Sustainable Design, Architectural Design
Lauren Palumbo
Collective On 5th
Collective On 5th
Architectural Design
Lauren Palumbo
Staybridge Suites
Staybridge Suites

Cultural

Tartu Downtown Cultural Centre

 
 

Tartu Downtown Cultural Centre

With a clear purpose—to create gathering spaces that establish a sense of cultural identity within the town’s core—the Tartu Downtown Cultural Centre fills the voids. The design concept begins by considering the footprints of structures past and presents a new form rising from what were the open spaces of those historic ruins. The design respects and preserves the historic old growth trees and essentially turns the built environment inside out.

Purposefully fluid and full of niches and nodes, appendages of all sizes and shapes circumvent old growth trees. They create interior connections and exterior courtyards that celebrate the surroundings and cultivate interaction and reflection in support of the library, art museum, cinema, and event center functions within.

From plan view, the cultural centre’s many limbs, angles, and jogs are reminiscent of another type of matrix, the QR code. Here the voids of historic structures alongside the infilled new spaces represent the code’s many black and white pixels. Collectively they transmit a message that the Tartu Cultural Centre is a world-class Baltic institution.

 
 
 

Location:

Tartu, Estonia

Market:

Cultural

Stats:

Building Size: 228,582 sf
Stories: 3

Services:

Architectural Design
BIM Modeling
Sustainable Design

 

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Vilnius Connect

 
 

Vilnius Connect

A celebration of old and new, of opacity and transparency, of structure and fluidity, the new Railway Station Complex, Central Station Square, and Public Transport Terminal each take on many characters. Collectively, they are a symbol of modernity, designed with technology and sustainability in mind, but at heart they are inspired by an old-world sensibility, drawing upon the terracotta tiled roofs of Senamiestis.

Entering past the terracotta-clad skin of the Railway Station, visitors are oriented to the historic station in a soaring passenger hall sprinkled with playful shadows from the building’s intricate skin. The graceful, curving ribbons of the Railway Station plunge and re-emerge forming the roofs and hills of the PT Terminal and Stoties Square. While across the territory, the Naujininkai Centre is a community center, hotel, and engaging pedestrian boulevard. The spatial harmony between these interventions emphasizes both landscape and hardscape, built space, and open space.

 
 
 

Location:

Vilnius, Lithuania

Market:

Cultural

Stats:

Building Size: 259,880 sf
Stories: 9

Services:

Architectural Design
BIM Modeling
Sustainable Design

 

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Brake Point 26

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Brake Point 26


Inspired by the stacked shipping container vernacular along the Port of Thessaloniki, Brake Point 26 creates a new urban experience both at the ground and in the sky. Characterized by a mixed-use program within asymmetrically stacked volumes that appear hoisted and suspended while held in motion, Brake Point 26 draws upon its surroundings to establish a dynamic beacon along the Thessaloniki coast.

Accentuated by expansive elevated terraces with views of both city and the sea, Brake Point 26 prioritizes open space in a densely developed urban site. Visitors experience the site from up close and afar, working their way up, through, and under the delicate structure holding these rhythmic forms above. Brake Point 26 respects the historic site structures by focusing the proposed interventions in strategic geometric arrangements around these historic nodes. Utilizing simple natural materials such as wood sunshades and promoting a connection to the outdoors, Brake Point 26 looks to redefine the port region with a bold, yet contextually sensitive design.

It is a balance of density versus open space, of practical versus inspiration, of structure versus lightness, of built versus natural.

 
 
 

Location:

Thessaloniki, Greece

Market:

Mixed-Use

STATs:

Building Size: 1,305,315 sf

Services:

Architectural Design
BIM Modeling
Sustainable Design

 

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National Concert Hall

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Vilnius National Concert Hall

The placement of the theatre on top of a hill provides the ideal location for embracing the somewhat familiar sloped terrain in the architecture. Speaking its own language, its jagged shapes are easily recognizable from any vantage point within the city.

The transparent facade allows for the life inside to be visible from the outside. Clad in Corten steel, the two theatre structures embrace the beautiful and varied rust color. They provide both a backdrop for the public spaces and glow on the hill like a piece of amber where the fossils cast inside are alive and changing with every evening’s performance.  

 
 
 

Location:

Vilnius, Lithuania

Market:

Cultural

STATs:

Building Size: 166,280 sf
Seats: 2,134

Services:

Architectural Design
Interior Architecture
Sustainable Design

 

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Royal Danish Theatre

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Royal Danish Theatre

Located in the heart of a city surrounded by sea, the Royal Danish Theatre sought to combine the elements of land and water that make Copenhagen unique. Pulling inspiration from the maritime setting, the multi-functioned building impressionistically extends along the pier, floating amongst ships and sailboats like a vessel at berth.

The Royal Danish Theatre was designed to bring its inhabitants to life, similar to the theater performances that take place within its walls. The façade gently curves along the water, filtering sunlight while also providing deliberate openings that give inhabitants a glimpse of the beautiful views outside. More than just an enclosure for multiple stages, the building is a working theatrical machine that puts on its own performance every day and night.

The crown of the Royal Danish Theatre is an expansive wooden framework that encapsulates and bears the weight of the main stage and foyer. Boasting uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape, this grand space becomes the patron’s proscenium – placing inhabitants in the spotlight of social attention. Penetrating through the roof, the circular crown structure shelters the fly tower while glowing from within like a lantern reflecting across the harbor.

RECOGNITION

Gold Award 2019, International Design Awards

 
 
 

Location:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Market:

Cultural

Stats:

Building Size: 330,000 sf
Seats: 1,100

Services:

Architectural Design
Interior Architecture
Sustainable Design

 

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Riga Exposition Centre

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Riga Exposition Centre

In an effort to provide sensational experiences for visitors, the Exhibition Centre sought to expand their facilities to include an auditorium, additional conference rooms, offices, and an additional exhibition space. The resulting design is prescribed to become an internationally recognizable landmark befitting the city of Riga’s 800 years of history blending the medieval with the modern.

Entering Riga by water, the landscape of the city reflects across the Daugava River with iconic buildings towering skyward similar to the tall trees in the vast Latvian forests. During the design process, we took inspiration from this initial impression, establishing a thriving public plaza and transcending the exposition center to rise above Kipsala Island.

When designing the Riga Exposition Centre, the goal was to create a multi-functional landmark on Kipsala Island that would replace the outdated design and functionality of the existing development.

RECOGNITION

Merit Award 2017, SARA Architecture & Design Awards

 
 
 

Location:

Riga, Latvia

Market:

Cultural

STATs:

Building Size: 300,000 sf
Seats: 1,000

Services:

Architectural Design
Interior Architecture
Sustainable Design

 

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Guggenheim Museum

 
 

Guggenheim Museum

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation sought a design for a waterfront Guggenheim Museum with a year-round focus on culture and entertainment that serves as a gathering place for residents and visitors.

The foundation of our design begins by creating an integrated pedestrian connection between South Harbor and Tahtitornin Park. This landscaped surface extends the natural beauty of the park fabric across Etelaranta Street and down to the waterfront. The journey from hillside to harbor front actually penetrates the structure, blurring the boundaries between the public space of the city and the private space of the museum.

Turning the traditional layout of a museum inside out, the Guggenheim Helsinki provides visitors with an experience that alternates between interior and exterior spaces. The interior of the main exhibition hall can be viewed from the pathway outside as one circulates around the large architectonic form. From there, the design comes alive and unfurls into several natural gathering spaces where museum visitors can enjoy vistas where the city meets the water.

RECOGNITION

Bronze Award 2018, International Design Awards

Cultural Award 2017, American Architecture Prize

Gold Award 2016, Association of Licensed Architects Design Awards

 
 
 

Location:

Helsinki, Finland

Market:

Cultural

Stats:

Building Size: 135,658 sf
Seats: 1,700

Services:

Architectural Design
Interior Architecture
Sustainable Design

 

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Bodo Kommune

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Bodo Kommune

Building on existing cultural and commercial assets in the city center, the award-winning Bodo Culture House is strategically designed to enhance program functions, activate adjacent streets and the harbor front, and create visually dynamic volumes from a variety of vantage points. The design results in an iconic theater comprised of interlocking forms.

The arced layers of translucent skin reveal the life of the building between its structural ribs, while light passing through its varying layers of opacity creates a sculptural beacon across the water.

The primary entrance allows patrons to enter between layers of glass curtain wall that arc like a boat’s hull. To access the theater halls, patrons ascend the grand stair that leads to the third floor interior terraces. The main theater’s seats cascade downward, showcasing the performance stage. The more experimental small theater is strategically placed to allow its activity to be viewed from within the grand processional.

RECOGNITION

Merit Award 2009, Association of Licensed Architects Design Awards

 
 
 

Location:

Bodo, Norway

Market:

Cultural

Stats:

Building Size: 66,736 sf
Seats: 1,250

Services:

Architectural Design
Interior Architecture
Sustainable Design

 

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Silent Meditation Forest Cabins

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Silent Meditation Forest Cabins

Located between Lake Bezdibene and the Ozolini buildings, a dynamic collection of cabins provide spaces for exploration, solitude, and focus. For those seeking internal balance in an increasingly fast-paced world, the spatial and physical qualities of each cabin conjure a greater sense of self and surrounding.

The cabin strives to touch the ground lightly, both in terms of physical construction and environmental impact. Constructed with vernacular materials, such as plywood and timber, the building is simple and easy to maintain.

Replicable and versatile, minimal adjustments to the orientation and apertures allow a range of experiences from complete exposure to isolated concentration. A central core accommodates the basic needs of sleeping, cooking, and creating while maximizing space for meditation and focus on a sky-lit platform above. Enclosed by a dynamic shell, the operable walls and windows expose the core to the outside, blurring the distinction between personal space and wilderness.

 
 
 

Location:

Riga, Latvia

Market:

Cultural

Stats:

Building Size: 50 sf (per cabin)

Services:

Architectural Design
Interior Architecture
Sustainable Design

 

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Wakefield Memorial Building

 
 

Wakefield Memorial Building

The goal of this 34,000 sf project is to replace the aged, existing facility with a state-of-the-art building that is equally inspirational as the original.  The design solution reclaims elements from the existing structure and finds creative methods of celebrating their rebirth by integrating them into the new architecture.  

The design concept draws on three distinct elements for inspiration: the ‘sunshine lamp’, the ‘head frame/hoist building’, and the reddish-brown mineral ‘hematite’.  First, the central focal point will be the great hall; it is based on the earliest form of underground lighting – the ‘sunshine lamp’.  The iconic shape will allow for a three-story space with a grand fireplace that rises up through the copper-clad iron conical frame.  Second, the ‘head frame/hoist building’, once used as the workhorse of mining production, has been reinterpreted as the stage/production element of the theater.  Third, the living and working portion of the building will house the library, City Offices, Council Chambers, multi-purpose hall, and swimming pool.

 
 
 

Location:

Wakefield, MI

Market:

Cultural

Stats:

Building Size: 34,000 sf

Services:

Architectural Design
BIM Modeling
Sustainable Design

 

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