Appearing almost creature-like, the Pterodactyl Office in Culver City, California was among the 13 projects that won national recognition in the AISC 2017 IDEAS2 Awards earlier this year. Locally based Eric Owen Moss Architects designed the building, while Nast Enterprises Corp., Los Angeles (who entered the project to the competition) was in charge of structural engineering. The project won in the “Projects Less than $15 Million” category.
The angular office building was constructed right on top of an existing 4-story steel-framed parking garage. Several existing columns are cantilevered beyond the top of the parking structure to provide support for the mezzanine and roof superstructure. The building's structural configuration comprises nine “rotated ‘boxes’” that provide enough space at the corners and at their intersections to accommodate the elements of the structure.
Evidently, the Pterodactyl Office's structural design impressed the IDEAS2 competition jury. “The design overcame the inherent limitations of supporting the new building over the existing parking structure layout,” commented Ben Varela, founding principal at WORKPOINT engineering, and the structural engineer juror in the competition.
100,000 € Prize / Buildner's Unbuilt Award 2025
Register by Thu, Oct 30, 2025
Submit by Thu, Nov 20, 2025
MICROHOME Kingspan 2024/25
Register by Thu, Feb 13, 2025
Submit by Tue, Mar 18, 2025
The Home of Shadows / Edition #3
Register by Wed, Jan 29, 2025
Submit by Mon, Mar 3, 2025
The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial / Edition #5
Register by Thu, Jan 16, 2025
Submit by Wed, Feb 19, 2025
25 Comments
That's a great illustration of the architectural axiom that the making of apparently casual forms is actually highly complicated.
That looks incredibly dated, could be a BEST Showroom judging from the second picture.
imagine the leaks.
It may not be attractive, but a least if doesn't work well.
+++ citizen
throw-up buckets behind the screens? may be needed
throw-up buckets behind the screens? may be needed
Imagine Frank Gehry minus the design talent
Imagine Frank Gehry minus the design talent
Imagine Frank Gehry minus the design talent
there's a bug in the matrix, everything is echoing
there's a bug in the matrix, everything is echoing
there's a matrix in the bug, echoing is everything
In the future, ideas will be judged by loudness and repetition.
In the future, ideas will be judged by loudness and repetition.
eh... in the future?
Let's not forget this was designed in 1999 and early 2000s.
"Let's not forget this was designed in 1999 and early 2000s."
Already then it was dated.
"Nothing ages faster than yesterday's vision of the future"
- Witold Rybzynski
If something's good, we don't care about "dated."
You never hear anyone complaining, "that Pantheon is so first century," or "Gag me, that Allegheny County Courthouse is so 1880s!"
Good's always good.
"It's not good because it's old, it's old because it's good!"
i dont think good has to last forever
Why shouldnt it?
im not saying it shouldn't either.
some things good are meant to last forever
other things good are only meant to last awhile
Is it just me or is this item removed from the front page, untraceable with the search function within archinect or by going through my own comments? I had to bloody google to get here...weird.