Excerpt: Now 26 by Architectkidd features the renovation of an existing structure into a production studio and offices, using steel tubing as the primary material. Embracing an inside-out approach, the steel tubes extend from interior elements to the exterior façade, blending structure and systems into a unified design. The building resembles a dynamic wireframe that shifts from opaque to transparent depending on the viewer’s perspective.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Architectkidd has completed a building using steel tubing as its primary material. The building, a production studio and offices for a television station called Now 26, is a renovation of an existing structure.
During the initial stages of the project, removal of the old cladding exposed the existing steel structure along with the electrical and services installation. 19mm steel hollow tubes were selected as an economic and utilitarian architectural material to compliment the structure and systems that remained in place after the renovation.
The use of steel tubing allowed the design to be developed ‘inside-out’. The steel tubes were used throughout the interior spaces and in various scales from ceiling to furniture installations.
By varying the density and patterning in different applications, the steel tubes extended out towards the exterior and were attached to the existing structural frame. Bending and curving the steel tubes were achieved by construction workers and tools typically used for installing electrical conduits in buildings.
From a distance the building is white and opaque, with the exterior rendering an effect of a solid surface composed of diagonals and contours. Up close, the exterior appears more transparent, like a wire frame that wraps around and into the interior space.
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