The new Porsche Museum, designed by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, has opened in Stuttgart, Germany. Photo: Porsche AG Extra Large Image

Rocky Mount · 2009.0204
The historic N. Morris Building in Rocky Mount, Virginia, has reopened after a restoration by Roanoke-based architecture and engineering firm Spectrum Design. The three-story, 9,000-square-foot (840-square-meter), 95-year-old building was prepared for use as office space.

The project included restoration of all facades, original wood floors, pressed-metal ceilings, and unique woodwork, and retention of the original light fixtures with scalloped cast-iron end caps. Third-floor exposed raw timber beams and interior brick walls were preserved, along with renovated decorative column and beam covers and stair components.

Plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems were upgraded, and high-efficiency heat pumps were installed. ADA improvements were also made throughout the building, including the addition of an exterior wheelchair lift. A new rooftop observation deck offers views of the city and surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains.

El Monte · 2009.0131
Gonzalez Goodale Architects of Pasadena, California, has revealed its design for two new buildings and site modernizations on the campus of Columbia School, a historic K-8 public school in El Monte, California. The 14,100-square-foot (1,310-square-meter) multipurpose building will include a gymnasium, bleachers, and fitness room, with extensive daylighting.

The two-story, 46,700-square-foot 4,340-square-meter) classroom building will include a new 5,200-square-foot (480-square-meter) library and computer lab. The library will feature a translucent fiberglass Kalwall roof monitor and walls for diffusing sunlight. A translucent bridge of polycarbonate honeycomb structural panels will connect the library mezzanine to a roof deck.

Sustainable features will include operable windows to allow natural ventilation, custom light fixtures made with 40-percent recycled plastics, durable zinc roofs, and native and drought-resistant landscaping. Materials will include recyclable carpet in the library, exposed concrete in corridors, and bamboo wood flooring in the gym. Completion is scheduled for September 2009.

Stuttgart · 2009.0131
Porsche AG has opened its new Porsche Museum (pictured above) in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart, Germany. Delugan Meissl Associated Architects of Vienna, Austria, designed the museum, which displays 80 cars and 200 exhibits in 5,600 square meters (60,000 square feet) of exhibit space. It also includes conference areas, a roof terrace, a restaurant, and a shop that puts vehicle maintenance on display.

The museum occupies a site among existing factory buildings, office complexes, transportation links, rail lines, and roads. The structure consists of a three-dimensional steel framework on a cast-in-place concrete foundation. White-coated metal panels sheathe the main body of the museum, the underside of which is covered in highly polished stainless steel. The exhibit area is covered in white panels of a mineral material welded seamlessly together.

Visitors are guided down a gently sloping ramp into the building interior. Zones for rest and for speeding up, with an interplay of constriction and expansiveness, heighten the palpable tension of this experience of space. The only entrance into the actual exhibition area is by a way of a pronounced, centrally located sweep of stairs.

Florence · 2009.0130
Ground has been broken for a new $32.8 million performing arts center at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. Holzman Moss Architecture of New York City designed the 68,000-square-foot (6,300-square-meter) facility. The center's 900-seat multipurpose hall will feature adjustable acoustics and staging options. The center will also include a two-story, 9,000-square-foot (840-square-meter) lobby, a 100-seat black box theater, and an academic wing of offices, classrooms, and support spaces.

The architects developed a customized built-in, single-piece, automated orchestra shell enclosure for the main hall. The mechanized shell will transform the stage and fly loft from a tuned musical environment to an open and flexible stage house for theatrical events. Its geometry will extend into the interior of the room, enveloping the stage and audience in a single cohesive enclosure.

A hand-operated, motorized gantry crane will transport the acoustical shell from storage to stage in less than five minutes, upgrading a process that normally requires a large crew many hours to complete. A series of large roller wheels will distribute the weight of the 20-ton (18-metric-ton) shell on the stage floor.

Materials include blue granite, remnant marble, donated tongue-and-groove pine boards milled from local trees, and recycled-content materials, such as terrazzo, Marmoleum, and Tectum. Completion is expected in fall 2010.

Winchester · 2009.0130
The Colour Factory has opened in Winchester, United Kingdom. Designed by Dan Brill Architects of Winchester, the building houses small workshops run by the Colour Factory arts collective. Where possible, elements were combined, such as the structural plywood, which is also used as the internal finish. The polycarbonate Rodeca cladding offers rigidity, lightness, water-tightness, translucency, color, and cost-efficiency, eliminating the need for studwork, waterproofing, and windows. Several apertures in the plywood skin allow colored light into the building during the day.

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