Olson Kundig is known for integrating industrial-inspired mechanical systems into its projects, but Art Stable takes it to a new level. Built on an urban infill site that once housed a horse stable, the mixed-use building uses an enormous 80-foot-5-inch-tall hinge designed to manually open steel-framed windows with a custom hand wheel. A crane on the top of the building can lift heavy objects into residential units. And an innovative system of geothermal loops inserted in structural piles offers energy-efficient radiant heating and cooling.
Jury: “The project is a modern update of the proven flexible and dependable multistory warehouse stock of the early 20th century.”
Client: “The most successful part of this project is that Tom Kundig was able to design a building that is beautiful, highly functional for its occupants, and extraordinarily creative in its reflection of the building’s history—all for a developer who was ultimately concerned with the project’s profitability.” —Jim Dow, founding partner of Point32, the project’s developer
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