Kent State University - Stark Campus Fine Arts Building

Description

Doh, soh, mi… Convey the score for Beethoven’s iconic Moonlight Sonata in the raw material of a terracotta façade. That was the magnificent idea put forward by architects at Hasenstab for Kent State University’s project in North Canton, Ohio.
What was the order? To add two storeys and carry out major renovation work to the existing Fine Arts building, to meet the growing needs of the music, visual arts and performing arts departments. The structures created had to be remarkable, to draw the attention of new students and make them want to enrol at the school. "

• Year of delivery

  2018

• Location

  Kent USA

• Architect / signatory

  Hasenstab Architects

• Project owner

  Kent State University

• Installation company

  Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal

• Photograph

  Gayle Babcock

• Product name

  Piterak Slim

• Product form

  Standard, Grooved, Ridged, Custom shape

• Epidermis texture

  Through body colour

• Surface appearance

  Plain natural

• Color

  07.Siena & 03.Champagne

• Work

  New

HD download Contact-us

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

© Photos sous copyright soumises à des droits d’auteur

Titre d'article

A virtuoso architectural score

Corps d'article

To turn this piece of architecture into a unique building, the architects gave their rendition of Beethoven’s almost hypnotically mounting theme. The score is turned into a series of graphic solids and voids on the façades: the long horizontal lines of terracotta represent the lines denoting the number of bars’ rest, while the various terracotta projections that appear to dance symbolise the musical notes. The architectural tempo comes from combining the standard Piterak Slim version in a ridged and grooved finish with a 3D-shaped Piterak Slim that was specially developed for this project. The overlapping of the two blocks now forming the overall construction creates large overhangs, making it necessary to find ways of economising on weight as much as possible. Otherwise the steel for the construction would be too bulky. The standard Piterak Slim resulted in significant weight savings and allowed Hasenstab to create the façade as they wanted. The upper building, which accommodates spaces that need to be large, seems to be hanging in suspension, setting the tone for this extraordinary creation.
"

The word of

Hasenstab Architects, Architect

Interview

Brian Miner, architect at Hasenstab
 
“This project was completed within a very short deadline. In fact, the prospective supplier of the terracotta was unable to supply within the allotted time. Fortunately, Terreal was extremely responsive! I think we’d approved the shop drawings in less than a week, to place our order with the factory. Terreal achieved the impossible to help us meet this planned date. It was my first experience of working with them and it was excellent. I can't wait to pursue this relationship further. The local representative in the USA shared their in-depth knowledge of the product and system to help us design the building to match the owner's vision. And the result is clear to see. With improvements made to the computer images, the project turned out exactly as planned. What the computers cannot capture is the owners’ enthusiasm when they saw their completed building! This was the first time our firm had used terracotta and it won’t be the last! Teams are incorporating it right now into future projects. I love the fact that terracotta can be used differently from how it was originally designed and even from how it was used just five years ago. I’m currently working on a new project on a terracotta building dating from 1917. We’re going to add some of today's terracotta materials to create a dialogue, across a hundred-year interval, between two different forms of this wonderful material.”