketchUp, Google, SketchUp, and that would be a parallel. You know, you would be doing both. You'd be modeling it SketchUp and drawing it in 2D AutoCAD at the same time.
00;20;22;09 - 00;20;24;26
DP
So you guys haven't been in Revit for a long than?
00;20;24;28 - 00;20;25;07
JZ
Couple of years.
00;20;25;07 - 00;20;34;25
DP
The more people I talk to, I'm an ArchiCAD working in 2D and 3D. I never learned Revit. I was lucky to learn how to use a computer, frankly. I mean.
00;20;34;28 - 00;20;44;23
JZ
Yeah. So, I mean, I don't know Revit, but the team does. I certainly learned AutoCAD along the way and micro station randomly enough. I don't even know if that's still around, to be honest.
00;20;44;26 - 00;20;49;25
DP
I don't know either. But most of the people that come through here are on Revit.
00;20;49;25 - 00;20;51;23
JZ
Yeah, it feels like a done thing.
00;20;51;26 - 00;20;54;08
DP
So do we see any masonry on the interior of the building?
00;20;54;13 - 00;21;28;21
JZ
Not in the interior walls. I will say one thing, since this is Brick works, the client led the decision that anything people could see from their windows would also be brick. So the interior courtyards, a lot of times what you see is brick on the facades and EFIS or something like that, something cheaper on the interior elevations or the lot line elevations, the courtyard facades are brick.
We have like, well, that's all brick because the client wanted to make sure that any time someone was looking out a window, what they saw was brick and they were happy to pay for it. They felt quite strongly that that's what it needed to be.
00;21;28;24 - 00;21;42;29
DP
So John, you've been in New York City for quite some time. You worked for a number of firms, including having your own office at one time. What advice might you give a younger version of yourself now that you know it?
00;21;43;01 - 00;22;07;09
JZ
Now that I know everything, I think you go, your heart leads you. There are so many ways to be an architect. There's not just one way and there's not one right way. And I see over and over again that people find ways that make them happy to do this job. And I do my thing. Other people do their thing.
There's not one answer. And don't be afraid to not pursue that other answer for yourself.
00;22;07;11 - 00;22;33;02
DP
Yeah, it's interesting too, what you learn in school and then what you learn as a practicing architect. You can take those skills and do an awful lot of things that aren't just architecture. I say that a lot. I have a teaching YouTube channel and I've been talking about that for years. We learn how to do so many things and you got to do so many things well and you've got to know so many things about so many things, right? It's a really challenging business and you're always learning.
00;22;33;02 - 00;22;59;06
JZ
The synthesizing of a lot of different pieces of information, I think is a skill that has broad application, and looking at things from a design perspective is an exceedingly rare quality out there in the world that I think has broad application. So it's great to be trained as an architect even if you don't stick with it. And look, I've always loved it.
I would encourage young people to stay in the profession because it's a great thing to do with your life, but people make their own choices.
00;22;59;08 - 00;23;07;13
DP
Well, John, it's been great to have you here. Thanks so much for your time. Where can people go to learn more about Fogarty Finger Architecture and Interiors and yourself?
00;23;07;16 - 00;23;20;04
JZ
Go to our website for sure. FogartyFinger.com, and look at our portfolio and there's all kinds of interesting information there. Of course, we have an Instagram page and every other thing that's available out there in the world to learn about a firm. You can find it online.
00;23;20;06 - 00;23;22;02
DP
Well, great, John, thank you very much for being here.
00;23;22;08 - 00;23;26;26
JZ
Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.
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A+I is a New York based strategy-driven architecture and design agency focused on the future of work.
The name stems from Architecture + Information and encapsulates the firm’s investigative approach and creative curiosity. A+I was founded in 1996 by Brad Zizmor and Dag Folger who met at Columbia University. At the time, the blossoming dot-com era spotlighted architecture’s ability to push the boundaries of workplace design and meet the evolving needs of its workers. Since then, A+I has grown to be an internationally renowned firm with a diverse practice that encompasses branding, strategy, design, and architecture, specializing in workplace, retail and development projects.
A+I is recognized for its thought leadership in workplace strategy and design, its award-winning projects, and its meticulous, research-based designs. Recently completed projects include the Headquarters for Le Truc (part of Publicis Groupe), Peloton, Squarespace, Equinox, and Hines, as well as the elevated repositioning of theMART and PENN 1 for Vornado Realty Trust, and ‘The Gardens’ at 780 3rd for Nuveen Real Estate.
Q: What was your inspiration for the Peloton Headquarters?
A: Our greatest inspiration was the community of creators we met at Peloton, and their collective mission to support and empower their members. They aspired for their workplace environment to be egalitarian and of the highest quality, giving everyone throughout the organization equal treatment. That ambition informed the creative direction for the project and served as an anchor for design decisions. As a result, central to the design was the idea of a shared experience – one of connectivity and community.
Q: What was the overall goal, or desired outcome, for this project?
A: Our goal was to support every creator uniquely and equally, while maintaining perspective on the collective mission. We met and interviewed a wide range of creators with diverse workplace needs who were united by a commitment to a shared vision, and we wanted to support and celebrate that commitment.
Q: Why did you choose brick for this project? How important is material to your approach?
A: We chose brick after a thorough material research phase for a central “spine” wall that connects every floor of the project through a shared open space. We needed a material that would be constructed through aggregation, a process in which countless individual elements are combined to create an effect greater than its parts. In this way, the wall became an embodiment of our architectural mission.
Q: What interested you most while designing this project?
A: We spent a lot of time engineering a system for the brick wall that could achieve the complex stacking and rotating pattern we designed. This pattern was developed in response to Peloton’s branding collateral, which uses similar gradient patterns to express dynamic movement, appropriate for this active and stacked space.
Q: What features of brick are most important to you? What made you choose Glen-Gery?
A: In addition to its construction logic, we chose Livenza Raw for its tactile qualities and variation in color and texture. For the desired effect to be achieved, each individual unit in the wall needed to have a distinct and “handmade” quality that set it apart.
Q: What made this design process different from others you have worked on?
A: Because of the complexity inherent in the design, there was a lot of back and forth between the overall design intent of the wall and the details built into each brick. This feedback loop between scales is different from other materials and led to the success of the end result.
Q: What is a typical timeline for a project of this scale?
A: For a project of this scale, the timeline varies greatly depending on a number of factors, from the extent of the strategic interrogation to the complexity of the design. A+I carefully designs the approach and schedule for a project based on our client’s unique needs and desires. On average, a project of this kind takes approx. 18-24 months.
Q: Has this project won any awards?
A: SARA National Design Awards 2022, Fitwel Impact Award 2022 (“Highest Scoring Project of All Time”)
Project Team
Phil Ward, Peter Knutson, Sohee Moon, Chris Shelley, Hannah Lee, Vané Broussard, Nico Martin, Maria Lozano, Anjali Patel, Catalina Rivera, Jara Mira, Josipa Baricevic, Katherine Salamat
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Brick Blueprint with OOMBRA ARCHITECTS
Philadelphia, PA
Architecture Firm
OOMBRA ARCHITECTSProducts
Belgian Grey Wirecut, Silver City Wirecut, 90 L Corner [Custom], Exterior 161 Corner [Custom], Exterior 168 Corner [Custom]
OOMBRA is a small, creative firm of design professionals, focused on creating thoughtful, unique and socially responsible environments using skills forged through past experiences that are built on meaningful and lasting human relationships.
Through diverse expertise, OOMBRA creates spaces meant to evoke a conversation, an emotion and an experience. OOMBRA takes a client’s objectives and communicates them through compelling designs. They believe successful architecture and placemaking is realized when the complexity of the problem is simplified through the design process, resulting in a clear expression of purpose, material, light, shadow and form. OOMBRA strives to create a strong sense of community and a responsibly built world that enhances the human experience.
Q: What was your inspiration for The Avant at 1148 Frankford Avenue?
A: This project sits in a parking lot used for the historic bank on the corner of Girard and Frankford Avenue. The Kensington National Bank, designed by renowned Philadelphia Architect Frank Furness, served as a significant source of inspiration. The bank's intricate details and bold architectural features provided a rich tapestry from which to draw creative ideas. However, the challenge lay in creating a new structure that paid homage to the historic building without overshadowing it. Our goal was to design a building that not only complements the architectural legacy of the Kensington National Bank but also introduces contemporary elements that speak to the evolving character of the neighborhood. We wanted our building to be special but also sit as a background building that allowed the Kensington National Bank (KNB) to really shine. Balancing these elements required a thoughtful approach to design, material selection, and the integration of modern functionalities, ensuring the new structure harmonizes with its historic surroundings while standing out as a landmark in its own right.
Q: What was the overall goal, or desired outcome, for this project?
A: The overall goal for The Avant project was to create a design that both respects and complements the historic architecture of the Kensington National Bank. OOMBRA aimed to integrate modern elements with classic details to create a timeless piece that contributes to the neighborhood's architectural heritage while providing contemporary functionality. Another goal was to keep the project within budget, meet and exceed the client's expectations, and ensure the building ultimately met the needs of the end users.
Q: Why did you choose brick for this project? How important is material to your approach?
A: At OOMBRA, we love using brick for its historical relevance, ease of use, and the knowledge of building by local trades. Additionally, brick has a relatively known cost and experienced less fluctuation during the pandemic. Brick was chosen for its enduring appeal, historical significance, and versatility. In architecture, material selection is crucial as it influences the aesthetic, durability, and contextual relevance of the building. For The Avant, brick helps bridge the gap between the historic bank and the new structure, ensuring a cohesive visual narrative.
Q: What interested you most while designing this project?
A: The most intriguing aspect of designing this project was the challenge of balancing respect for the historic architectural elements with the desire to create a contemporary and functional space. This duality required innovative design solutions and a deep appreciation for the site's historical context. Additionally, at OOMBRA, we have a wealth of experience in designing housing, making this project a particularly good fit for our expertise and interests.
Q: What features of brick are most important to you? What made you choose Glen-Gery?
A: The key features of brick that stand out include its durability, aesthetic flexibility, and low maintenance. Glen-Gery was chosen for their high-quality products, wide range of colors and textures, and their commitment to sustainability, which aligns with OOMBRA's values.
Q: What made this design process different from others you have worked on?
A: This project was unique due to its strong historical context and the need to seamlessly integrate modern design elements without overshadowing the historic bank. Additionally, there were challenges in fitting a residential building on such a tight footprint where a typical 60' double-loaded corridor building would not fit. We had to be creative and used our "OOMBRA LT Studio ©" unit that allowed the building footprint to be reduced by 21' in width. This project was also a bit of a full circle moment for our firm, as we opened our first bank account for OOMBRA in this Wells Fargo Bank. Phase 2 of the project is currently under construction to add another 5 residential units to the second floor of the historic bank and a commercial space on the ground floor.
Q: What is a typical timeline for a project of this scale?
A: A typical project of this scale takes about 8 months to design and a year to construct, but this took a little longer with the supply chain issues and construction cost increases that occurred during the pandemic. The building was completed in the Fall of 2023. It houses 60 apartments and a retail space, including the relocation of the Wells Fargo bank from the KNB building into the new building along the corner of Girard Avenue and Dunton Street. Moreover, the collaboration and commitment from our project team and the clients, Alterra/HK Partners, were instrumental in overcoming these challenges and achieving the project's goals.
Q: Has this project won any awards?
A: The Avant project won an AIA Philadelphia Honor Award in 2022 in the Unbuilt category, recognizing its innovative design and successful integration with the historic bank.
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Brick Blueprint with DS Architecture
Cleveland, OH
Architecture Firm
DS ArchitectureDirector of Design
Eric F. ProsDistributor
The Thomas Brick Company
DS Architecture maximizes client involvement, from design conception to the final stages of construction. DS Architecture encourages clients to join the design team by reviewing and approving every major milestone of the architectural process.
When we asked Eric F. Pros, Director of Design at DS Architecture, about his recent project, Lakewood’s Fire Station Number 2, this is what he had to say:
Q: What was your inspiration for this project?
A: We were inspired by the history of the Lakewood Fire Department and the surrounding neighborhood. This project was a renovation and addition to an existing historic fire station in Lakewood, Ohio which is the most densely packed city in Ohio. The existing building’s character was recognized and celebrated while we improvised on its character and introduced innovative new ideas to not only honor the history of the building, but also elevate its identity with some contemporary style.
The urban context of this site was an inspiration. Because land is in high demand in this city, we had to make the most of every bit of the property, while still being a good neighbor. These conditions which initially seemed like restraints were used as helpful parameters for the project and helped us make informed decisions about the building’s placement, scale, massing, and rooflines.
The people that would be the end users of this facility were an inspiration. The first responders have a great deal of pride in their community and are recognized by the neighborhood as a symbol of civic pride. The long, tall façade of the apparatus bay that could have felt imposing or out of scale with the rest of the neighborhood was instead leveraged as an opportunity for public art and innovative wayfinding signage. The flemish bond brick pattern was articulated in a way that gave the field of brick depth through a textured backdrop for a metal sculpture. The corner of the building that faces the roadway received some special brick detailing attention by rotating the stretcher units 30 degrees in a way that formed a block number 2 that is reminiscent of the fire department’s insignia on their vehicles. In this way, a standard off-the-shelf masonry unit was used to create unique dramatic effects.
Q: What was the overall goal, or desired outcome, for this project?
A: The first goal of the project was to upgrade an existing fire station to suit the needs of modern firefighting and emergency medical services. The pre-existing facility did not offer appropriate space for the new fire trucks and did not have adequate bunk space for first responders. As public safety continues to evolve, the way that fire fighters performed their duties 100 years ago is very different from today. The vertical growth of the city has made it necessary to have longer ladder trucks to respond to emergencies that may occur in high rises.
A secondary goal was to give the first responders a facility that they can be proud of. In a similar way, the residents of the City of Lakewood should be proud of the buildings that represent their rich community and the diverse history of their neighborhood.
Q: Why did you choose brick for this project? How important is material to your approach?
A: There are many reasons why brick made sense for this project. There is a sense of symbology for the fire stations to be constructed of brick. Red brick is somewhat synonymous with fire stations and contributes to their iconic presence in communities. “Fireproof” buildings constructed predominantly with masonry became popular and embraced by fire departments.
Because fire stations are public buildings that are occupied 24 hours a day and often maintained by the crew, low maintenance materials, like brick, are preferable. The long-term durability of fired clay masonry products makes them a good investment for such buildings. The longevity of this material ensures that the building will be a building that the City of Lakewood can be proud of for many years to come.
Material choices greatly impact the perception of a building by the public. As a symbol of safety and civic pride, this fire station needs to evoke a sense of stability and permanence. Glen-Gery brick effectively communicates these ideas in a way that not only fits into its historic context but suggests a long-lasting presence.
Q: What interested you most while designing this project?
A: The people that would be using this building 24 hours a day, 7 days a week are really what this project kept coming back to. Providing a sense of dignity for the first responders that keep the City of Lakewood safe are what this project is all about.
The ability to collaborate with local artist Scott Goss on his metal sculpture installation was truly an honor. The building itself is focused on many of the practical considerations for a fire department, but Scott’s “Shielded Together” installation takes the building a step further and truly pays tribute to the men and women who have dedicated their lives to service. The metal sculpture is highly visible and is lit at night so that it can be appreciated around the clock.
Q: What features of brick are most important to you? What made you choose Glen-Gery?
A: Each project is unique, and every masonry application presents opportunities for innovation. In this project, finding a brick that matched the historic color and texture was our first challenge. Thankfully, Glen-Gery’s robust catalog of clay colors and textures allowed us to have several options to consider that were very close to the original brick from 1919, and the later addition. We were fortunate enough to test several sample panels in natural light next to the existing brick to see which option would give us the best match. Our final selection was Wavetex Red Bark. This brick perfectly complements the existing brick from a century ago. Additionally, because we were using brick in some unique ways with multiple faces exposed to the exterior, finding the right texture that would receive light correctly was critical to the success of the project.
The quality that Glen-Gery provides is an additional reason for our selection. The long-term endurance of the material gives the owners of the building a particular level of comfort because masonry is known for its resilience. On the design side of the equation, the brick’s quality is an added benefit.
Q: What made this design process different from others you have worked on?
A: This project presented several challenges, and seemingly limited opportunities for innovative solutions. A collaborative design process with the client and our team helped to streamline the design process and established goals. Where our innovation came into play was in how we treated the material and the installation that made this project truly unique.
Special care was given during the design phase to enable the project to be built while the facility can serve its primary purpose of serving the community. It’s not uncommon for public buildings to remain operational while a capital improvement project is underway, but this project proved to be more challenging since there was minimal extra space on site. The builders worked diligently to keep the construction from interfering with the spaces needed for the firefighters to perform their duties.
Q: How did you utilize the International Masonry Institute (IMI) for this project, and what was your experience like?
A: The IMI is an incredible resource for designers and contractors. They provide technical expertise on proper masonry detailing and installation and advice on unique designs. The Ohio Regional Director is Tom Elliott, and I owe him a great deal of gratitude for his knowledge and dedication to masonry design over the years. The IMI partners with local BAC training centers to provide hands on training for masonry apprentices and continued educational opportunities for skilled craftworkers.
Once we had developed a design, I reached out to Tom to get his feedback on our concept. We reviewed the details together and decided this project could benefit from a full-scale mockup. I generated some drawings of the brick detail that we were working on that not only showed the detail in elevation and isometrics, but also a course-by-course series of plans that allowed the craftworkers the ability to easily understand the design intent at each course. The bricklayers knew exactly which units needed to be solid or cored, and which ones were to be rotated 30 degrees. Although we shrunk the overall scale of the detail down vertically for safety reasons in the training center, the intent of the design was appreciated.
Q: What is a typical timeline for a project of this scale?
A: The scope of this project was well defined from the beginning which allowed us to streamline the process into 2 distinct phases. This scope of work also allowed the contractors to construct the project while keeping the station fully operational during construction with limited interruptions to their service. The design timeline was approximately 8 months with the construction duration taking nearly 12 months due to the unique phasing of the project and sensitivity to keeping the facility operational.
Q: Has this project won any awards?
A: The Lakewood Fire Station Number 2 was recognized in the 2022 JBC Masonry Innovation Competition through the International Masonry Institute (IMI).
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Brick Blueprint with STAT Architecture
New York, NY
Architecture Firm
STAT ArchitecturePrincipal
Suzanna TharianProject Manager
Carina NaulaProducts
Ebonite Smooth, Glacier Gray Western
The goal of STAT Architecture is to provide quality architecture services by understanding client needs, working with budgets, and adhering to deadlines, while providing reliable services. Their focus and expertise lies in new construction projects and the gut rehabilitation of existing buildings. With services that extend through all aspects of the design and construction process, STAT Architecture prefers to work with projects from the inception of the design right through construction completion.
When we asked Suzanna and Carina about their recent project, Soundview Townhomes, this is what they had to say:
Q: What was your inspiration for this project?
A: Soundview Townhomes are located in the Bronx, across from Soundview Park, which opens to the Bronx River. We wanted our architecture to celebrate this unique park frontage, formalizing it with elegant townhomes and maximizing pedestrian access to the park. We looked to the tradition of garden and cooperative apartments in the Bronx and Queens as a point of reference. These building traditions sought to provide equitable and affordable access to light, air, and green space by proposing low-rise units adjacent to parks or gardens. In this vein, we were looking at the affordable housing built by Andrew J. Thomas in the 1930s, but also projects of a more modest scale, like the Regional Planning Association’s Sunnyside Garden. I should note that all these projects, building conventions, and typologies we referenced during design are brick buildings.
Q: What was the overall goal, or desired outcome, for this project? Why?
A: Site for this project is a former parking lot on a NYCHA property. Relatedly, our goal with this project is to replace an automobile infrastructure with a pedestrian infrastructure. The production of street friendly space has a lot to do with the subtleties of façade design. Layout questions—e.g. How far from the street? Where to place entrances? What rhythm and height for windows?—tend to dominate. However, materials tend to best convey care. So, when we selected our façade materials, we really sought proud, durable, stand-out materials to make this project a good neighbor to the Soundview community.
Q: Why did you choose brick for this project? How important is material to your approach?
A: Clients, neighbors, preservationists all seem to like brick best. Brick converses easily with New York’s historic fabric and the local authorities in the Bronx were also very keen on brick. Building practices are an evolving set of conventions. Buildings aren’t made the way they used to be, but neither are bricks. Buildings and aesthetics evolve in parallel conversations between builders, producers, designers, and the public. Our office has been working for 20 years with Sal Pate at Consolidated Brick. From Sal, we learn not just the cost of various bricks, but where and how they were made. All these aspects are important to us as designers. The manufacturing processes and location tell us about the embodied carbon cost of the materials we choose, while finish and color communicate contextuality and care.
Q: What features of brick are most important to you? What made you choose Glen-Gery?
A: For any material, our first priority is due diligence regarding its health and carbon cost. When it comes to aesthetics, the biggest differentiator is the finish texture. Some bricks can look clay-like and awkward, but we’ve had a lot of good experiences with Glen-Gery. It’s a reliable and attractive brick. Your team is very skilled at emulating the molded brick look that gives a project that majestic old New York feeling we all look for.
Q: Why did you select Sioux City product?
A: To be honest: color. We pick out bricks in person. We browse the showroom, pull things we like and put them all up on the wall. Ebonite smooth literally sparkled. We needed an attractive base; ebonite was an easy choice. We choose to complement it with glacier gray which is buff brick speckled with blues and creams.
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Ebonite Smooth, Glacier Gray Western
Design Vault
Design Vault
a podcast by Glen-Gery
From rustic homes to contemporary museums, brick is one of the most popular design elements for architects around the world. However, imagination of its use is often limited. This podcast will tell the inspiring stories of historic architects’ use of brick, and with the help of architectural leaders of the present, we’ll share how ideas of the past helped inspire and bring new designs to life. Each episode delivers compelling stories that will help stretch your imagination with brick and fuel your next design.
Host:
Doug Patt |
Season 4: Best Of
Listen to episode now! |
Listen to episode now! |
Listen to episode now! |
Listen to episode now! |
Listen to episode now! |
Season 3 Guests:
Daniela Holt Voith |
Ross Padluck Kligermanad Architecture & Design Private Residence |
Gabe Deck
|
Michelle Todd
|
Jeremy Iannucci
|
Tom Loftus 389 Weirfield Street |
Rob Clocker |
Vicente Quiroga |
Kent Suhrbier |
Simon Trumble |
Season 2 Guests:
Jay Valgora |
John Woelfling |
William Smart |
Lorne Rose The Tudor House |
Christa Waring 650 Park Avenue |
Shane Neufeld |
Eric Pros Westlake Senior Center |
John Zimmer |
Peter Miller The Rogers Condominiums |
John Hutch Marketplace |
Bonus Episode:
Brick of Chicago
Listen to episode now!
Season 1 Guests:
Mateusz Nowacki |
Steve Knight |
Michelle Wagner |
Gavri Slasky |
David E. Gross |
Peter VanderPoel |
Sussan Lari |
David Kubik |
Paul Neuhaus |
Todd Poisson |