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Experience the building with this short film, courtesy of Spirit of Space.
Project description, provided by Trahan Architects:
The Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame in historic Natchitoches, Louisiana merges two contrasting collections formerly housed in a university coliseum and a nineteenth century courthouse, elevating the visitor experience for both. Set in the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase on the banks of the Cane River Lake, the design mediates the dialogue between sports and history, past and future, container and contained.
Our exploration focuses on three questions. How does our design explore the client brief to exhibit sports and history simultaneously? How does it respond to the historic building fabric? How does it make a connection to context?
Our resolution is, first, to interpret athletics as a component of cultural history rather than as independent themes. While sports and regional history may appeal to different audiences, the exhibits and configuration explore interconnections between the two. The spaces flow visually and physically together, configured to accommodate state-of-the-art exhibits, education and support functions. Visitors however can experience both narratives either separately or simultaneously.
Second, historical pastiche is set aside in favor of a design language in response to the site. The internal organization is an extension of the existing meandering urban circulation, while the design mediates the scale and character of the historic commercial core and adjacent residential neighborhood. The "simple" exterior, clad with pleated copper panels, alluding to the shutters and clapboards of nearby plantations, contrasts with and complements the curvaceous interior within. The louvered skin controls light, views and ventilation, animates the facade, and employs surface articulation previously achieved by architectural ornamentation. The flowing interior emerges at the entrance, enticing visitors to leave the walking tour and into the evocative exhibit spaces within.
Third the design reflects the carving of the ancient river whose fluvial geomorphology inspired the dynamic interior form. The dynamic foyer is sculpted out of 1,100 cast stone panels, seamlessly integrating all systems and washed with natural light from above. The cool white stone references bousillage, the historic horse hair, earth and Spanish moss utilized by 17th Century settlers. The flowing surfaces reach into the galleries, serving as "screens" for film and display. At the climax of the upper level, the path arrives at a veranda overlooking the city square, sheltered by copper louvers, further connecting the interior to the public realm.
The Engineering Design of the Cast Stone Panels and the Shaped Surface Support Steel (SSSS), written by David Kufferman PE:
The cast stone surface can be described as a 1051 piece 3d jigsaw puzzle that weighs about 700 tons, with each piece separately made according to its own unique, digitally created pattern, and therefore having a different size and shape from any other piece. The puzzle can only be properly assembled if all the pieces are nearly perfectly made, otherwise, the pieces will not fit together properly. The task is further complicated by the fact that this massive 3d jigsaw puzzle must be supported by a steel space frame, which is in turn supported either by a ground floor slab on grade, which is essentially rigid, or by the second floor framing, which will deflect under load, thereby causing a change to the geometry of the puzzle as load is applied or removed. Again, if some panels move too much, while others move little, if at all, the pieces of the puzzle will no longer fit properly. A brittle material like cast stone cannot tolerate much movement without the risk of cracking.
Early on in the design process, it was hoped that the great compressive strength of the cast stone might be exploited through shell action, but the overall surface was far too irregular to allow for this kind of behavior to happen. This was only possible in cases where panels could be stacked into a wall that was more or less vertical, though they still had to be tied back to steel framing to keep them stable. Far more often than not, the panels had to be fully supported by the steel framing hidden behind them. Indeed, movement connections were required in nearly all panels, specifically to prevent shell action, since accumulating forces flowing from panel to panel through their anchor bolts would have failed these bolts had the panels been fully restrained. Ceiling panels that were close to horizontal could only be supported by hanging them from a steel frame. Most other panels were somewhere between these two conditions, and had to be bolted directly to the steel frame using connections having a large degree of adjustability to allow for the ever varying geometry.
In some cases connections were easily accessible for welding, but in other cases the erection sequence would make access to some connections impossible, so ‘blind’ connections had to be developed. In areas exposed to the weather, it was feared that hot fragments from field welding might damage waterproofing below the connection, which necessitated fully bolted and galvanized connections with six degrees of adjustability, and often ‘blind’ as well. In the end, over two dozen ‘typical’ panel connection types had to be developed, depending on whether the panels were stacked, bolted up, hung, or some kind of hybrid; whether the panel was interior or exterior; and whether the connection was accessible or ‘blind’. Still, many completely unique connections had to be developed on a case by case basis.
As the original digital surface in the Trahan model was ‘panelized’ in five sequences by CASE using Catia, our team took over. David Kufferman Structural Engineers worked with Method Design to develop the structural geometry of the supporting steel frame in digital space. Using the appropriate panel connections developed by Kufferman, Method Design created a digital model in Rhinoceros, with automated steel framing geometry definition using Grasshopper, based on preliminary framing element shapes and their location parameters as specified by Kufferman. Panel anchor type and locations were fully defined, and this information passed back to CASE so that final panel shop tickets could be generated for cast stone panel production. Kufferman and Method Design worked together to vary such parameters until an acceptable frame geometry was obtained, to minimize the number of complex mitered butt welded ‘kinks’, but without allowing steel framing elements to either get too close or too far from the back surface of the cast stone panels. Every single connective element specified by Kufferman was defined in the BIM by Method Design. Over 2,150 separate panel connections were needed for the project, with each connection providing support to any number from one to four panels.
The resulting Shaped Surface Support Steel, or ‘SSSS’ frame, was then analyzed under load using Robot, a three dimensional structural analysis program. Method Design used yet another program called Geometry Gym to convert the Rhinoceros model into a Robot input file. Kufferman, in collaboration with Craft Engineering Studio in New York City, refined the Robot models, modifying support and connective conditions so as to best simulate what was to be expected in reality. Over-stressed or excessively flexible elements were beefed up when necessary, and under-stressed elements were lightened when possible to reduce steel weight, and the structure reanalyzed. Once an acceptable SSSS had been fully developed, the Rhinoceros model would be updated, and then the file would be converted into SDS/2, a steel detailing program, so shop drawings could be generated. Kufferman and Method Design worked with Global Steel Detailing for this task.
Steel was fabricated and erected by Champion Steel of Louisiana and CMC of South Carolina. A total station that was digitally referenced to the BIM was used to locate steel during erection such that any point anywhere on the steel had to be within ½” of the specified location. The same system was used to precisely locate the cast stone panels as they were erected by the installer, Masonry Arts.
The precise specification, fabrication and erection of the SSSS became especially critical during the second sequence, which included all of the exterior cast stone panels. Since the panels were considered to act as a rain screen rather than a waterproof barrier, the steel elements had to be installed prior to the waterproofing system, which had to occupy the space between the cast stone and the SSSS. The panels could only be installed after the waterproofing was complete. This meant that the galvanized connection elements to which the cast stone panels had to be bolted, as well as the galvanized stand-off tubes that penetrated the waterproofing, had to be precisely shop-welded to the SSSS frame, with no possible provision for field-modification afterwards. Galvanized clips with long slotted holes and galvanized A325 slip-critical bolts had to be used to accommodate all tolerances. Open slotted holes were used for ‘blind’ connections.
In the case of the final sequence, which was the cast stone surface defining the atrium and the monumental stair, concern was raised about deflections, due to the fact that the SSSS that provided support for the 165 tons of cast stone in this area was completely carried by the second floor framing. The Robot analysis of this sequence included the floor beams, so that an accurate estimate of the deflections could best be achieved. It was indeed found that the overall flexibility of the system would lead to panel fitment problems if nothing was done, despite the fact that code mandated deflection criteria was easily satisfied. A structure that does not deflect under load is, quite simply, a physical impossibility. Theoretically, the only way to get the geometry perfect would be to predeflect the SSSS frame using ballast equal to the cast stone panels in both weight and distribution.
Because of the practical problems surrounding the procurement and installation of 165 tons of ballast over about 500 connections, an alternative approximate means of predeflection was devised, using two concentrated loads totaling 24 tons, hung from temporary frames. As panels were erected, panel positions were continuously monitored so that the predeflection loads could be reduced appropriately. This procedure successfully minimized the racking and distortion problems that were anticipated, while using ballast equal to only 15% of the final panel weight.
The cast stone panels were fabricated by our client, Advanced Cast Stone.
Diagrams:
Drawings:
Project Details:
Project: Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame
Location: Natchitoches, Louisiana
Client/Owner: State of Louisiana, Office of Facility, Planning & Control
Size: 28,000sf
Cost: $12,600,000
Architect: Trahan Architects
Key Personnel: Victor F. “Trey” Trahan, III FAIA – President/Design Principal, Brad McWhirter AIA - Project Architect, Ed Gaskin AIA – Designer, Mark Hash – Designer, Michael McCune AIA - Designer
Project Team: Sean David, Blake Fisher, Erik Herrmann, David Merlin, Benjamin Rath, Judson Terry
Interior Designer: Lauren Bombet Interiors
Mechanical / Electrical / Plumbing / Fire Protection Engineer: Associated Design Group
Structural Engineer: LBYD
Civil Engineer: CSRS
Geotechnical Engineer: GeoConsultants
General Contractor: VCC
Landscape Architect: Reed Hilderbrand Associates
BIM Manager and Technology: Case
Cast Stone Support Steel Geometry and Detailing: Method Design
Cast Stone Support Steel Engineer: David Kufferman PE
Acoustics: SH Acoustics
Waterproofing: Water Management Consultants & Testing, Inc.
UPDATE, Sep 27, 13: In response to the reader discussion about the "critical regionalism" aspect of the project, Trahan Architects just provided us with pictogram diagrams that describe the influence of place and regional context upon the architecture and help facilitate a better understanding of what the architects were trying to accomplish.
30 Comments
this is a gorgeous project, the fact that it got built, and built in Louisiana, shocks me to no end. congrats to the architects.
Spectacular.
Excellent work. Trahan is by far the best architecture firm in Louisiana.
pretty cool!
i'm planning on taking a drive down to check this out in the not too distant future. what impressed me most about this project is that some civic leaders had the vision to design this type of building in a historic district of the state's oldest city rather than a historicist pastiche. Shaq Attack!
^becsue what's most important in a building design is that it NOT be historicist pastiche, especially since the neighboring building is a strip mall, so that would have clashed horribly.
This building was on the cover of the latest Arch Record magazine (I think??) with the headline "Critical Regionalism". It's a very accomplished technical achievement, to be sure, but I have struggled to understand what could possibly be construed as "regional" about it.
I'm a little torn with this project. As an object it's beautiful and I would love to walk through those spaces and touch the stone. By what I see in the photos it looks to be well crafted it really exemplifies good utilization and potential of technology while at the same taking stone to a new level of design (even though it's not structural. Yes I like structural stone). I think my discontent with this project is the way they talk about it and how it's being talked about as regional, more so "critically regional." Analogies to rivers, mountains, leaves, boats, etc. never makes it regional!
Hmm.... Are analogies the new ornament? (just thinking "out loud")
I agree. I too think that the building is incredibly well done, and an interesting object. But the references to the landscape and rivers are tenuous and far-fetched. It feels like the architects were looking for some kind of way to connect a predetermined formalism (and one straight out of the parametric playbook, frankly) with the locale, and they managed to hang their hat on "rivers". Hmmmm...well, ok, if you say so.
For a building to be "regional" it seems to me that it should in some compelling way seem "of the region" to the people who will be using the building...no? I'd ask a simple question: If this building were published, and we read it had been built in China, or Berlin, or Vancouver, would we have thought it out of place? It seems to me that this is a building firmly in line with the new "international parametric" trend.
When I first saw the building, it wasn't river courses I was reminded of, but it is strongly reminiscent of the video from my colonoscopy from a few years back.
if i didn't know better i would have never guessed this was a louisiana firm. not because of the work but because no one in any of the renderings is wearing any lsu or duck dynasty merch.
Crazy building, crazy budget, crazy design and construction process. It looks good, like a sneaker (what rivers?) - will it smell funny?
Seems like these panelised contortionist curves would be tending toward rationalisation and 'standartised panel' approach, but apparently not. Apparently phrases like "1051 [individualized] piece 3d jigsaw puzzle that weighs about 700 tons" don't ring any alarm bells in the concept phase, giving birth to phrases like "Because of the practical problems surrounding the procurement and installation of 165 tons of ballast over about 500 connections, an alternative approximate means of predeflection was devised".
It looks cool, hope the client and public thinks it was worth it,
This is a beautiful project.
Interesting to see flat space and organic forms coming together...I was shocked too see that the exterior was a box.
threadkilla you think a box doesn't have the same problems? Here its just a lower tolerance for deflection, not the deflection itself, that is perhaps slightly new-ish. Their solution sounds very smart to me and well handled. No idea why you would want to put down someone for being able to build a difficult thing so well.
The one thing i don't quite understand is that the outside feels at odds to the interior. perhaps that boxy facade is the critical regional aspect?
Actually, someone somewhere on the web mentioned it's a good abstraction ("metaphor and allusion") to a creole cottage. I'm assuming he/she was referring to the facade.
Great project if you want to experience how it would feel to travel through someone's bowels. Am I missing something? This is just awful- from the mashed-up program to the unrealistic budget - the last gasp of the Bilbao effect? And those are the stupidest diagrams ever. Trahan and Case choked it and ought to be ashamed of themselves. Really, what are you people thinking, praising this turd?
*museum website lists the budget as 23 million. I wish them ( the museum- not the folks who sold them the thing) well now that they have dropped the money, but I'm afraid that it will be a source of regret when things don't work out. We're talking about a museum which is open from 10-4:30 in a town of 18,000 halfway between Shreveport and Alexandria.
natchitoches gets a lot of tourists and daytrippers. missed the meat pie festival, however.
missing meat pie festival? noooo!
anonitect, i suppose we could praise your work, if you weren't anonymous...
i agree the design makes not so much sense (especially those diagrams), but the construction looks pretty damn good, and there are some impressive moments, at least in the photographed version of the building. Wouldn't call it crap by any means. For USA its very well done. The description of the problem solving used to build the project is fascinating. Not really that much to get so chirpy about that I can see.
Does it matter if the process by which it was made is cool (kinda- nice fabrication, admittedly) if the end result is incoherent and inappropriate for its context?
The project is quite coherent, it just suffers from poor diagrams. It is a public promenade carved into a black box museum typology. The front of the building holds the existing street edge, while slightly indenting to create a formal entry plaza. In terms of a contextual critique, I have to ask, what exactly is "appropriate" for this context?
it looks pretty good in google map actually. much better than i expected.
as for context there is not much to be had. i see no problem with this design at all on that point. unless you think it should be american vernacular and look more like a wal-mart ?
and yeah, good construction in any place in the world is something to be admired. especially by an architect.
it is fairly coherent. not as easy to digest as a BIG project, and really the whole boxy thing is totally weird to me, but that's just my taste. Its a rather good project all in all. nothing to complain about even.
This building was on the cover of ARCHITECT magazine, with the title "Critical Regionalism". As I said before, it seems to me that a building that is called "regional" ought to have some attributes that the users of the building can identify as being compellingly "regional". In the ARCHITECT article, they said that the city has hired docents to explain how the form of the buIlding relates to the local rivers and streams. If you have to hire people to explain hove something is regional, well....
Trahan Architects are actively following this discussion about the "critical regionalism" aspect of the project and have provided us with a few pictogram diagrams that describe the influence of place and regional context upon the architecture.
Scroll up and find the diagrams at the end of the article.
Will,
Considering that the architect sold the museum a tennis shoe/ colon/ prison from star trek, I think that the client would have been amenable to a lot of different design options. The choice wasn't either either the goofy parametric ego/brand building exercise for the architect and Case that they got or something that looks like a Walmart. The architect had an opportunity to improve the street (in a historic district which deserves respect) and didn't.
The fact that "the whole boxy thing is totally weird" to you probably means something.
I probably wouldn't have commented - there's lots of bad architecture out there and I'll probably never have to look at this building, but I got bugged by the gushy comments - even if you don't mind it, aren't words like "spectacular" and "gorgeous" a little over the top?
Thanks Archinect and Trahan Architects.
This building is amazing, but I can't help but be bothered by the fact it will be filled with football jerseys and basketballs. Am I the only one who thinks this is a strange combination? I am a sports fan by the way.
I kind of like the combination. I think the fluid wall/ceiling shapes add a needed layer of interest to the experience of looking at the somewhat static artifacts and memorabilia being exhibited.
Will, I did not actually mean to put Trahan Architects or this project down by calling it crazy. Merely pointing out that there's a lot of experimental work being done these days along the lines of "complex shapes made from complex parts arrived at through a complex design process and built using complex methods".
It was all really impressive stuff when it started coming out, and it's still impressive today when it's done to the standard of quality displayed in this project. One only needs to look at some of Zaha's recent work in China to understand how well put together this building is.
However, I don't think it's a very efficient allocation of resources - creating these complicated problems and solving them in increasingly complicated ways all the time. Of course you will always have to plan for deflections in a steel frame when you clad it with concrete or stone, but the wackier the geometry - the further it veers away from structural form toward whimsy - the harder this task becomes. Same sort of thing goes for surface paneling. So what I take issue with is the uncritical pursuit of this self-serving complexity, because I have a hunch it could still be a great sneaker-looking building with sexy curves stuffed neatly into a cool box without the bells-and-whistles of individualized cast panels, connections, and with a more streamlined assembly.
It's a great crazy project that does things because they can be done, and does them extremely well. I just think that as far as architectural attitudes go, that one isn't one of the better ones.
Trahan Architects made the absolute most of the opportunity that this project afforded them. It was a good way for them to try out new methods on a reasonable scale. It confirms their ability to do cutting-edge work well and positions them to do much bigger things in the future.
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