With 90+ categories and 300+ jurors, the Architizer A+Awards is the world’s definitive architectural awards program. Following the culmination of the 2015 program in May, we are pleased to showcase at some of the 100+ winners. In partnership with Cadillac, this series of profiles offers an exclusive look at several firms that push the boundaries of the profession and truly dare greatly.
“There’s so many things I love about architecture.”
Cory Taylor, architect at Belzberg Architects, feels pretty lucky. The first architect to become a partner with Hagy Belzberg, founder of Belzberg Architects, Taylor has found a career that he is passionate about and a job in which he can exert a positive influence on the world around him at an organization that is generating fresh new approaches to design each day. Life in this profession is anything but predictable — more than ever these days for those working at the Santa Monica, Calif.-based studio.
“Our firm is kind of going through a transition,” he explains, understandably excited about the future of the practice, with a growing focus on innovative design solutions. “We’re interested in constantly challenging ourselves, and we want to look at each project in a new way. So, it’s trying to find a solution that hasn’t been done before.”
© Bruce Damonte Photography Inc
Gores Group Headquarters – external façade
Few buildings illustrate this philosophy better than the firm’s curvaceous Gores Group Headquarters in Beverly Hills, Calif., which garnered an A+Award in the Office: Low-Rise (1–4 Floors) category. The building’s architectural language was inspired by the design and development of an entirely new double-layer façade system, created using custom-slumped glazing that glints in the sun like high-tech bubble wrap. The billowing pillows of glass allow air to move between the skin and the building itself, efficiently ventilating and heating the internal spaces.
Gores Group Headquarters – interior staircase
This undulating skin of varied translucence is complemented by equally voluptuous stone façade elements that ripple like clouds against the blue sky of California. Inside, the curves continue with ribbons of timber wrapping a sculpted staircase, the architectural centerpiece of the office. Each element bears all the hallmarks of a firm that enjoys experimenting with materials, exploring their properties to conceive fresh and unexpected uses.
Indeed, this playful approach can also be seen throughout Belzberg’s portfolio, as in the Kona Residence in Hawaii. Belzberg harnessed two materials entwined with the history of the island: reclaimed teak timber from old barns and train tracks were suited to external façades, while warm gray lava rock was thinly sliced and stacked to create stunning feature walls for the property. While the firm may have been unfamiliar with these materials at the outset of the project, they embraced the vernacular materials palette, combining traditional elements with modern fabrication techniques.
Indeed, cutting-edge technology plays a key role in the firm’s design processes — none more than in the 20th Street Offices, a super-sustainable commercial project back in their home city. Recycled insulation was wrapped with an armor-like skin of metal cladding, while solar panels and a green roof topped a building with an LEED-NC Gold rating. These features align with Belzberg Architects’ aim to fuse their passion for innovation with a deep understanding of the importance of energy efficiency — particularly in Santa Monica, one of the most “green” cities in the United States.
© Bruce Damonte Photography Inc
Gores Group Headquarters – rooftop
From this perspective, the Gores Group Headquarters is perhaps the most successful manifestation of the firm’s values to date. Experimentation with new materials and emerging technologies resulted in that unique façade, which in turn influenced the fluid qualities interwoven throughout the scheme. It is this kind of exploration, and the unexpected results it can produce, that truly drives Belzberg Architects.
“For young designers and architects, I would say engage in your profession at every level,” Taylor advises. “When you get to that brink of failure, a lot of times it opens up the cracks for innovation and opportunity. Try to build something, create something, instead of just designing it behind a computer. Create it and build it with your bare hands.” Wise words that, in our digital age, the entire profession would do well to contemplate.
Cadillac | Architizer A+ Awards • Cory Taylor // Belzberg Architects from WSJ. Custom Studios.