Silver Space was conceived as a creative center combining space for architecture, graphic design, photography and music production. The core of the 5000 square foot single story building is an architectural office which is comprised of an open work studio and a private office for the firm’s principal.
The site strategy for the project involved bridging between a large commercial condominium project on the east property line and a residential duplex on the west. The massing of the building is a one story structure with a minimum height of 20’ to mediate between the three story commercial building and the smaller scaled residential buildings.
Approximately one-third of the building is devoted to the Silver Space recording facility. This is a hybrid analog / digital tracking and mix space which was designed by the architect & an acoustic / studio design consultant. The studio is very unusual as the custom console boasts hand wired tube microphone preamps which are then fed into a high end analog to digital converter. The studio also has a wide array of custom tube guitar and bass amplifiers, also designed by the architect. The main tracking space also doubles as a performance space for video & still photography.
The third section of the building is devoted to smaller “executive” offices with a shared conference room and lobby. These offices are designed for small start-up companies, professionals, and artists that seek a commercial space with shared amenities for larger presentations / meetings.
The building features a rotating art collection including original works by: Richard Serra, Tara Donovan, Robert Mangold, William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Gregory Crewdson, Richard Misrach and Vivian Maier.
Environmental Features:
Bio Retention
Silver Space incorporates a planted Bio Retention area along the western property line which serves to pre treat and filter all of the storm water from the roof system and concrete parking lot. The Bio Retention area also acts as a green buffer between the commercially zoned building site and the adjacent residential neighborhood. The treatment zone is contained within a concrete perimeter wall ensuring that even in flood conditions, no storm water wil affect neighboring properties.
Structural System / Window System
The building’s structural system is a wood frame / truss system on a reinforced structural slab. A wood system was specified for it’s economy and to minimize the impact of construction on a very tight building site. The “Fineline” curtain wall system manufactured by the German company Unilux was specified for the project, the UW value is rated at less than 0.8.
Lighting
The lighting in the building makes use of high efficiency “Juno” LED lighting fixtures which produce the required light levels with an average draw of less than 10 Watts per fixture. The use of light Wisconsin maple floors and white interior walls eliminate the need for lighting during daylight hours in all the major work spaces.
Studio Electronics
One of the most unusual aspects of the Silver Space recording studio is that 90% of the electronic devices were designed by the architect and built in Nashville, TN. The guitar amplifiers, bass amplifiers, and microphone preamps in the console are all hand wired tube devices. All of the tube devices that have been designed for the studio do not use conventional PC boards or integrated circuit architecture. Therefore, the electronic components of Silver Space (with the exception of the Apple computers) are designed to be infinitely repairable: they will never need to be discarded or upgraded. The greatest achievement in sustainable design is the creation of a usable product that never is thrown away, recycled, or becomes obsolete.The technical power in the studio is stabilized and filtered with an EquiTech toroidal transformer which delivers balanced ground power to all of the audio devices for improved sonic performance.
Material Used :
1. Stucco: Sto
2. Windows: Unilux
3. Sanitary Fixtures: Dorn Bracht, Kohler
4. Interior Furnishings: B&B Italia, Knoll
5. Lighting: Juno
6. Hardware: Baldwin
