Design Stories 3.01

RAC Served

Servant and served spaces. I have always adored the architecture of Louis Kahn. In particular, I have admired the cleanness of plan and its integration with engineering systems. With the Rochester Art Center (RAC), we started the exploration by creating a building as sculpture which still clearly adheres to those principles.

RAC is simply two volumes, a Tower and levitating Box. The Tower does all the work, it serves the Box. All mechanical systems, toilets, fire stairs and penthouse reside in the Tower. It also serves as the structural backspan for the levitating Box.The Box provides open, unimpeded, clean volumes for gallery display and working studios.

The rigor of a strong delineation of engineering systems can lead to the most sculptural of architectural expression. Kahn was never shy about that clarity of his servant/served dichotomy. Neither is the RAC where that rationality becomes part of the power of a poetic, sculptural expression. The appreciation of architecture, as with art, can and should allow for a far deeper understanding of a design’s depth.