For their latest project, an IT security and service office, Cheungvogl worked to create a deep connection with the site. The office, Nunnmps, borders Lake Michigan in an area of Chicago that is close enough to the city center yet rests on the outskirts in an undeveloped site with vast views of the skyline. “The design development grew as naturally as the terrain overtook the site in the absence of human inhabitation over the years. Through uninterrupted silence, the site is covered with layers of shimmering grass and matured trees. We want to retain and capture the natural quality of silence,” explained the architects.
More about the project after the break.
The studio spaces are lifted high above the ground, providing a sense of privacy that the highly confidential spaces require. The spaces are wrapped with translucent ETFE that absorbs glare and harsh direct sunlight, creating a thermal buffer zone between the external and internal spaces. The room temperature is regulated by chilled ceilings and chilled beams.
The remaining two thirds of the office space exist within its subterrain. It accommodates a reception area and a large open administration office with mushroom-like cores penetrating the ground to connect both parts of the Nunnmps.
Sustainable strategies were also taken into account. Open portions of the façade are mainly directed to receive northern light. To combat the strong southern light, a glazed facade is passively shaded by the cantilever concrete slab. The thermal masses of shaded concrete provide natural chilling for the interior spaces during the warmer months. In the winter, the low sun angle allows storage of energy within the thermal masses, warming up the interior spaces. For heating and cooling, the building uses a system that pre-chills the air to desirable room temperature in the summer and pre-warms it in the winter. Heat-exchange between in-take and out-take provides additional temperature regulation by recycling the energy from the out-take air.
Nunnmps – Project Information
Project Name: Nunnmps Location: Chicago, Illinois, US District: South Chicago Use: Office Site Area: 50,000 sqm Bldg. Area: 16,000 sqm Gross Floor Area: 16,000 sqm basement/below ground; 48,000 sqm office/above ground (64,000 sqm total) Bldg. Coverage Ratio: 32% (0.3) Gross Floor Ratio: 128% (1.3) Bldg. Scale: 3 Stories above Ground, 1 Storey below Ground Structure: Basement and ground floor: concrete; upper office: steel frame Max. Height: 60 m Landscape Area: 46,000 sqm Parking Lot: 400 + 40 cars Design year: 2009, ongoing
