KNOW YOUR PRODUCTS ARCHITECT PROFILE “The metal panel is a contrasting moment
to where we have glass,” Titus explains. “At the time, there was no such thing as LEED, but sustainability has been around for as long as I’ve been in this profession. One of the things we had to accommodate when we were designing this building was solar shading at all times of the day. We looked at office occupancy times and other factors to come up with a solution. There are awnings and solar shades on the building’s outside that shade the windows so when you are inside you don’t need horizontal blinds or shades. You can look out and you don’t have direct sunlight coming into the space. It’s a high-rise building with awnings going all the way around it. Metal awnings were a common feature in the firm’s architecture.”
DAILY DALY DESIGN Founded in 1915 and headquartered in Omaha, Neb., LEO A DALY’s portfolio includes award- winning projects in 77 countries, all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The firm currently em- ploys approximately 1,000 architects, planners, engineers and interior designers in more than 30 offices worldwide. Since working at LEO A DALY, one of Titus’
most innovative metal-based projects has been the Georgia Gwinnett College Library in Law- renceville, Ga. The library, completed in 2010, was envisioned, designed and built as a “Knowl- edge Center.” Metal was used in different ways in this proj-
ect such as defining the program elements and the building’s planes. A curved metal arch known as the “arch of knowledge” acts as a portal to the campus green. “On the outside of the library, we have a
curved arch which is very symbolic of that institu- tion,” Titus explains. “Landscaping metal ac- cents, such as bicycle racks, site lights and lighted bollards, around the building maintain a liaison between the plaza and the project structure. We also brought the metal concept inside as part of an integrated design. We wrapped the interior columns along the glass wall with metal to make it more prominent in that open space. From the guardrails on the grand stair and balconies to the metal lay in ceiling tiles, miscellaneous furniture pieces and metal shelves, we used metal in every possible way to blend the outside with the inside.”
STAYING GREEN On addressing the environmental push and the green movement, Titus quotes LEO A DALY’s motto and says, “Sustainability is our nature.” He feels sustainability and energy-consciousness have always been going on in this industry, in-
54 METAL ARCHITECTURE
cluding when he was a student in school. “The sustainability rating system is new and
different, depending on where you work around the globe,” he says. “Here, the U.S. Green Build- ing Council follows the LEED system, while China and the Middle East follow different systems. At LEO A DALY, we design all our projects to sus- tainable standards. Whether the client wants to go through the LEED process or not, we are still designing for sustainability.” Every LEO A DALY office has a sustainability
officer or champion. Most designers are LEED- accredited design professionals. “It’s just normal behavior,” he says. “The impact of LEED system at first is going to be new and different, but down the road it will be very common place.”
METAL AND SUCCESS Titus likes designing with metal because of its many applications. “You can use metal in a lot of ways,” he says. “It is a very versatile exterior ma- terial, but it is an interior material as well. It can be on a wall, or it can be on a ceiling. It’s obvious- ly a component of any glazing system. We have planned existing projects where metal is a strong component. Metal is always on our mind. “If you look at the way Frank Gehry uses
metal on a building—very, very sculpturally both inside and outside—and contrast that with my first metal-based projects in the late 1980s, the current metal technology, and the sophisticated coatings and colors available on metal panels are very, very different. The looks that you can have now with metal are totally different than what I worked with in the late 1980s. You can explore a lot of new solutions with metal.” What brings Titus client success? “Listening
to your client and collaborating with them brings success,” he says. “Listening to clients is critical. You do it with every single client. Take the Georgia Gwinnett College Library, for example. That is a program custom tailored for the client on that site. We try to focus and aim high, and then deliver.” His belief is that architecture is a way of life;
it is not just a job, it is a way of existence. He stresses patience and good design, but acknowl- edges that neither of these two traits comes easily. “If good design was easy we’d see more of it,” he says. “It’s difficult and anybody in the profession who thinks architectural design is easy, it is not. It takes a long time for projects to come to fruition, depending on what the project’s typology is and what a client’s goals are. You can start working on a project and it never gets realized, sometimes it can take 10 years, but at a minimum the life of a project is probably three years. More complex projects take longer. It’s a way of life and you have to be patient.”
July 2012
www.metalarchitecture.com Arch
Connect
What’s on your iPod while you work? U2
What do you do on weekends? I like to play golf. One of the things I like about golf
is it is static. You are the one who puts the ball in motion, not unlike design. Designers put things in motion with our clients. I like all the professional golf- ers from Clemson University and University of Illinois.
What is your favorite book? “A Season on the Brink” by John Feinstein. It’s the
book that thrust him into the public spotlight. He spent a season with Indiana college basketball coach Bobby Knight. It’s my favorite because it is about how preparation yields success.
What’s your favorite app on
your phone or iPad? I don’t use many apps as weird as that sounds, maybe I am old. Rhapsody is good for music. I use MLBTV, they have an “at-bat” app.
Where is your favorite place
to vacation? I don’t have one, I like going to new places.
What historical figure would you most like to have dinner
with and why? Louis Kahn, Eero Saarinen and Mies van der Rohe
C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
Brian Titus is collaborating with his design team. From right to left: Brian R. Titus, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C; Teressina Araiza Davalos, LEED AP ID+C; Joanna Zhu, LEED AP BD+C; Jon Paul Bacariza, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP BD+C.
This Page: LEO A DALY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76