More Concept Development (Sigh…)

May 30, 2013
Shafraaz Kaba, Architect, Manasc Isaac Architects
Challenges, Planning

Hesitant to completely abandon the petal concept, but realizing we needed to move in a more straightforward, cost-conscious direction, we had an interesting conversation with our structural engineers that sparked some intriguing ideas. We wanted to maintain the richness in the design that allowed the program to be on split levels, and still needed the atrium to be in the heart of the building. As we talked through structural ideas in wood, we began to sketch two boxes attached by a light well. Stuart Fix, our Passivehaus and Energy consultant, helped us create very quick variations to test how the different configurations would perform on energy, day-lighting, and other performance factors. We were able to very quickly determine which configurations would work best and we agreed— guided by our past work and gut intuition—a long, skinny building orientated on the east-west axis always works best. Too bad our site is more square in shape than a rectangle. This has caused some difficultly in planning for the amount of parking required and factoring in some landscape and an edible garden to supply the on-site cafe. So many things to balance! I hope Dennis & Christy don’t throw anymore craziness into the mix!

Website: Manasc Isaac

Shafraaz Kaba, Architect, Manasc Isaac Architects

Fueled by a desire to create a more sustainable, beautiful world, Shafraaz is committed to combining 15 years’ experience in the design and construction of green buildings in cold climates with an eagerness to collaborate, in order to challenge traditional approaches in architecture, design and construction.

Since childhood, Shafraaz always set his sights high and not surprisingly wanted to be either an astronaut, an architect or a fighter pilot. Given his track record for achieving things quickly, the sky’s definitely not the limit for Shafraaz!