West Coast-East Coast collaboration results in contextual campus addition at UCLA
Architecture and Urban Design Lecturer Kevin Daly
The Architect's Newspaper examines Kevin Daly Architects's unique design the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center which is energy-efficient, acousically sophisticated, and contextualized within UCLA’s campus of over 200 buildings.
"Kevin Daly Architects recently completed an addition to UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music that sets a new framework for the school’s future growth and presents a new face for the music building. The Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center is the second addition to the 1950s structure that was previously augmented in the 1980s. Sited within UCLA’s campus of over 200 buildings, the project was regulated by campus design standards that define a material palette consisting of a “UCLA blend brick,” along with buff stone, terra-cotta, and concrete. According to UCLA’s Physical Design Framework, these are “enduring materials that express a quality of permanence and durability.” The standards reference the first four buildings constructed on campus nearly 100 years ago, in a red brick romanesque revival style.
A terra-cotta rainscreen system was ultimately specified for its performative qualities, which helped the building achieve UCLA’s required energy standards – a significant 20% better than state energy codes. Open joints in the finish material promote natural ventilation and solar shading. This assembly provides higher R-values throughout the exterior facade by allowing for a continuous layer of insulation, and helps to eliminate air infiltration. The cladding system also allowed for a relatively standard CMU exterior wall construction.
KDA collaborated across the country with East Coast-based terra-cotta manufacturerShildan to produce the custom facade material. Kevin Daly, founder of KDA, described this design process as a “collaboration to get [a] contemporary material to fit within a historic campus.” Bricks from UCLA’s campus were sent to the Mount Laurel, New Jersey company who color matched them to their standard color palette."— John Stoughton, July 29, 2016
Read the full article at the Architect's Newspaper website.