Slide Library

Department of Art History and Archaeology

This project was completed both as a prototype research project to test computerized fabrication techniques, and to fulfill the immediate program needs of the client as the first phase of a longer-term master plan.

The design consists of four walls defining the space of the slide library and lit by the skylight above. The east wall is made up of 435 sandwiched layers of 1″ thick ultralight (lightweight mdf). Occasional viewing portals are formed by carved layers on opposite dies of the wall where two 1/2″ thick glass panels are inserted. The middle of the east wall curves into the space to capture light in the hall outside from a skylight above. The edges of the glass panels refract and glow from natural light. The north, south and west walls are patterned with 1/4″ perforated lines outlining the actual tooling paths for each of the layers of the east wall – these lines are illuminated by the light of the skylight in the slide library. As part of the rigor to digitally draw, fabricate and manage the entire project, every component of the design was milled regardless of its complexity to enable the walls to be assembled like furniture.

Location

New York, NY

Client

Columbia University

Year

2005

Size

40,000 sqft planning study; 1,000 sqft renovation

MFA Design Team

Scott Marble, Karen Fairbanks, Jake Nishimura (project architect), Eric Ng, Katie Shima

Structural Engineer

Norfast Consulting Group

Mechanical Engineer

Charles G. Michel Engineering PC

General Contractor

Ideal Interiors

Offsite Fabricators

Bjork Carle Woodworking; Stainless Metals Inc.; Kangoo Products

Lighting Designer

Richard Shaver Architectural Lighting

Recognition

Honor Award

AIA New York

R+D Award

Architect Magazine

ID Design Award of Distinction

Honorable Mention

American Architecture Award

The Chicago Athenaeum

Assembly Team

Mark Taylor, Paul Miller, Taka Sarui, Alexandra Distler, Chyanne Husar, Sabri Farouki, Chris Kanipe, Jamison Guest, Armando Ortiz

Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University

FabCon Lab: David Benjamin (project manager); Cory Clarke, Phil Anzalone (co-directors); Ian Weiss, Darren Zhou, Jamison Guest, Katie Mearns, Taka Sarui, Soo-in Yang, Amy Yang

Photography

Jongseo Kim; Marble Fairbanks