Part of an larger network that rethinks how fresh food is produced, distributed, and consumed, Clover's first restaurant in Harvard's Square's iconic Holyoke Center is featured in the Dec/Jan issue of Dwell Magazine. Thanks to Aaron Britt who covered the story. To find out more about Clover: www.cloverfoodlab.com

The first of the Clover Restaurants is open at Harvard Square at 7 Holyoke.  Not only was it a privilege collaborating with Clover on a new concept for fast food, it was also a privilege working in the Holyoke Center, the Harvard owned building designed by Josep Lluís Sert.  Our approach was to combine the minimum-footprint-aesthetic of the Clover brand with the abstract spatial concepts of Sert’s space:  Like a minimalist art installation, fluorescent ‘cloud canopies’ are suspended below the original waffle ceiling.  A void cut into the existing mezzanine brings natural light from a skylight above while a wire trellis will allow climbing ivy to eventually reach this light source.  The idea of transparency is both literal and figural: The boundary between ‘kitchen’ and ‘customer’ is dissolved to reveal the workings of the food-making while the use of glass railings also allows visual communication between spaces while reflecting and multiplying the light.

Clover is part of a larger concept for tasty, vegetarian fast food. Their (and our) mission is to revolutionize the way food is produced, distributed, and ultimately consumed - because if we can do so, it will have an enormously positive impact on the environment.  This is not just ‘greenwash,’ in fact if you look at modern food systems you will notice enormous dysfunction on many interrelated levels.  Because of the sheer scale of our current state of affairs, a slight shift will make revolutionary change.  The clover food trucks which rolled out earlier last year are part of this larger network.  Also check out Clover on the web.

In the last year, we’ve been working with Clover on their food trucks and their new restaurant in Harvard Square.  Boston area residents may have already visited one of the two Clover Food Lab Trucks that are on the roll, one in Kendall Square and the other in Dewey Square near South Station.  For those of you that don’t know Clover, they are an amazing innovation in (dare we say it) ‘fast food.’  But don’t let the connotations fool you:  First of all, the owner, Ayr, is very modest about the little revolution he is starting.  In working through the design with him, we decided early on that there will be nothing in the architecture or marketing materials that screams that Clover is vegeterian, locally sourced, and organic whenever it can be.  What matters here is not making these distinctions (which are too quickly becoming marketing buzzwords), but instead to simply serve up delicious, healthy (and fast) food. 

Starting by recycling decommissioned cargo trucks, the Clover Trucks have been designed to be efficient, low-energy, passively cooled, and abstractly minimal – like a white-board on wheels ready to be written on.  Despite their simple appearance, they are a small small feat of engineering that spans very compact kitchen and storage design to the integration of an i-phone driven POS system spearheaded by Ayr with his affinity for cutting-edge and user-friendly technology. As we refine the design for future trucks, they will be converted to bio-diesel and include solar hot water and photovoltaic panels.  And as we zoom out and think about the larger picture, we hope to not only contribute to the design of the spaces, but also to the rethinking of the larger environmental predicament of our food systems:  how it is distributed, prepared, and consumed.

As Panama City expands at an unprecedented rate, environmental sustainability is becoming central to future developments. However, because of the high amount of rainfall and humidity, the effect of natural ventilation strategies for office and residential towers is limited. Instead we looked at ways to both generate electricity and harvest rainwater through a series of architectural ‘waterfalls’: Rainwater falling on the tower roofs is brought down to the lower roof of the tower base where gentle sloping surfaces generated from parking and pedestrian circulation is used to create a series of ‘waterfalls’ that turn a series electricity generating turbines. The water is then filtered and stored to water the sloping green roofs during dry, hot months. 

Street view of Type 1 tower:  The base is a linear pedestrian park intertwined at every other floor with a parking garage.  Rainwater is collected at the roof and distributed to this sloping system of roof gardens.  Overflow 'waterfalls' aerate the water and turn turbines that generate electricity during the rainy season.  The varied geometry of the facade exposes a limited area of the terraces to rainfall for collection at the unit level for individual gardens.
 

Through the variation of the skin many differentiations are created in unit types and sizes without changing the essential layout of the building infrastructure.  Views orientations are multiplied and where the skin is flat, 2-story duplex units are formed.

Aerial view of Type 2 towers: Several hundred meters east of the Type 1 towers, the base of these mixed-use buildings is similar to the Type 1 tower so that they are understood as part of the same green infrastructural network.  The mixed commercial and residential program is split by a community center and indoor pool that spans both towers.

PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
John Hong AIA/LEED, Jinhee Park AIA  (principals in charge), Catarina Marques

RELATED PROJECTS:

acc	8 towers	white stadium	soft lofts

Water, digital technology, and sustainability are merged in this new reinterpretation of the iconic but now underutilized Seoul Olympic Stadium.  A temporary structure to house the international Seoul Design Olympiad (SDO) events, an inflatable arch is held away from the structure of the historic stadium.  Through a simple process of condensing water on the surface of this inflatable structure through solar evaporation, rain runoff is purified and ‘misted’ to create a white volume that catches digital light and defines new energized events.  The mist also nourishes a nursery of culturally significant trees within the center of the stadium.  At the end of the event, these trees are placed throughout the city of Seoul according to the city’s masterplan, extending the positive memory of the white stadium.

During the day, the inflatable structure becomes a white symbolic volume.  Sunlight is used to condense and purify water which is used to feed the garden as well as create mist. At night, LED lighting and large scale projections allow the space to become a festive center for events.  The use of mist from water purified during the day enhances the effects of the lighting.

Inspired by the simple and elegant pottery of the Baek-Ja era, the stadium becomes a new urban figure.  By using an inflatable structure combined with a simple process of condensing water in sunlight within the inflatable,  the mist at times hides the stadium and then allows it to reappear giving the existing building a new sense of life.

As the stadium fronts the Hangang River, contaminated water from the river is purified through the condensation process and used to water a grove of trees.

The simple process of purifying water through condensation is demonstrated.

The nursery of trees is then relocated to different parts of Seoul according to the city's masterplan.  The alliance of the two major municipal projects creates an overall savings for the city.

The  purified water is used for irrigation as well as well as for creating atmospheric mists for events.

View from the Han River: Changing patterns of white mist illuminated by LED's define the underutilized existing stadium as a new event space.  The purification of the water into mist allows the public to understand the importance of the river.

PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
Jinhee Park  AIA + John Hong  AIA, LEED (principals in charge), Frederick Peter Ortner, Chris Ryan, Leehong Kim, Jaeyoon Kim, Chang Zhang

structural engineer
Paul Kassabian, SGH

RELATED PROJECTS:

acc	czech library	boston harbor

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Rather than consider ‘Urban’ and ‘Soft’ as contradictory concepts, this project rethinks the terms as counterparts to one another. Instead of a series of windows that polarize notions of inside and outside, two transformable layers are utilized: The outer skin becomes a system of operable clear windows while the inner skin utilizes sliding panels with printed ‘windows’ that transition between clear and opaque. The space that is captured between these layers is a kind of ‘soft’ zone – neither outside nor inside, but a gradation between the two. From the interior, the additional perceptual depth allows users to innovate previous conceptions of the domestic.

Typological Transformations:  1.  The old-law 'railroad' tenement had little access to light and air. 2.  The new-law 'dumbell' tenement enforced small unnocupiable lightwells. 3.  Along with the rear-yard setback, soft lofts proposes a 'soft' perimeter of occupiable light and air spaces. 
Existing Zoning: Low 1 or 2 story warehouses are the defining characteristic that have attracted new residents(left).  The new zoning implies complete erasure with 5 or 6 story new construction.

Suggested Zoning: By not lowering the proposed FAR, new construction could still be spliced into the existing fabric (left).   The sidewall could become a new layer  of history among the existing warehouse streetfronts.

The sidewall (or party wall) can become a new surface for bringing in light as well as an elevation that participates tangentially with the surrounding urban scene.  As only 15% of this wall can be glazed per code, the wall can be more effective as an overall distributed pattern rather than as a few isolated openings.

A skip-stop elevator allows duplex units.  The double-height soft zone between the interior and exterior is defined by sliding panels that can be configured by the user to  naturally vary the environmental performance and transparency of the space.

PROJECT CREDITS:  

architect
Jinhee Park AIA, John Hong AIA/LEED (principals in charge), Frederick Peter Ortner, Erik Carlson, Anne Levallois, Sadmir Ovcina, Youngju Baik, Chris Minor, Hyeyoung Kim
 

RELATED PROJECTS:

hbny	mass art	czech library

Most are familiar with Boston's ongoing "Big Dig." Few, however, give thought to the massive amount of waste that accompanies construction on this scale, namely the dismantling of the existing and temporary roadways. The Big Dig Building proposes to relocate and recycle these infrastructural materials as building components, adapting them to uses ranging from structural members to cladding. Furthermore, as these reused materials can withstand much higher loads than conventional building elements, the social ramifications of "heavy" in relation to "dwelling" can produce new and innovative results.

From Highway to Housing:  What happens to the millions of tons of discarded materials from obsolete infrastructures like Boston's Big Dig?  Destroying it costs millions to tax payers as well as wastes the embodied energy already stored in the materials.   Dismantled and relocated, concrete and  steel sections can become structural building modules adaptable to a variety of sites and programs.

Load Comparisons: Standard framing (left) can withstand 40 psf – only standard residential objects and programs can be accomodated. The existing highway overpass (middle) is designed for HS20-44 military loading and can withstand 250 psf. The Big Dig Building using salvaged materials could withstand 200psf – How might a structure that can sustain 4x the load of standard residential construction change the way we dwell?

Highway panels are shifted to create an elevation that reads as a vertical landscape.

Like a prefabricated system, differing typologies from low to high densities can be created from the same salvaged infrastructural materials.  In this light, should not all infrastructural materials be more strategically designed with the second use already in mind? This 'pre-cycling' of structure would save them from become obsolete (and thus regarded as trash) and would conserve their massive amount of embodied energy for the lifespan of the material.
 

Cross section:  The assembly of infrastructural materials provides advantages such as long span undergroung parking, the integration of water filled trombe walls, and the ability to incorporate full scale landscapes on roofs and balconies.
 

Because of the ability for the materials to carry heavy loads as well as span long distances, new programmatic freedoms can evolve.  Family playgrounds can be introduced into upper level units to provide immediate access to the outdoors (left), libraries and other heavy loads can be sustained within each unit (middle), and long spans making continuities between inside and outside can be achieved (right).
 

PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
John Hong AIA/LEED,  Jinhee Park AIA (principals in charge), Erik Carlson, Gentaro Miyano

structural design
Paul Pedini, Jay Cashman, Inc.

RELATED PROJECTS:

big dig house	soft lofts

It is the reciprocal edge between water and land that makes an island an extraordinary natural resource and public amenity. As an urban gateway to the Boston Harbor Islands, the structural roof-form or this design becomes a literal/metaphorical reference to this junction of water and land. Where the 'actual' site above the Central Artery prohibits excavation, the curvilinear roof-form is reflected onto a polished terrazzo map of the harbor islands implying the shoreline topography. This roof also collects runoff for reuse in the building and landscape while its downspouts become part of a demonstration water/land garden.

Miesian space to figural space:   The transformation of the roof planes from horizontal to vertical creates a transition from continuous public openness to figural private enclosure.

Structural concept:  like a flat sheet, a flat slab of concrete will deflect and fail (left).  Folding this sheet greatly increases its strength.

The section of the building transforms from folded to flat – open public space containing ticketing and exhibition areas to private interior space containing restrooms and wash areas.

A singular shape performs in multiple ways.

In the evening, the pavilion becomes part of the linear eventscape illuminating the new greenway.

PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
Jinhee Park AIA (principal in charge), John Hong AIA/LEED (collaborating principal), Sadmir Ovcina, Frederick Peter Ortner, Erik Carlson, Hyeyoung Kim

structural engineer
Jaeseoung Lee, Weidlinger Associates Inc.

RELATED PROJECTS:

mass art	boston city hall	bac sasaki	acc	white stadium

This addition above an existing structure expands the experience of the house without physically making it bigger.  The ‘interior-ness’ of the existing stone ground level is juxtaposed against the ‘exterior-ness’ of the new second level:  The light-weight and light-filled spaces of the new second floor are separated into 3 separate pavilions.  This fragmentation allows framed views to the surrounding landscape and new captured roof-gardens that both connect and separate the rooms.  Through energy efficient passive techniques including stack ventilation and the strategic use of overhangs, the need for mechanical summer cooling is eliminated.  In the winter the low-winter sun is harnessed to heat the thermally massive floor.
 

A new second story (photo above) replaced the original dilapidated one (photo below).  A new entry porch was added to unify the new and original architectures.

Instead of increasing the size of the house, the new upper level is conceived of as 3 pavilions (right).  The new spatial seams between the volumes  expand the experience of the spaces creating a dynamic spatial contrast with the inward looking existing ground floor spaces (left).
 

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The space between the pavilions becomes a captured bamboo courtyard.

3 pavilions: The concept diagram shows how dividing the program into 3 pavilions allows the house to stay small while extending the sense of space from inside to outside.

Passive solar techniques: A roof overhang blocks high summer sun while allowing low winter sun keeping the thermally massive floor cool in the summer and hot in the winter.

A strategic cut in the ceiling connects the existing ground floor with the new 2nd floor (left).  Natural light and ventilation is now brought into a space that was originally dark and required artificial lighting even during the day (right).
 

The double height space stack ventilates the house bringing cool air from below and releasing hot air through upper level clerestory windows.  The passive cooling techinique eliminates the need for air conditioning.

PROJECT CREDITS:-

architect
Jinhee Park AIA (principal in charge), John Hong AIA/LEED (collaborating principal), Anne Levallois, Erik Carlson, Jiseok Park, Ann Ha

structural engineer
Tripi Engineering Services, LLC

contractor
Oteri Construction

fabrication
Osprey Design/Build
 

RELATED PROJECTS:

hbny	8 towers	1948 house

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Within 2 days, the house is framed: reusing steel structure and roadway panels from the big dig has sped up this phase of construction from 2 weeks to 12 hours.
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To minimize fabrication time and expense, the structural pieces were reused as-is.

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construction sequence (left) and section through living and roof garden (right).
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Salvaged structural materials are left raw (left).  The roof garden connects to the living room and utilizes harvested rainwater (right).
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Window walls in conjunction with double height spaces bring natural light deep in the space while exterior overhangs shade summer sun.

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PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
John Hong AIA /LEED, Jinhee Park AIA (principals in charge), Erik Carlson, Sadmir Ovcina, Chris Minor

structural design & construction
Paul Pedini, Jay Cashman, Inc.

structural engineer
Weidlinger Associates, Inc.

water management design
Cristina Perez-Pedini

RELATED PROJECTS:

big dig building	mass art	valentine

SsD was included in a gobal selection of 100 architects curated by Ai WeiWei and Herzog and deMeuron.  The abstraction of the desert site is taken as an opportunity to develop new prototypical relationships between program and efficient energy use.  Each of the 8 towers contains a separate and distinct program: entry, living, food, exercise, sleeping, and bathing. Through the distortion of each tower’s geometry, the volumes join or separate creating strategic connections and segregations so that only occupied portions of the building need to consume energy.  The organization also creates experiential differences between rooms that are necessarily similar in size, while creating a high level of both porosity and privacy.  Finally, the strategy heightens the identity and iconography of each program promoting an intensity of accidental or intentional relationships between differing activities.

Different zones of the home are used at different times of day. dynamically adapting building systems to these patterns of use allows for greater energy-efficiency.

Separating the program into separate towers forms new spatial relationships while maximizing light and air to all rooms.

The towers rise out of the desert – clay pots are integrated into the landscape design to manage runoff during flash rain storms (above).  Although the  towers are in dense proximity to form an advantageous microclimate, the angled walls allow clear views to the sky (right).

structural diagram: towers are able to lean by keeping the centroids of volumes within foundation line

PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
Jinhee Park AIA, John Hong AIA/LEED (principals in charge), Brett Albert, Frederick Peter Ortner, Matthew Allen, Caroline Lang, Clara Wong, Bao Wei

structural engineer
Paul Kassabian, SGH

RELATED PROJECTS:

hbny	soft lofts	braver house

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