The new Kimball Art Center will replace the existing Kimball building which is a horse stable, turned car repair shop, turned museum. In designing the winning proposal, BIG asked could the iconic Silver King Mining Coalition Building which the city lost in a fire be revived in the design for the new institution Could the new Kimball Art Center tell the story of the past while still looking to the future
The new multidisciplinary research center, Paris PARC, located between Jean Nouvel’s Institut du Monde Arabe and the open green park of Sorbonnes Jussieu Campus will become a significant addition to the campus, strengthening the international appeal and openness of the leading French University for Science and Medicine. The facility will bring together academic scholars and the business community, while re-connecting the university physically and visually with the city of Paris.
BIGs design for the new ground up building is rooted in the local character of the area, taking advantage of the contextually defined building envelope while creating continuously cascading work environments that will connect Googlers across multiple floors. By opening up the ground floor and activating the roofscape, the light and airy workspaces are sandwiched between the terraced gardens on the roof, and market halls, auditoria and shops on the ground.
The Shriver Program providing special education for students aged to occupies two floors of the building accessible from the ground floor, and has specialized spaces dedicated to support APS’ Functional Life Skills program as well as privacy and ease of accessibility; the gymnasium, courtyard, occupational physical therapy suite, and sensory cottage are designed to aid in sensory processing.
To enhance the passenger experience, the spaces within the new terminal use daylight as a natural wayfinding system. A linear skylight – created by the unfolding roof of the pier – widens toward the central hub and opens up into the atrium where all departing, arriving, and transferring passengers meet. By placing the control tower in its center, the tower is experienced from the inside as a beacon that creates a sense of place, akin to a town square rather than an airport.