2nd Place - $500.00 prizeSubmitted by:
Reese Rowland
POLK STANLEY ROWLAND CURZON PORTER ARCHITECTS LTD.
700 S Schiller
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
(501) 378-0878
(501) 372-7629 fax
www.polkstanley.comThe Heifer International Headquarters
"In all of my travels around the world, the important decisions were made where people sat in a circle, facing each other as equals." - Dan West, founder Heifer International
A world hunger organization, Heifer International's impact in communities starts with the delivery of one animal to one family, known as "passing on the gift ". Like a drop of water generates ripples that flow outward from the impact point, the gift of an animal creates "concentric rings of influence" radiating through a village, allowing sustainable methods taught to the original family to be passed on to others as the animal's offspring are gifted. Our goal was to design a sustainable headquarters that would exemplify Heifer's mission, express their sustainable attributes for educational purposes, and allow all employees to work as equals. Heifer would be able to practice what it preaches.
The building's gentle curve emanates from the overall four phase master plan, conceived as a series of concentric rings expanding outward from a central commons that represents the "impact point" of a gift. The reclaimed site, among the largest brownfield recoveries in the State, was once an industrial railroad switching yard whose tracks bisected the property. Using as industrial crusher, existing masonry structures were crushed into a gravel material for use on the site. Bricks were reclaimed for site paving, and 97% of the materials were recycled, including all steel. The savings in reclaimed usable material paid for the entire site demolition.The ringed site physically and metaphorically expresses the ripple effect of passing on the gift, which is also reflected in the Headquarters' layered planning. Crafted to maximize sunlight and rainwater while conserving energy and avoiding pollutants, the headquarters will see a 55% energy saving over conventional buildings. A narrow 62' wide floorplate and east / west orientation enables natural light to penetrate to the center of floors, allowing every employee light and views. The building incorporates a raised floor system, light and motion sensors, low or non-toxic emitting materials, and high recycled material content. Aluminum light shelves, vertical fins, and deep overhangs minimize glare while increasing diffuse light. The majority of employees are given the best northern views to the Arkansas River, Riverfront Park, and Clinton Presidential Library, located directly adjacent to the site.
In formulating our structural concept, we studied how Heifer would build around the world. The beauty of these structures is in the simple elegance of constructing just what is needed, meaning that all structural and metal systems for this building should be celebrated as part of telling an honest story.
We set a goal to minimize applied ornament normally found in this building type, and express the functional sustainable detailing of the metal in a beautiful way. The key was for the structure to sit lightly on the land, which led us to create thin planes at floor edges and the roof. A locally harvested heavy timber roof, combined with light structural trees that are spaced to continue and mimic the pattern of cypress trees in the wetland, create a natural canopy floating lightly above the site. The symbiotic relationship possible between the man-made and nature is achieved. Tree columns are actually one tube, four stories tall, capped with light fingerlike tube branches. All systems are integrated and visually cupped within the fingers of the trees. The inverted roof directs rainwater to exposed pipes above circulation paths - water moves as people move. Extended steel beams at the roof edge are capped with simple galvanized steel grates to extend the sun protection and lighten the edge in an elegant crown like fashion.
A key choice was the use of corrugated aluminum panels for the building's skin. This material offered a long life and the ability to conceal the joints within an elegant reveal detail, which helped break down the scale of a very long facade. The sheets arrived in Little Rock as flat panels and were rolled locally, offering economy and the ability to get the exact color desired. It also offered a look of the same type product that Heifer uses in the field. Aluminum composite panels were utilized in 18" wide bands at the floor level to express the interior's raised floor system, offering an educational opportunity through this expression. The sleek metal skin that curves with the building allows the long facade to appear to be moving along the site, much like the passenger train cars that once graced the tracks that bisected the site when it was a switching yard. The thin aluminum sheets were also used in the vertical fins and horizontal sunshades on the south facade, made from modified standard sections of sun control brackets from the window manufacturer. The material replaced the standard louvers within the brackets, and was so successful that the window manufacturer is marketing our design as a standard product. The horizontal sunshades located at 7'-0" off of the floor act as a mirror on the top, redirecting light deeper into the building.
Where wetland intercepts building, a five story 42,000 gallon water tower that is wrapped with a cantilevered fire stair and glass rises from the water, symbolizing interdependence with the elements while creating an iconic symbol for environmental stewardship. The water collected is reused to flush toilets. To promote a healthy alternative to elevators, glass wrapped stairs are pulled to the edges and float over water, allowing natural convection to pull cooled air off the water's surface up through the stairs. A metal grate with insect screens allows people to literally walk over the water below. The steel stairs are cantilevered off of a single interior wall, braced at the base in a draw bridge like fashion. Only the wall touches the water. Two major balconies on each floor are hung in the same fashion as the stair, with expressed steel hinge connections. Located at each end of the building, the balconies provide sun control and are sized as outdoor meeting rooms. The building's corrugated metal skin wraps the vertical fins at the balcony's sides, blocking the harsh morning and evening sun. Because of the raised floor distribution system, the structure was not only left exposed, but the deck was left natural and unpainted. Light testing proved this to be equal to paint, and a much more honest solution. Ductwork and even the light fixtures are raw metal.
A four story lobby acts as a vertical gallery to tell Heifer's story. Three floating bridges span the space, literally "bridge the gap" symbolically. The same aluminum corrugated aluminum panels from the exterior are brought into the atrium, only perforated as well. The corrugated aluminum panel mimics a water fall through the entire height of the space, providing locations for Heifer project images and creating an open, yet obscure view into the work zone. To avoid the atrium designation, a concealed steel horizontal fire shutter divides the space into two vertical zones, which was a unique and less costly solution. Punched stainless steel sheets become guardrails, pin mounted to the steel support railing, creating a simple, yet elegant solution.
Because Heifer seeks attainable agricultural solutions within parameters of each project's region; the building had to reflect that methodology as well. Our goal was to use locally sourced materials, exceeding LEED requirements for distance to site and recycled content. A steel structure offered manufacturing at a factory just three blocks from the site, and 97% recycled content. Aluminum curtain wall and skin, making up over 90% of the exterior, was fabricated directly across the street at a major glazing company.
These efforts allowed the building to become a candidate for a LEED Certification, just submitted at 54 points, as well as serve as a beacon of hope in Heifer's quest to end world hunger.
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