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SATURDAY EVENING POST
March 16th, 2024
Thom Mayne's distinguished architectural career is marked by significant exhibitions and inclusion in prestigious collections. Notable solo exhibitions include those at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, Walker Arts Centre, Minneapolis, MN, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA. Key collections holding Mayne's works are the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA); the Canadian Centre for Architecture; the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom; the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, Houston, Texas; the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada; and the Tchoban Foundation Museum for Architectural Drawing, Berlin, Germany.
Thom Mayne, XCD_230810-113550_302357359 (Diptych), 2023, UV ink on aluminum, 72 x 96 in. (182.88 x 244 cm). Credit: Photo by Kyle Juron
As Thom Mayne embarks on an eagerly anticipated career in art — a field he has been nurturing alongside his architectural career — his debut solo art exhibition, “Constructing the Spontaneous,” emerges as a profound and significant exhibition of his recent creations. While our last week’s post offered insight into his current artworks, today we reflect on his storied and remarkably successful career in architecture, highlighting the depth and impact of his contributions to the built environment and beyond. The architectural works of Thom Mayne and Morphosis are monumental in changing the dialogue of creation in the realm of contemporary architecture. Each project is not merely a structure, but a narrative of innovation, sustainability, and profound community engagement.
DIAMOND RANCH HIGH SCHOOL – Pomona, Ca 1999. Credit: Brandon Welling ©Morphosis
The design of Diamond Ranch High School, completed in 1999 in Pomona, California, fundamentally challenges traditional educational architecture by integrating the building with the landscape. Located on a previously considered unusable steep hillside, the project leverages the challenging terrain to create a dynamic learning environment that blurs the lines between indoors and outdoors. This innovative approach not only showcases Mayne's commitment to utilizing challenging sites but also emphasizes the potential for architecture to transform and enhance educational settings. Diamond Ranch High School represents a pivotal project that encapsulates their approach to architecture - one that is deeply integrated with its context and that challenges conventional typologies.
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CALTRANS DISTRICT 7 HEADQUARTERS - Los Angeles, Ca 2005
Credit: John Carpenter, ©Morphosis
Credit: ©Martin Summers
Credit: ©Roland Halbe, Courtesy of Morphosis
Similarly, the Caltrans District 7 Headquarters, completed in 2004 in downtown Los Angeles, embodies a futuristic vision of government buildings. It balances form with function while prioritizing environmental sustainability. The building's dynamic, intelligent skin system, reacting to environmental conditions, optimizes energy efficiency, marking a significant step towards blending architectural aesthetics with environmental stewardship, contributing significantly to Thom Mayne winning the 2005 Pritzker Prize. Beyond serving as a functional office space, the Caltrans District 7 Headquarters acts as a public plaza that invites engagement from the community. Its design and construction process were extensively documented and aired over four episodes on the History Channel series "Modern Marvels," highlighting the innovative challenges and solutions this project introduced.
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41 COOPER SQUARE - New York, NY 2006.
Credit: ©Roland Halbe, Courtesy of Morphosis
Credit: ©Iwan Baan, Courtesy of Morphosis
41 Cooper Square serves as the new academic centre for The Cooper Union in New York City, and stands out for its environmental sustainability. The building was conceived to embody the institution's values and aspirations as a hub for advanced education in art, architecture, and engineering. It facilitates cross-disciplinary dialogue among these fields, previously housed separately. The design is notable for its central atrium, envisioned as a "vertical piazza" fostering social interaction, surrounded by classrooms, offices, studios, and laboratories. This inner layout is accentuated by a steel lattice envelope, contributing to the building's distinctive appearance.
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WAYNE LYMAN MORSE UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE – Eugene, Oregon 2006.
Credit: John Carpenter, ©Morphosis
Credit: ©Nic Lehoux, Courtesy of Morphosis
The Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon, blends traditional and modern design elements. The design process involved reconciling the differing visions of Judge Hogan, who preferred a traditional courthouse aesthetic, and Mayne, who advocated for a modern glass and steel structure. The result is a five-story building that incorporates both ideas, with six courtrooms, judge's chambers, law libraries, and a central 85-foot-tall atrium connecting the various spaces. The exterior is marked by stainless steel ribbons that form a language of curves, extending into the lobby area. A grand staircase leads from the street to the main entrance on the second floor, enhancing security while making a strong architectural statement. Its architectural significance is recognized through several awards, including a Progressive Architecture Award in 2004 and an AIA/COTE award in 2007. The design has also been internationally recognized, being the first U.S. courthouse featured at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.
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CAHILL CENTER FOR ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS AT CALTECH – Pasadena, CA 2008. Credit: ©Michael Powers
The Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Caltech, designed to foster collaboration and innovation, reflects the firm's commitment to creating buildings that are both innovative and sustainable. Its design minimizes environmental impact while promoting scientific discovery, echoing Caltech's leadership in astronomy and astrophysics. The building is designed to act as an astronomical instrument itself, with a vertical volume that pierces the structure to admit light from the skies, symbolizing a connection between earth and the cosmos. Its location bridges Caltech’s historic North Campus core and the South Campus, incorporating elements from both to create a seamless blend of tradition and modernity.
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BILL & MELINDA GATES HALL – Ithaca, NY 2014. Credit: ©Matthew Carbone, Courtesy of Morphosis
The Bill & Melinda Gates Hall at Cornell University spans 101,500 square feet and is situated on a sloping site near the historic center of Cornell's campus in Ithaca, New York. Gates Hall serves as a hub for the Faculty of Computing and Information Science, bringing together the departments of Computer Science and Information Science under one roof. The building's design is notable for its dynamic and transformative stainless-steel skin, which not only creates a visually striking facade but also performs the crucial function of shading interior spaces, thereby reducing energy consumption. This exterior skin, combined with a full-height glass facade and interior envelope of fritted glass around the atrium, ensures ample daylight penetration while fostering an environment of openness and transparency. Gates Hall is also designed to foster social and academic exchanges. The layout encourages serendipitous interactions among students and faculty, with primary circulation organized around a vibrant atrium. Informal study and collaborative spaces ring this central area, providing visible and literal connections across disciplines.
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BLOOMBERG CENTER AT CORNELL TECH – New York, NY 2017.
Credit: ©Michael Powers
Credit: ©Matthew Carbone, Courtesy of Morphosis
The Bloomberg Center at Cornell Tech, is an academic beacon on Roosevelt Island, New York, symbolizing a new era in digital education and entrepreneurship. Completed in 2017, this four-story, 160,000 square foot building is remarkable not only for its innovative design but also for its commitment to sustainability, aiming for net-zero energy consumption. Thom Mayne emphasizes that the building’s striking presence and sustainability features, including the lily pad photovoltaic canopy are integral to its design philosophy, focusing on green features like maximizing insulation and minimizing thermal bridging through its rainscreen wall system. The façade, punctuated with circular tabs, adds a dynamic element to the building's exterior, contributing to its energy efficiency by controlling light reflection. This feature was developed with input from Cornell and MIT students, showcasing the collaborative spirit the building embodies. Moreover, the Bloomberg Center sets a new world standard for sustainability in large-scale buildings, its innovative design and commitment to green features mark a significant achievement in the field of green architecture.
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KOLON ONE & ONLY TOWER - Seoul, South Korea 2018. Credit: Jasmine Park, ©Morphosis
The Kolon One & Only Tower, completed in 2018 in Seoul, South Korea, is a pioneering 820,000-square-foot research and development facility for The Kolon Group, one of the country's leading textile manufacturers. A standout feature of the tower is its façade, which is both visually striking and demonstrative of Kolon's investment in cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices. The façade's design employs a brise-soleil system made from fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) using Kolon's own Aramid fabric, known for its high tensile strength, contributing to the building's energy efficiency and providing a symbolic connection to Kolon's work in textiles. A standout feature of the tower is its façade, which is both visually striking and demonstrative of Kolon's investment in cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices. The façade's design employs a brise-soleil system made from fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) using Kolon's own Aramid fabric, known for its high tensile strength, contributing to the building's energy efficiency and providing a symbolic connection to Kolon's work in textiles. The project is a significant product of the power of collaboration between architects, engineers, fabricators, and the client.
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YANGTZE RIVER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER - Nanjing, China 2021. Credit: ©Tian Fangfang
Completed in 2021, the Yangtze River International Conference Center in Nanjing, China, marks a significant step in the city's expansion and symbolizes global connectivity. It's a showcase of sustainable development, designed to be a leading venue for meetings and events in the region. Inspired by the Yangtze River, the centre’s design features flowing curves and a titanium roof that echoes the river's dynamics, enhancing its role in fostering exchange. Spanning 36,000 square meters, it includes flexible conference spaces and a 340-room hotel, all designed with environmental sustainability in mind. Features like a metal brise-soleil for energy efficiency and a "sponge landscape" for runoff management highlight the centre’s commitment to eco-friendly design, earning it a top green building rating in China.
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ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART – Costa Mesa, CA 2022
Credit: ©Mike Kelley, Courtesy of Morphosis
Credit: ©Tom Bonner, Courtesy of Morphosis
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EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION BUSINESS CENTER – Milan, Italy 2022. Credit: Jasmine Park, © Morphosis
Lastly, the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, California, and the Exploration and Production Business Center in Milan, Italy, further exemplify Morphosis's commitment to innovation, sustainability, and the creation of engaging environments. The OCMA project, in particular, stands as a cultural landmark, integrating art, architecture, and urbanism, while the Milan project emphasizes 21st-century campus planning principles and sustainability.
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