This project was completed in 2011 in Decatur, Georgia. Decatur, a town located in the outskirts of Atlanta, is a livable town where thoughtful urban design elements have been applied to produce a community enjoying the use of walkable streets, a eventful town square, public transportation provided by MARTA, shops, restaurants and galleries all within one mile walk.
Inspired by the British artist Rachel Whiteread and her concrete castings of existing buildings, the design team set out to CAST the VOID; or cast the allowable zoning. They purchased the air rights to the driveway expanding the usable floor plate. The project contains a storefront modern art gallery, a new office and studio, a residential level with kitchen dining and living area, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The rooftop is an outdoor terrace and movie theater that frames the view of Midtown Atlanta and the forests of surrounding neighbors.
Mixing eastern and westernsunlight, the project imbues the passage of time as a central theme. The tectonics of the project implements engineered wood including cantilevered veneer lumber and truss joists. Structurally, the two tall shear walls allow for the use of the engineered wood and the cantilever, which reaches across the existing driveway and becomes a strong sculptural element.
The stair vertically becomes an organizing device and is constructed also of engineered wood and laminated plywood referencing the work of Donald Judd and the Eames studio. The sculptural laminated plywood stair ascends up and slips behind the shear wall and connects each of the four levels. Open risers allow vertical interpenetration of space and light. A wooden structural frame of stacked dimensional lumber and large storefront windows frames the horizon line and the sky differently from each level.
