Tom : Both the Genome Centre and the Jackson-Triggs winery (see On Site 6) have investigated architectural surface and, reflexively, the wall system. As the project architect you have had a great influence on the outcome of these buildings and their surfaces. Were these investigations initiated by yourself, and is this a direction in which KPMB is moving? Mitch: I am interested in architectural innovation through the explora- tion of new materials, their applications, as well as the exploration of new architectural ideas — this is hardly unique. Fortunately, Marianne [McKenna, a partner of KPMB] has been very supportive and is similarly motivated. More and more, individuals in the firm are taking this approach. Great architecture is the product of a collaborative process. I have always promoted — insisted — on an architectural discourse on my teams, this project was no different.
Tom: Are there technological advantages to the mesh such as reduction in moisture penetration from driven rain? Mitch: I am sure that in mild weather conditions it could perform in this manner, however under severe conditions it would certainly be quite transparent to wind and rain, it is simply too open and is primarily about solar screening.The form of the west elevation very specifically was based on an interpreted need to provide screening from a very bright and powerful western sun exposure - an early site orientation observation. The weather-proof wall is the sandwich panel which is cheap, ugly and hardly architectural.
Tom: Where is the mesh produced and who supplied it?
Mitch: Rob Kastelic, a key member of my team, did the research and came up with a local supplier, a condition of acceptance and project requirement,W.S.Tyler out of St. Catharines, Ontario. Although capable of producing our custom mesh specification in Canada, they felt the quality would be far superior if it were made by their parent company, Haver & Boecker, in Germany - another long story. As this was their first project in Canada, the supplier was motivated to provide a top quality product in order to promote and market its architectural application here. Tom: What is the cost of this wall system/detail relative to some alternatives that may, or may not, have been considered? Mitch : The backup is very inexpensive which offsets the premium associated with the stainless steel mesh.We believe that it represents a valid (perhaps even clever) architectural approach to conceptualizing and affording a somewhat exotic and certainly innovative cladding layer or finish in an ever-challenging marketplace of lower construction budgets and ridiculously short project schedules. Architect of Record: Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects / Fichten Soiferman et Associes Architectes, Architects in Joint Venture Partners in charge: Marianne McKenna, Jacob Fichten Project Architects: Mitchell Hall, Robert Lacoste Local Supplier :W.S.Tyler Canada of St. Catherines, Ontario. Manufacturer: Haver & Boecker of Germany
Tom: What drove the decision to use the woven steel mesh?
Mitch: This is a very long story.The original cladding concept was a cast channel glass [trade name: Profilit by Pilkington] in a double walled, primarily translucent application. Since this proposal was seen by the client (Facilities Management Group) and Project Manager as too experimental, despite the fact that it has been used in Europe for close to a hundred years in industrial applications and more recently in many institutional projects by big name architects in all kinds of different countries and climactic conditions, we were forced to consider a safer option which involved using the ‘Profilit’ as a rain screen backed up by an industrial sandwich panel.This panel is comprised of two sheets of pre-finished, profiled sheet metal on either side of expanded polystyrene foam insula - tion (bead board), which was quite inexpensive and could be made three storeys high. Even this more conservative approach proved impossible to sell. At this point, with the working drawings almost complete, we were required to explore other options.We looked at a number of different ideas including the mesh and presented these to our client.We managed to get them excited about the mesh and used the fact of not having to redesign the backup wall (sandwich panel) to tip the balance.We then proceeded to develop the details and a pattern of windows behind the mesh with selected views of the city and issued revisions as part of an addendum.This is how the idea evolved into what became the constructed façades.
Tom: Does the mesh reflect the original concept for the project?
Mitch: As the conceptual surface of scientific research, the use of glass both inside and outside the project was a deliberate exploration of not only its potential applications and properties, but also of its ability to refract, reflect, distort and transmit light and movement. As an extension of the glass concept, the mesh is the mutable skin of the scientific instrument, or research box, which has the ability to filter and reflect light and human activity. During the day it is a highly reflective surface, which at night, dissolves to reveal an abstraction of a random array of the elemental building blocks of DNA - an architectural genetic code concealed in the window pattern.
lation de mousse de polystyrène (planche à baguette), ce qui s’est avéré assez économique et pou- vait être monté sur trois étages. Même cette approche plus con- servatrice s’est avérée impossible à vendre. À ce point-ci, dû au fait que les dessins d’exécution étaient presque complétés, nous avons dû explorer d’autres
options. Nous avons examiné bon nombre d’idées différentes, y com- pris la maille, et nous les avons présentées à notre client. Nous avons pu susciter son intérêt au sujet de la maille et, comme facteur déterminant, nous avons mentionné le fait que nous n’aurions pas à reconcevoir la contre-cloison (panneau-
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O n S ite review
S ewing
I ssue 8 2002
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