SO MANY BUILDINGS DO LESS THAN WHAT THEIR ARCHITECTS CLAIM. THIS ONE DOES MORE. under the auspices of JRS, occupies the first floor. Action Housing bought the site at a sheriff’s sale after the closure of the restaurant. Squeezing a building into the site presented certain challenges, with a large back-of-lot smokestack remaining in place on a narrow plot bounded by Maeburn Road winding behind. But Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development for Action Housing Linda Metropulos commented, “We thought it was such a prime location, and we were interested in building housing there.” But both architect and developer emphasized an effective working relationship and a desire to produce a design blending a sense of the neighborhood with as built architecture. “We wanted to respond to the scale and the materials of the Morrowfield,” said FortyEighty principal architect Jeff Gannon of the nearby gentle giant of an apartment. To match such scale, a big building wing was suitable, clad here in terra cotta colored panels of fiber cement board, with a bit of intentional color variation. Lifted two floors off the ground, the terra cotta panels transition to all glass to better reveal interior activity along the street and to match the height of the base on the adjacent building. To match nearby material, Krause Commons has a narrower building wing in buffcolored brick rising above its one-storyhigh entry and receding slightly from the big red wall. Somewhere in this experience, you realize that the terra cotta wall curves slightly. Even with a tight budget that might have eliminated it, says Gannon, “We really felt that maintaining that
curve in response to the context of the street was really valuable.” So many buildings do less than what their architects claim. This one does more. The compositional rhythm with the existing buildings is just right, even when mixing modern asymmetry with traditional symmetry next door. Though lots of architects talk about matching the heights of adjacent structures, this design reflects a keen sense of how to pull it off. The windows of the façade give a description of the different things taking place inside the building, even as they, crucially, come from a consistent family of shapes that relate to each other. These issues are not simply about taste. They are about the capacity of new buildings to relate richly to the old, while providing visual clues about what people do in and around them. In a singular odd contrast, the side of the building currently facing Forward Avenue is not so great (where did the fiber cement panels go?). Except that a new structure will shortly cover it up, as was originally anticipated. No harm, no foul. Another project is on the way by Action Housing with more affordable rental units. Designs come from BCJ Architects, another firm which, judging by track record and preliminary designs, will deliver thoughtful, responsive, and substantive architecture. The opportunity to praise good buildings should embolden viewers to call out the onslaught of architectural garbage, not simply as mockery, but in a broader dialogue that looks at good buildings in detail, identifies their successes, and then demands that other buildings elevate their standards along similar lines.
Ranked #1 Best Party Rentals in Pittsburgh
2326 Babcock Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15237 • 412-931-4972 or 724-776-0680
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The 5th Judicial District of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Pretrial Services urges you to enjoy your weekend out in Pittsburgh but
make the right choice,
don’t drink & drive.
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 21-28, 2019
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