Gilmer Social Justice Center | 4th YR ARCH. Studio Project Documentation

GILMER COUNTY SOCIAL JUSTICE CENTER

Architecture IV – Integrative Design Lab • Blacksburg,VA • Fall 2020 Daniel Kim • Advised by Kevin Jones

ARCHITECTURE IV ARCHITECTURE IV –– INTEGRATIVE INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg Blacksburg •• FALL FALL 2020 2020

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CONCEPTUAL STUDIES

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PRECEDENT RESEARCH

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CODE & ZONING ANALYSIS

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ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAM

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SITE / CONTEXT ANALYSIS

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SITE PLAN

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FLOOR PLANS

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LIFE SAFETY + ACCESSIBILITY

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ELEVATIONS

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BUILDING SECTIONS

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MATERIAL DETAILS + SPECS

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ASSEMBLY / DETAIL / SYSTEMS

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STRUCTURAL

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ENVIRONMENTAL

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EXPERIENTIAL

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROJECT OVERVIEW

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PROJECT OVERVIEW

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

This particular project sheds light on a neighborhood that has been underserved for decades and creates a new chapter for the residents of Northwest Roanoke, specifically those who are residing in Gilmer county.

Mainly functioning as a Social Justice Center, this new addition to the block on the corner junction of Loudon Avenue and 5th Street NW will serve the locals in various degrees. As a new community hub for the people, from the exterior design to the material pallette of the interior finishes, all focus on creating a lost identity and sense of community for the neighborhood. Like a soft marshmellow, the light, translucent building subtly hovers over the site and welcomes everyone to allow for gatherings to occur inside and to celebrate the history of Gilmer County.

The site is located towards Northwest of downtown Roanoke,VA

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Exterior rendering from the Northwest corner of the site

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CONCEPTUAL STUDIES

The concept of the design started from analyzing the site. Because the site is situated in a place in which there was a lack of development and maintainance, vacant lots are easily visible throughout the neighborhood. Also, having such a significant area dedicated to industrial zones, the design led towards a circular, dome-like volume that detcaches itself from the relatively cold and inhumane surroundings.

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

A building with round edges embraces the interior space and encourage users to face in-ward, which facilitates a setting for people to come together and form a sense of community.

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Some Constants

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Although the design of the building changed drastically throughout the different design phases, there were some points that stayed constant: (1) Because the Coca Cola plant was the only building visible from across 5th Street, the Social Justice Center should turn its back on the factory and open up more to the East facade, in which faces the neighborhood. (2) Because the building should be easily accessible from the East, the necessary 8 parking lots should be placed on the other side, visible from the larger road, 5th Street, instead of being linked to Loudon Ave. (3) Different programs should overlap with eachother as much as possible to create multiple dialogues for the various spaces.

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

Design Development

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A Building That Faces Inwards

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Ultimately a design that both satisfies dynamic dialogues to occur amongst different programs and an inward facing plan was the reasonable solution.

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Ben van Berkel: ‘The building twists and turns around you like a sculpture full of contrapposto; now you see things and people, now you don’t.’

Ben van Berkel: ‘The building twists and turns around you like a sculpture full of contrapposto; now you see things and people, now you don’t.’

Location: Stuttgart, Germany Area : 35000 m² (About 367,000 ft²) Year: 2006

Location: Stuttgart, Germany Area : 35000 m² (About 367,000 ft²) Year: 2006

A double-helix structure begins from the top and visitors are allowed to choose from two routes, one being the Legend Rooms orchestrated with dramatic artificial lighting and the Collection Rooms with soft day-lighting.

Two spirals connect multiple clover leaf platforms and as one moves down ,he or she is constantly introduced to the other exhibitions. The complex, yet elegant geometry and layout of the architecture allows adjacent exhibition platforms to hover over, overlap, and come together at times; a dialogue is formed amongst different spaces. The Social Justice Center takes upon this design approach to intertwine all the necessary programs for the project.

UN STUDIO

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

Being a museum, the building is focused on the spatical experience and guides visitors to stay immersed in the archives held in the special circular platforms.

UN STUDIO

Because the project was seeking to be an inward facing building that could allow the visitors to focus on what’s happening inside in contrast to leading them to exterior views, the Mercedes Benz Museum designed by UN Studio is a perfect precedent to look in to for various inspirations.

MERCEDES BENZ MUSEUM

MERCEDES BENZ MUSEUM

PRECEDENT RESEARCH

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12 ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

Allianz Arena

Nelson-Atkins Museum

Mercedes Benz Museum

Herzog & Demeuron

Steven Holl Architects

UN Studio

To Celebrate Gathering

Transparent Day & Night

Intertwined Spatial Experiences

Home of the two local football clubs, Bayern München and TSV 1860, the landmark stadium is wrapped in diamond-shaped air bubbles. These bubbles successfully clad the curved boundaries of the stadium and also achieves a uniquely soft aesthetic, almost pillow-like texture. Drawing inspiration from this ETFE facade, the Gilmer County Social Justice Center adopts this facade to achieve a similar visual effect as well as successfully enveloping the curved edges of the building.

Being a community hub for the neighborhood, the Gilmer County Social Justice Center should perform as it should during the day time, but also after sunset in the evening to serve the community at the widest rage possible.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum gently sits over the grass hills in daytime and gently lights up like a lantern after sunset.

These characteristics depict a delicate and warm appearance, appealing to everyone, at all times.

The Mercedes Benz Museum is a master piece in terms of spatial experiences. Because of the trefoil movement spiraling down from the top, the lines of travel intersect more than once as the exhibitions unfold. Exhibition spaces overlap, hover over one another and create an endless dialogue, enriching the visitor’s experience in the museum as well as providing numerous means of exploring the immense archive.

Use Group

Allowable (Feet)

A-3 S-1 B E

75.00 75.00 75.00 75.00

CONSTRUCTION TYPE

IBC Table 504.4

IBC Table 506.2

Stories above Grade Area per Floor (SF) Allowed Proposed Allowed Proposed 3.00 3.00 38000.00 3000.00 3.00 3.00 52500.00 1000.00 4.00 3.00 76000.00 800.00 3.00 3.00 43500.00 4000.00 IIIB

per IBC Table 506.2

FIRE RATINGS Primary Structural Frame Bearing Walls Exterior Interior Nonbearing Walls Exterior Interior Floor Construction Roof Construction SPRINKLER

A-3 S-1 B E

2 0

IBC Table 601

0

IBC Table 602

0 0 0

IBC Table 601

Total SF of Use Group

IBC Section 903

IBC Table 1004.1.2

= Total SF / Load Factor

Occupant Load Factor

# of Occupants

5 300 100 20

600 3 8 200

3000.00 1000.00 800.00 4000.00

TOTAL MIN. EXIT SPACING (in feet)

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5 1004.1.2 IBC Table

IBC Section 903

# of Occupants

= Total SF600 / Load Factor

300 3 Occupant 100 8 # of Occupants Load Factor 20 200 5 600 TOTAL 811 300 3 100 8 20 200 IBC Section 1007 70 Consisting of a Reinforced Concrete core and TOTAL concrete columns, 811 the Social Jus-

tice Center’s construction type falls under 3B and classifies mainly as Assembly Group A-3 being it a community hall also includes lecturerequired halls and use floor plans to that overlay egress paths + indicate exits a narraEGRESS tive archive. site is also zoned in a70Commercial Neighborhood (CN).

IBC Section 1007 MIN. EXITThe SPACING (in feet) ACCESSIBILITY use floor plans to indicate clearances at doors / turning, ramps, elevators EGRESS

use floor plans to overlay egress paths + indicate required exits

IBC Table 2902.1 PLUMBING FIXTURES ACCESSIBILITY use floor plans to indicate clearances at doors / turning, ramps, elevators Water Closets (Toilets) Lavatories (Sinks) Use Group Male Female Male Female

A-3 5 10IBC Table 2902.1 3 3 PLUMBING FIXTURES S-1 1 1 1 1 Water Closets (Toilets) Lavatories (Sinks) Use Group B 1 1 1 1 Male Female Male Female E 1 1 1 1 A-3 5 10 3 3 S-1 1 1 1 1 B 1 1 1 1 E 1 1 1 1

Zoning

Y

OCCUPANCY Use Group

0

Y Occupant Load Factor

= Total SF / Load Factor

811

IBC Section 1007

ZONING DISTRICT

CN

SETBACKS ZONING DISTRICT Front Yard

CN

Zoning

(ft) 0

Side Yard SETBACKS Rear Yard Front Yard

0 (ft) 0 0

Side Yard ALLOWABLE HEIGHT (in feet) Rear Yard

0 45 0

PARKING ALLOWABLE HEIGHT (in feet) Required

# 45 8

Provided PARKING

8 #

Required

8

Provided

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IBC Table 504.3

Total SF of Use Group

A-3 3000.00 OCCUPANCY S-1 1000.00 Total SF Use Group B 800.00 of Use Group E 4000.00 A-3 3000.00 S-1 1000.00 B 800.00 E 4000.00 MIN. EXIT SPACING (in feet)

CODE & ZONING IBC Chapter 3

IBC Table 1004.1.2

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OCCUPANCY SPRINKLER Use Group

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ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAM Social Justice Center Target Size: 6000~8000 SF

Community Gathering Room

Entrepreneur Lab

Main Entrance

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Being the largest, and also easiest to access from the street, the community gathering room is an open space for various for small community meetings, lectures, and study sessions etc.

The gathering room is accessible from all sides of the building and is the most visible part of the building from outside and should be able to hold events with up to 70 participants.

The entrepreneur lab serves young entrepreneurs to imagine, think, and concretize their dreams. It is a space that encourages creativity and collaboration. For maximum flexibility, the main entrance for the lab is more of a Wall that opens up, rather than a narrow door to easily move in and out equipment. The lab cantilevers over the study area and can be visible from below, to spark interest and create a dialogue between the young entrepreneurs and visitors.

The main west entrance of the Social Justice Center welcomes visitors approaching from the neighborhood along Loudon Ave. The entrance protrudes out from the building envelope to be easily recognized by the visitor and has an overhang to allow shelter from harsh weather conditions such as rain and snow.

Community Gathering Room Narrative Archive 3 Classrooms Entrepreneur Startup Lab 2 Anchor Tenants Administrative Suite Breakout Room

Exterior

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

• Nice landscaping that grounds the building to the site • Should add beauty and life of the neighborhood.

• Highlighting the use of sustainable infrastructure Miscellany • Bathrooms & janitor closets • Mechanical/sprinkler/electrical/ plumbing support spaces • 2 required means of egress with ap propriate fire protection • 7 (+1 disabled) parking spaces

A wood floor finish compliments the neutral color of the ETFE facade and creates a warm atmosphere for the triple-height space. Adjacent to the community gathering room is an ADA compliant bathroom, small kitchen, cafe, and comfortable seating along the edges of the room.

Adjacent to the Entrepreneur Lab is the narrative archive room to further broaden the dialogue with individuals outside of the lab.

Some technology and furniture that may be installed in the space could include a speaker system with a wall mounted flat screen to watch documentaries or other educational videos along with bean bags to create a casual, less strict space. Also, there could be a large table for gatherings and meetings amongst the entrepreneurs. Like the community gathering room, the floor is finished with wood to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

As one passes through the vestibule, he or she is greeted with the retail space, preferably a cafe, and is invited to further enter the building and walk up the wide steps with the community gathering room in sight. The entrance also has a long bench built out of wood planks that link the entrance and the ramp along the west facade, offering a space that may serve at all times.

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Exploded axonometric drawing of the Social Justice Center

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SITE / CONTEXT ANALYSIS

Gilmer County Downtown Service District

A divided Neighborhood Being at the edge of Gilmer County, the site is adjacent to the Coca Cola factory that has wire fences surrounding the cold, concrete block. In other words, the site sits next to a property that fails to serve the community and adds nothing but the noise polution of trucks moving in and out from the factory. Due to the factory, 5th street lacks a dialogue with its buildings along with its sidewalk. This particular neighborhood of the county is also disturbed by the industrial zones along the railroad only a block away.

Industrial Institutional Residential

Rail Road Arterial Streets Neighborhood Collector Streets

Freight Car America

The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center Taubman Museum of Art Wells Fargo Bank

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

Coca-Cola Bottling Plant

IInitial building designs while attempting to respond to the sit

Site analysis Diagram of Variables that emphasize 5th street as a division line

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Standing on the sidewalk between the site and 5th Street facing Southeast.

Standing on the site, facing Southeast.

Standing on the sidewalk across from 5th street and looking up to the site.

Standing on 5th Street facing Southeast between the Coca Cola Plant on the left and the site on the right.

Facing the back side of the factory across the street from the site.

Standing on a vacant lot, looking on to the site in the background.

Facing the site from Loudon Avenue.

Photos taken during a site visit

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Facing Northwest, towards the neighborhood, standing from the site.

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SITE PLAN

84 (ft) 36 12

The Social Justice Center has pathways that connect to the pre-existing walk ways in its surroundings, one stretching out from the southwest corner of the building and two other paths connecting to the sidewalk running along Loudon Avenue.

Loudon Ave.

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ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

In attempt to open up the building’s activities and exterior views to the neighborhood and also being a community hub for the residents, the Social Justice Center has glass curtain walls and openings on the west facade to allow a dialogue between the exterior and interior. In contrast to the neighborhood side of the building, the east facade of the Social Justice Center is mostly closed off and turns its back towards 5th Street except for the fact that the parking lot is visible from the street so that visitors may recognize that there is an entrance to the building when commuting by car.

5th St. NW

The site is situated on the corner of Loudon Avenue and 5th Street NW and the most unique aspect about the site is that there is a contrasting condition of the east and west side of the site. The east facade runs along the larger street of the two and faces a factory that is detached to the residential area on the west side of the site.

Ground floor plan

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FLOOR PLANS

Numerous voids are present throughout the floor plans to further connect the various spaces in different floors, to maximize a mixed dynamic atmosphere of spaces overlapping with eachother.

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3rd floor plan

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72(ft)

2nd floor plan

Ground floor plan

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The floor plans developed with some fixed constraints from the beginning of the design phase of the project: (1) The parking lot for the building shiould be located along 5th Street, while having the community gathering room left from that, facing the neighborhood and the easily accessible by foot from outside. (2) Tenant spaces would occupy the north west corner of the site, easily accessible and visible from Loudon Avenue. (3) Classrooms and the Entreprenuer lab would occupy the floors above the parking lot, allowing the community gathering room to achieve a triple-height space.

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LIFE SAFETY + ACCESSIBILITY For a safe evacuation to occur during a fire emergency, sprinklers are installed throughout the building. An additional sprinkler room is located near the main entrance on the west facade in order for fire trucks to hook up to the building’s sprinkler system.

Loudon Ave.

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

The egress plans on the right (p.21) show the paths that could be taken for a quick evacuation. There is an ample number of exits available for everyone due to the three main exits on the North, South, and West side of the building. The core includes a fire stairwell with a 2-hour rating and has two exits on the gound level, one giving direct access to outside, towards the parking lot.

The main material of the building, ETFE is a combustible polymer with a small quantity of smoke emission and no dripping of flaming droplets.

Therefore incase of a fire, the ETFE wall will evaporate immediately and visitors will never be exposed to a situation of being trapped in hazardous air qualities.

sprinkler room

Potential parking spaces for fire trucks

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ELEVATIONS

36’ 24’ 12’

Center Ave. NW

Loudon Ave. NW

Moorman Ave. NW

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

Facing the neighborhood, the west elevation of the building is open to the residents. The main entrance occupies most of the lower side of the building, welcoming those who come close to the site. The swooping entrance feels further welcoming from the long bench along the curve that encourages visitors to stop by and take a rest at anytime.

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West elevation

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East Elevataion sketch

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Studying openings in elevation

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BUILDING SECTION On the other side of the triple-height space dedicated to the community gathering room, most of the other programs are stacked above the parking lot. The second floor is occupied with two classrooms of different sizes along with a study space. This study space can potentially become a breakout room as well and naturally connects to a generous stairway with multiple seating areas that lead up to the Entrepreneur Lab above; Perhaps there could be a dialogue between these two spaces and further influence individuals back and forth.

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

Across from the Entrepreneur Lab, the narrative archive welcomes visitors to travel back in time and learn the history of the neighborhood,Gilmer County.

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Section drawing facing west

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MATERIAL DETAILS + SPECS ETFE ETFE (Ethylen Tetrafluoroethylen) is a plastic polymer that boasts a lightness and high thermal efficiency. In this project the particular material is deployed along the curved walls with double layered inflatable airbags in a diamond shape. It weighs nearly 1% of glass and has a self-cleaning characteristic because dirt or other debris can be washed away simply from a rainfall.

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

Glossy Polycarbonate Panels Having a white, glossy texture to the polycarbonate panels, these panels run along the edges of the 2nd and 3rd floor to allow skylight to reflect and reach all the way down to the community gathering room.

Walnut wood In order to achieve a warm and welcoming atmosphere, the building adopts a walnut wood floor finish along with partial ceilings being finished with this material as well.

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ASSEMBLY / DETAILS / SYSTEMS 1.

Metal Flashing 36’ - 0”

Pressure Treated Wood Blocking Steel Anchor Bolt Vapor Barrier

1.

Vapor Barrier Air Barrier

Aluminum Window Mullion 24’ - 0”

Steel Plate Between Floor and ETFE Struct.

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Mineral Wool Insulation

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Metal Flashing Gypsum Board

.5” DIAM. Inflation Tube Steel Plate Between Floor and ETFE Struct.

Aluminum Extrusion Cap Aluminum Extrusion Clamping Strip ETFE Film

Glass Curtain Wall Hardwood Floor Finish Cast in Place Concrete Gutter 1/8” DIAM. Steel Cable 3” DIAM. Steel Rail 10’ - 0”

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0’ - 0”

Wall section of the West Entrance

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-2.5’ - 0”

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The ETFE facade drapes over the building like an umbrella. The structure that holds the dimanond-shaped bubbles are welded to the roof structure and also welded to the steel structure of the third floor.

ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

Because the building achieves a high thermal performance with thick airbubbles occupying most of the building envelope, a minimum amount of piping is required for heating. However, in order for the Social Justice Center to fully function in all conditions, a HVAC system room is tucked in between the fire stairwell and the elevator with condensors. This room is accessible from the outside and visible from the parking lot.

Main structure Air supply pipe Electrical pipe

Multiple Air Handiling Units are distributed across different areas of the building in order to allow maximum customization in air quality and temperature. One AHU is installed in the sprikler room that’s next to the main entrance and another is on the second floor which is in charge of the air going in to the two classrooms.

AHU

condensor AHU

AHU

AHU

AHU

1F

2F

3F

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ENVIRONMENTAL The largest contribution the building does in considering the environment has to do with the use of ETFE (Ethylene Tetra Fluoro Ethylene) as an interior and exterior finish.

Weighing 1% the weight of glass, ETFE cushions are extremely light weight and are extraordinarily tear resistant.

The light weight of the material helps with a low impact on the environment during its transportation to the site during construction and also needs a small amount of structural material for it to be assembled, further minimizing the environmental footprint during construction.

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Another benefit of the material is that because it can transmit up to 95% of light, there is an ample amount of natural daylighting inside, minimizing the use of artificial lighting and electricity during the daytime.

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STRUCTURAL The structure of the building consists of a concrete core running parallel to 5th Street and concrete columns running along each side. The columns are offsetted to accomodate the steel tube mesh that holds up the ETFE film bubbles. The ETFE facade structure is welded in to the roof steel structure and hangs from these 37 welded points and also is welded on to the 3rd floor slab with steel plates. Because of the unique characteristic of ETFE being a plastic material, the columns are exposed to an extremely low load coming from the continuous wall of the Social Justice Center.

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ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

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A sketch exploring points where different structures come together

Building core and columns

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A section detail study of the ETFE facade

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EXPERIENTIAL

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The Entrepreneur Lab is easily visible and accessible from outisde for other people to feel inspired by what is going on in the creative space.

During the evening, the lobby floor can become a platform for dance practices, late night theatre classes, and more.

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Night interior rendering of the lobby floor

Entrepreneur Startup lab on the third floor

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Community Gathering Room

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ARCHITECTURE IV – INTEGRATIVE DESIGN LAB • Blacksburg • FALL 2020

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