SHADOW CASCADE

The beautiful North Mountain Park enjoys magnificent washes of lights and shadows across the day, which is the critical element to capture in the design of the research center. The structural integrity of the cactus skeleton and its interaction with light and shadow were translated into the formal strategies of the building. Similar to its faceted and layered geometry, the various programs of the center cascade down the valley with great delicacy, speaking closely to the site’s topography and intimately linked with the park’s trail network. The spirit of the cactus operates also in the structural logic and the envelope of the building to provide exacting washes of sunlight and shadows into the working environment.