Lounge to be called 38 Beams after thirty-eight reused wood glulams that comprise the structure
Olson Kundig Architects has been selected to design the Collectors Lounge at the tenth edition of Design Miami/, taking place from December 3 – 7, 2014. Based in Seattle, Olson Kundig aims to bring a Northwest sensibility to this international event, by sourcing fashion, music, lighting, furniture and other design elements from makers and purveyors based in the Pacific Northwest. The Design Miami/ Collectors Lounge will be named 38 Beams, a reference to the 38 vintage, mid-century glued laminated timbers (glulams) stacked 15 feet highto make the pavilion. The beams themselves originate from the Douglas fir forests of the Northwest, and were likely milled in the 1950s. The glulam beams were originally used for construction of a Los Angeles building but salvaged when it was recently torn down. The repurposed beams now form the foundation of 38 Beams. The beams—approximately 15x30 inches around, and up to 30 feet in length—enclose the 2,400 square foot lounge with an open lattice-work. A highlight of the space is the 28 foot, 9 inch long Perrier-Jouëtchampagne bar, which will be a focal point of the space. Although first manufactured in the United States in 1938, glulam beams remain a sustainable product today because they optimize the structural values of a renewable resource – wood. Glulams also have significantly lower embodied energy than reinforced concrete and steel. After being used as the structural foundation of 38 Beams, the glulams will be incorporatedinto another futureproject by Studio 804, a University of Kansas design-build teaching program that creates affordable buildings in communities of need. Olson Kundig Architects commissioned LILIENTHAL l ZAMORA to create a custom chandelier for 38 Beams, entitled 48º N, 122º W, comprised of one hundred suspended light tubes. The artists Etta Lilienthaland Ben Zamora describe their installation as “an upward moving, floating chandelier cutting dynamically through the powerfully angled timber structures. The fixture’s suspended lines form connections and spaces continually opening overhead.” Olson Kundig designer Jamie Slagel will contribute three Jib lamps – wall mounted adjustable steel tube swing arm lighting fixtures of her own design. Designing Miami: Celebrating Ten Years is a portrait project conceived specifically for 38 Beams and the tenth anniversary of Design Miami/, and will take place inside 38 Beams for the duration of the fair. Photographer Gesi Schilling will be on site to document designers, curators, gallerists, collectors and tastemakers that visit the space. The apparel worn by the hostesses at 38 Beams will be provided by Totokaelo – Seattle-based purveyor of fashion, art and design. The items that are thoughtfully selected as part of Totokaelo’s offering are marked by a practical, clean sensibility, and the designs that the lounge hostesses will wear will follow the same compositional direction as 38 Beams, with a neutral color palette and long, structured layers. Furniture for 38 Beams will include four tablesdesigned by Tom Kundig from the Tom Kundig Collection for 12th Avenue Iron, andcustom-designedLongbranch Chairsby Jim Olson. These pieceshonor the legacy of materiality and craft that is on display in the structural design of 38 Beams.
Music will be provided by northwest music label, Sub Pop Records. The Olson Kundig Architects design team for 38 Beams was led by owner and principal Alan Maskin, in collaboration with Tom Kundig, owner and principal, and architect Blair Payson.
