Sonoran Pentapus
Design-Build, University of Arizona
2014-2017 (years active: 2014-2016)
Team: Studio Pangolin
Role: pre-design, design, design drawings, permit set, shop drawings, and on-site build
The project re-conceived the main entrance of CAPLA West (College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture) at the University of Arizona over the course of three semesters. Our combined undergraduate and masters of architecture design-build studio worked with a stakeholder team consisting of multidisciplinary students and faculty from CAPLA, Facilities and Management at the University of Arizona, the city of Tucson as well as international academic groups. The project included an integrated urban landscape and gridshell shade pavilion funded by an international multi-university research grant sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Performance Criteria:
While the gridshell structure and associated grant was the driving factor of the creation of the design build project, the design was conceived by the studio as a reformation of the space as a whole. Through a semester of research, evaluation, and design development, Studio Pangolin determined the critical criteria for the CAPLA West Face project. The design must serve as a destination and gathering space (NEXUS), respond to site-specific context (SCAPE), express the sustainable values of the school (WALK-THE-WALK), and humanize the forgotten and arid landscape (COMFORT).
By developing our criteria through collaboration with students, faculty, and the University facilities management team, the project was formulated from real environmental and social factors. We, as a design team, had to address the reality and impact of every decision and come to a consensus in order for the project to be a success.
Construction:
Top Left: Studio Pangolin second semester (build) team, composed of undergraduate and graduate students. Much of the construction was completed during the semester, and finalized under independent study courses.
Bottom Left: Foundations and walls were completed in three on-site pours with concrete boom trucks. All site work was completed by student team members, with subcontractor aid for specialty components such as stairs and rolled steel terrace manufacturing.
Right: Once the 1/2” gridshell lattice was lofted, a loaned Leica total station allowed for accurate digital node measurements to be taken of the entire structure and analyzed by the engineering consultant. Areas requiring form modification or additional reinforcement were identified and addressed.
Completed Project:
A series of rolled steel terraces introduce desert landscaping and accessible walkways into the steep site, integrating with the existing stairway. Custom metal handrails further merge the preexisting and new site elements. Wood “SOAP” boxes slide along a track to configurate as needed. Uplights with custom frosted housings are located at each foundation. A detention basic lined with repurposed concrete debris (urbanite) captures and slowly releases water to the native landscaping. A perforated steel bridge spans the basin and creates a unique threshold into the space.
The Sonoran Pentapus introduces shade, makes connections with the landscape, and engages water runoff to create a welcoming and integrated respite from the urban environment for University of Arizona students and faculty.