View of one checker-module typical bay showing the "unitized" shadowbox-sunscreen curtainwall system with asymmetrical checkerboard mullion pattern.
Like the serpentine block of office loft it wraps, the curtainwall is a "non-hierarchical" skin, layered from front-to-back according to utility. Without any vertical/stack-up aesthetic/up-down hierarchy being imposed,
each layer of the wall assembly is free to acquire its required sizes and
components to perform its respective functions: to veil,
to wrap, to filter, and to reveal.
Each surface layer is absolutely uniform in color and
material from top to bottom. There is no base-middle-top, floor-window-ceiling-spandrel
articulation. In fact, every effort is made to obscure them -- hence the
use of the two scales of
checkerboard pattern and the "suspended" external suncreen. All expression or articulation of the skin-wall, including its
coloration, is accomplished only as a result of the
transparency of the
front-to-back juxtaposition of the layers.
. . . back to site/ building organization
. . . river view of building; curving filigree skin wall
. . . free floors/ outer infrastructure
. . . west elevation, sunscreen assembly
. . .
in-progress construction photos
. . .
excerpt at front-page
. . . ALCOA contents-page