Azure – March 2019

MAR/APR 2019_ _ 059

Despite being the place where the Pulitzer Prize is awarded each year, the Joseph D. Jamail

Lecture Hall at Columbia University’s School of Journalism was a nondescript room, albeit

one with beautiful bones. These include arched windows that, until recently, were obstructed

by a standard drop ceiling. The task of LTL Architects – to open up and liberate the views both

to the windows and out of them – involved the creation of a tapering ceiling that incorporated

existing mechanical systems and lighting (heritage-related restrictions on the scope of the

renovation were so stringent that the firm couldn’t even replace the substructure of acoustic

tiles). The result is a kind of “architectural coffer” composed of modules that can be recessed

or pushed down – extruded into “innies” and “outies,” as LTL puts it.

Brought into the design process early on, the architecture and fabrication studio SITU

collaborated with LTL on issues ranging from how to simplify the design for contractors to

figuring out the best way to hang the modules. “We worked with them to develop a series

of 100 prototypes,” explains LTL’s Marc Tsurumaki. “Some repetition was required for

manufacturing and assembly, but we devised enough variation for effect.” Each module

is constructed from four sheets of sound-dampening EzoBord – a flexible acoustical-panel

material made with recycled plastic water bottles; SITU reinforced the larger coffers with

a double layer of the material. The conical design integrates various forms of lighting –

a flat-panel LED, a pre-existing diffuser and adjustable stage lighting – and creates an

eye-popping effect that both enhances the look and integrity of the space and frees up those

glorious windows. ltlarchitects.com, situ.nyc

For Pilot Coffee Roasters’ latest coffee shop

in Toronto, architecture and design studio

Williamson Williamson strove to create a

skylit feel in a concrete-ceilinged storefront.

Its solution: a grid structure supporting

a series of light-reflecting fins. Originally,

the fins were to be made out of perforated

22-gauge steel, but, in order to cut costs,

a switch to acrylic was required. “As archi-

tects, budgetary constraints force us to make

design decisions along the entire process,”

says co-founder Betsy Williamson. “So the

question becomes: How do you cut costs and

keep the thread of a project?”

In this case, the firm went to Unistrut

Service Company for an off-the-shelf frame

and hardware, which it was able to order

in green – Pilot’s brand colour. The angular

fins, however, were custom-designed in both

solid and translucent versions measuring

almost 91 centimetres squared, with a

V-shaped drop of 28 centimetres. Fashioned

out of Plexiglas Green’s Precision Plastics,

the 96 pieces feature flanges pre-drilled

to align with the Unistrut elements and are

illuminated from above by track lights to

achieve the skylit effect. “In hindsight,” says

Williamson, “the lightness of the Plexiglas

fins made installation much easier. We are

now taken with the lighter feeling and more

translucent ceiling.” williamsonwilliamson.com,

unistrut.com, gpplastics.ca

THE RIGHT ANGLES

A coffee house’s translucent ceiling

survives value engineering

VIEW FINDING

At Columbia University, a historic venue gets a

much-needed lift through cleverly conceived coffers

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