Comment of the Holcim Awards 2005 Jury for North America
This project successfully demonstrates the effective integration of concerns for sustainable construction with sophisticated architectural design.
Playing a prototypical role in raising collective awareness about the benefits of environmentally conscious structures, the building is convincing in its synthesis of function, form, technology, and nature. Involving community input from the outset, the project is also to be commended for its ethical consideration of enhancing social experience – i.e., with features such as the living roof, public plaza, and planetarium.
Equally worthy of merit is the material research using mock-ups that test the energy efficiency and visual effect of the proposed methods of construction.
Of equal value is the refined sensitivity to ecological issues, displayed, for example, by reclaiming the roof for a public green zone, using solar energy and natural ventilation, as well as deploying high-efficiency electric lighting throughout the building.
The cited reductions in energy consumption are also worthy of attention. This again provides evidence of how technical and natural systems can be optimally merged without compromising aesthetic impact.
The project contributes a poetically rich and rigorously considered addition to the existing environment.