West 8th Street SITE PLAN West 6th Street N«-' 50 FT. 15 M. By Jane C. Leffler strng and welcme statement f federal pur pse in a place that will always figure in ur The Oklahma cllective City memry. Federal It replaces Building the makes nine-stry a Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that cllapsed in a ter rrist bmbing n April 19, 1995. Aimed at the federal gvernment, that attack killed 168 peple and was the wrst such incident n U.S. sil when it ccurred. We are just beginning t see the impact f that blast and that f the mre recent 9/11 attacks n the civic landscape. In that cntext, the federal building is significant as a majr pub lic prject that manages t cmbine necessary security with design excellence. Given the fear that gripped federal wrkers in the aftermath f the bmbing, and the realizatin that the unhardened design f the previus building had left ccupants at risk, security imperatives easily culd have verwhelmed the design f any replacement building. They did nt because the U.S. General Services Administratin (GSA), which versees all federal-gvernment cnstructin prjects, had determined that the new building wuld nt be a memrial but a fully functining state-f-the-art building. (A pignant memrial, designed by Hans and Trrey Butzer and Svcn Berg [architectural recrd, Id UJ u_ Jane C. Leffler is an architectural histrian in Washingtn, D.C., wh writes frequently n embassy design and public plicy. 10.04 Architectural Recrd 105
111! IIII
PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HALL/HEDRICH BLESSING => 3 a- 5 «3T 5-3 a. 3 Q. S - =r tn CT a c 1 fd a W r * Q. - c 01 0) (0 CD f Q. i n p 3 3> CD 0) era FEATURES
c/) UJ cc H LU wrkers. That prmpted the installatin f flr-t-ceiling windw cverings in all f the ffices. But wrkers say this cncern turned ut t be unfunded, as n ne at the new building is clsing the blinds t blck the view f the mem rial. Even in the ffices and cnference rms ccupied by HUD, the agency mst affected by the Murrah attack, wrk ers prefer t keep the shades pen evidence, they say, f their cmfrt level in the new building. T augment penness, Rss Barney gave the 181,000-square-ft, U-shaped building tw equally acces sible "frnts," each with its wn persnality. Facing suth t the dwntwn (and als the memrial), the building takes a frmal stance. A saring clnnade and cncrete walls punched with windws line up with city streets hmage t the grid n which Oklahma City was laid ut in the land rush f 1889. Facing nrth, hwever, t a less densely settled and newer part f twn that prmises t see rapid develpment ver the next decade, a visual drama unflds. Here the building pens up cmpletely t reveal a stunning Light shelves and sunshades prtect windws n the suth elevatin (right). Lbby walls are cvered with a veneer f lcal creek stne (belw) SITE FEATURES HERE EXPRESS ROSS BARNEY'S BELIEF THAT "BUILDINGS ARE ROOTED IN THEIR PLACE." curtyard featuring a glass curtain wall that partially encir cles an installatin f cascading red granite bulders. The rcks, gathered frm a bisn farm in the hills f western Oklahma, were selected and arranged by landscape sculptr Brad Gldberg as part f GSA's Art in Architecture Prgram. Cming upn the curtyard is like is pening a jewel bx and finding an unexpected gem. Beynd the curtyard is a park planted with trees n ne side t evke the Oklahma wdlands and with native grasses and wildflwers n the ther t evke the prairie. A surface lt that keeps unscreened parked cars at least 100 feet frm the building a security requirement lies beynd the park, in the nrtheast crner f the site. Rss Barney inscribed an elngated ellipse in the landscape, a dramatic device that ties tgether the tw-blck site. She extended its gemetry int the building, integrating the park seamlessly with the architecture. Frm the air, the ellipse, with its alternating stripes f crushed red stne and green grass, makes the new landmark easy t spt. Others can debate whether r nt that is a gd idea, but fr a visitr appraching n ft, the stripes simply lead the eye t the mst striking prtin f the building. Describing her fascinatin with everything frm the texture f lcal rcks (incrprated int a remarkable wall veneer that resembles an archaelgical excavatin) t the elliptical shape f ceremnial grunds used by Native American Indians (the inspiratin fr the ellipse), Rss Barney emphasizes her belief that "buildings are rted in their place." Stuart O. Dawsn f Sasaki Assciates; artist Duglas Hllis's 46 star-shaped, stainless-steel benches symblizing Oklahma's entry int the Unin as its 46th state; and artist Gldberg's sculpture, whse bulders seem t have arrived self-prpelled frm the Washita Muntains, aid her ably in cnnecting the architecture t its lcale. 108 Architectural Recrd 10.04
u H LU U. What als ties the site tgether are the steel bl lards, sme illuminated at night, that ring the perimeter and separate the building frm vehicular traffic. Cmpared t the massive Jersey barriers that surrund public build ings elsewhere, these are nt intrusive, and mst are likely t be at least partially bscured by the native grasses that have yet t establish themselves n the site. (The landscape architect, thugh, says the intent was never t hide them.) Vide cameras munted n ples near the perimeter pr vide the building's first line f defense. Blast-resistant design by Weidlinger Assciates and a structural system engineered by The Benham Cmpanies f Oklahma City prvide a secnd line f defense. Given GSA's stringent frce-prtectin requirements, Jim Reynlds, wh served as prject architect fr Benham, is understand ably prud f "the cncrete tw-way slabs that permit the high ceilings and pen, unbstructed interirs"; the "wall clumns" that permit the large windws; and the stne veneer, devised in cllabratin with Rss Barney s that individual stnes will nt becme prjectiles in the event f an explsin. T minimize further risk f injury in the event f a blast, the architects selected panels f insulated lami nated glass bnded t steel frames with structural silicne. The windw units are manufactured by the same cmpany that fabricated replacement windws fr the Pentagn. Undubtedly, ne f the mst welcming features f the building is the entry arrangement that allws peple t walk int the small lbby atrium frm either the nrth r suth "frnt" entrance withut having t pass thrugh secu rity. By having bth entrances feed int ne lbby, Rss Barney allwed the same guards t mnitr bth drs. And she created an inviting lbby pen t the public, where clred light purs thrugh a skylight f dichric glass, then thrugh glass bridges cnnecting the flrs abve. Security PEOPLE CAN ENTER THE BUILDING'S LOBBY WITHOUT HAVING FIRST TO PASS THROUGH SECURITY GATES. screening ccurs in adjacent areas where the walls are made f plished steel fr strength, and t set them apart as tran sitin znes between the lbby and ffices beynd. A daylighting system will make interir electric lights unnecessary much f the time. Features include sunshades r shelves (made f fabric and framed in alu minum) that allw the building t screen ut sun and glare and "harvest daylight," as Rss Barney puts it. Heat and air-cnditined air are distributed using an underflr distributin system that enables planning flexibility. Unlike Jhn Jhansen's Mummers Theater (1970), an Oklahma City landmark that always pleased architectural cgnscenti elsewhere but never wn lcal acclaim, the new federal building is already recgnized as an asset. Dwntwn OKC Inc. lists it alng with the ther urban redevelpment prjects, including the ppular Bricktwn, that have ttally transfrmed the suthwest capital since the early 1990s a sign that a grateful city has already embraced it as part f its future. Visitrs can actually enter the building's small lbby frm either end befre ging thrugh a sin gle security area (tp). Laminatedglass ftbridges (right) allw peple n upper flrs t pass frm ne side f the building t the ther. 110 Architectural Recrd 10.04