Spaces with Power

By Jordan Scott

It’s not every day that the world watches an iconic building burn. As I checked the news throughout the day on April 15, I contemplated why the fire at Notre Dame was having such a strong emotional impact on me.

I think it’s the fact that Notre Dame seems like a given. You go to Paris and there it is in all its Gothic glory, somehow untainted by the souvenir stalls and tourists taking selfies. We take places like Notre Dame for granted and it’s horrifying to realize that nothing is really permanent. France immediately began discussing how to repair and restore the damaged parts of Notre Dame. It must be intimidating for the contractors and craftspeople who will be tasked with this work.

To a lesser degree, perhaps, it must be intimidating for architects as they approach the design of a building that will immediately become a landmark in a city, such as the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco has become. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects knew it would be the tallest building in the city, and had to come up with a design that would live up to that name (See article “A (Sales)Force to be Reckoned With” on page 14).

R2L: Architects must have faced a similar pressure with Exo, a high-rise residential project in the suburbs of Washington, D.C (See article “The Wow Factor” on page 18). Tasked with designing a luxury apartment complex that stands out in an increasingly competitive and expensive market, the architecture firm used dynamic glazing throughout the façade.

For those interested in the advancements of dynamic glazing, the upcoming American Institute of Architects (AIA) Conference on Architecture 2019 will provide the perfect opportunity. In this issue, we offer a look at just some of the products architects can expect to find at the Expo (See article “Betting on Glass” on page 24).

I hope to see you at AIA ’19 in June at booth #7510.

To view the laid-in version of this article in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.