Just completed this month, the new Winter Visual Arts Building, designed by Steven Holl Architects, takes shape on the historic campus of Franklin & Marshal College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The formal qualities of the new structure takes its inspiration from the kite Benjamin Franklin wielded when he first "harnessed electricity." The initial sketches of the building embraces the webbed form of a kite "stuck in the trees."
Moreover, the design team moved to play off the geometry of the 200-year-old trees that surround the site. "We thought of the geometry of trees as a way to give shape to the new arts building. Instead of echoing the rectangular block of the former arts building, the new pavilion takes its shape from the inflection of the diameters of those large campus trees," the architects write in a statement.
The resulting architecture is a raised two-story "box-kite" steel frame that sits on two ground floor concrete rectangles. The creates a series of dynamic cantilevers and organic geometries.
The Winter Visual Arts Building is currently in use by students at the Franklin & Marshall campus.
6 Comments
Beautiful
his metaphors make me cringe.. but the result is usually pretty nice.
Exactly, square! I really love Holl's buildings, but the headline of this article made me eyeroll.
It's the architectural version of MacGyver using three bottlecaps and a pair of rusty nail clippers to perform a heart transplant. The important part is the end result.
the building is nice. but the reflecting pond is awkwardly plopped onto the landscape for no obvious reason. was it part of the design?
good stuff can come from irrational absurdity ... not always though
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.