Two versions of KieranTimberlake's holiday card, photos © Peter Aaron/Esto

KieranTimberlake wishes you seasons greetings!

We could not decide which card was "bestest," so we broke from tradition and issued two holiday cards this year. Each card features different views of the Cellophane House, printed on chlorine-free 100% recycled paper. Please tell us which one you like the best. 

Additional cards are available! Simply email us to receive the alternate card, or to be added to the mailing list. Be sure to indicate card "A" or "B" and include your mailing address.

Please help to make it a happy new year for you and those around you.

Card A, front

Card A, inside, photo © Peter Aaron/Esto

Card A, back, photos © Albert Vecerka/Esto

Card B, front

Card B, inside, photo © Peter Aaron/Esto

Card B, back, photos © Albert Vecerka/Esto

Going forward, the firm has shortened its name from KieranTimberlake Associates LLP to KieranTimberlake. The new name succinctly identifies the broad community of individuals working across disciplines in the firm, including architecture, planning, research, industrial design, communications and business development.

Established in 1984, the firm has produced a diverse body of work for educational, cultural, civic, residential and corporate clients who have been drawn to the firm's environmentally ethical approach and its history of innovation. The design community has recognized the firm for its fusion of design research with architecture, bestowing them over ninety design citations, including the 2008 Architecture Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects, the highest honor given to an architectural practice.

Recent notable projects include Sidwell Friends Middle School in Washington, DC; Yale University Sculpture Building and Gallery in New Haven, CT; Melvin J. and Claire Levine Hall at the University of Pennsylvania; and a single family residence for the Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans, LA. Speculative research projects include SmartWrap^TM, a mass-customizable building envelope; Loblolly House, an off-site fabricated home in Taylors Island, MD; and Cellophane House, a fully recyclable dwelling made of transparent materials at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The newly named leaders have been instrumental to the firm's growth and the delivery of quality client service, research and innovation. Richard Maimon, AIA, and David Mark Riz, AIA, have been named Principals; Joanne Aitken, AIA, Christopher Macneal, AIA, and Jason Smith, AIA have been named Senior Associates; Pat Ward has been named Senior Associate and Finance Director; and Richard Hodge, AIA, Matthew Krissel, AIA, Johann Mordhorst, AIA, Marilia Rodrigues, AIA, and Evan Yassky, AIA, have been named Associates. Billie Faircloth, AIA, has joined the firm as Research Director.

Principals:

Richard Maimon, AIA Previously a Senior Associate, Maimon is currently responsible for the renovation of Dilworth Plaza, a new mass transit hub adjacent to Philadelphia's City Hall, the Center City Building for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a single-family residence for the Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans.  Maimon also oversees the firm's business development and communications initiatives.

David Riz, AIA Previously a Senior Associate, Riz is currently responsible for the West Campus Residential Initiative at Cornell University, the Northwest Campus Student Housing at the University of California at Los Angeles in collaboration with Pfeiffer Partners, and the Cellophane House for the Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibit at The Museum of Modern Art.

Senior Associates:

Joanne Aitken, AIA Previously an Associate, Aitken is currently responsible for the Revelle Student Housing complex at the University of California at San Diego.  Aitken has previously worked on the planning for the new School of Information and Library Science at UNC Chapel Hill and completed the renovation of Silliman College at Yale University.

Chris Macneal, AIA Previously an Associate, Macneal is responsible for coordinating the firm's research initiatives and provides technical review of projects in design throughout the office. He leads the development and implementation of KieranTimberlake's Management System (KTMS) which is certified in compliance with ISO 9001:2008.

Jason E. Smith, AIA  Previously an Associate, Smith is currently responsible for the Brockman Hall for Physics at Rice University, a Quaker Meeting and Arts Complex for Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C., and several single and multi-family housing initiatives in collaboration with LivingHomes®.

Finance Director:

Patricia Ward Previously an Associate, Ward has been promoted to Senior Associate and Finance Director. She brings exceptional expertise in business operations and personnel management to the firm.

Research Director:

Billie Faircloth, AIA joined the firm in 2008. Faircloth is formerly an assistant professor at The University Texas of Austin, School of Architecture. Faircloth brings to KieranTimberlake a background in material research as a starting point towards architectural innovation, and seeks to advance the firm's research initiatives relating to emerging materials and technologies, and trans-trade, trans-discipline and trans-industry collaborations.

Associates:

Richard Hodge, AIA has been with the firm since 1989, serving as project architect for the Keohane Quadrangle at Duke University, Davenport College at Yale University, and Sidwell Friends Middle School. He is currently working on Revelle Student Housing complex at University of California San Diego and the Sage Bowers Hall renovation for the School of Forestry and Environmental Science at Yale University.

Matthew Krissel, AIA has been with the firm since 2005, working on competitions for the Stanford University School of Medicine, Edwards Village Residential Development in Vail, Colorado, and the Cellophane House. He is currently working on a private residence in Philadelphia and the Kimmel Center Renovation.

Johann Mordhorst, AIA has been with the firm since 2005, working on the Sculpture Building and Gallery at Yale University. He is currently working on the renovation and addition to Eero Saarinen's Morse and Stiles Colleges at Yale University.

Marilia Rodrigues, AIA has been with the firm since 2002, working on the Davenport College Renovation at Yale University, Loblolly House, and Houses 4 and 5 of the West Campus Residential Initiative at Cornell University. She is currently working on the renovation of Dilworth Plaza, a new mass transit hub adjacent to Philadelphia's City Hall.

Evan Yassky, AIA has been with the firm since 2006, working on the Philadelphia Theatre Company's Suzanne Roberts Theatre, and is currently Associate-in-Charge of the renovation and addition to Eero Saarinen's Morse and Stiles Colleges at Yale University.

Cellophane House, photo © KieranTimberlake

In an earlier post we described the initial stages of the Cellophane House disassembly.  Since then, we have successfully lowered all of the chunks to the ground and have been disassembling and organizing the parts from each chunk in preparation for loading onto flatbed trucks.  Jason Niebish and Elizabeth Kahley have been on site overseeing the disassembly effort for KieranTimberlake. They have collectively labeled the parts, transferred gussets from cardboard boxes to plastic crates and palletized parts in preparation for fork lifting to flatbed trucks.

Says Niebish, "Removing the M17 bolts was a challenge, but nothing can stop a corded Dewalt impact wrench! Sciame, the construction manager, and Cord, the carpenters, worked really well together on the very delicate task of lowering the chunks to the ground."

On Dec 2nd, the first of three flatbed trucks removed the stairs, bathroom pods, major structural beams, pallets of Bosch framing members, and spreader bar from the site. Last week the trucking company sent out a technician to conduct a site survey and plan the moves required to load the flatbeds. They agreed fork lifting would be the best method for moving the stairs and plan to use a banding machine instead of ratchet straps to secure materials to the pallets.

Riggers loosen connection bolts in preparation for removal of chunks by crane.

The crane uses a steel spreader bar and straps to carry a chunk to the ground.

The chunk remains structurally sound while the rigging straps are removed.

Chunks arrayed on site for final disassembly.

Structural members separated and palletized in preparation for move onto flat bed trucks.

A stack of NextGen SmartWrap^TM panels.

The last chunk, which contained the entry vestibule and first flight of stairs, is disassembled.

Interior of dry van packed with NextGen SmartWrap^TM panels, flooring, interior partitions, and numerous connectors.

Cellophane House, photo © Peter Aaron/Esto

Cellophane House was designed for ease of assembly, disassembly and reassembly. With the conclusion of the Home Delivery show at The Museum of Modern Art on October 26, the next phase of our experiment is beginning. Our intention is to disassemble and rebuild the house on a new location, helping to offset the millions of tons of construction and demolition debris generated in the United States each year.

How do we remove a five-story building from a constrained urban site and reassemble it on a new location? Without a new destination for the house, we developed two possible scenarios for removal from the 53^rd Street location. The first scenario involved un-stacking the house with chunks left intact, then moving them away on several flat bed trucks.  The second scenario involved deglazing the house, un-stacking and placing the separated chunks on the ground, disassembling them and carefully storing the pieces for later reassembly or distribution to separate recycling or reclamation streams.  We chose the latter option because it offered multiple possibilities for future reassembly and allows us to evaluate the full potential of the design for disassembly intent.  The photos below document the first stages in the disassembly process.

Disassembly preparations included labeling every component with very high bond, waterproof adhesive labels. The labels are keyed to drawings for easy reassembly.

All glazing is labeled, removed, and placed in wood storage crates fabricated on site. Crates were designed to contain each glazing component and fit into the storage trucks exactly. Drawings indicate where each crate is stored within the truck.

NextGen SmartWrap^TM panels in the center span of the house are removed, creating a large opening for removing internal components from the house.

The inner layer of NextGen SmartWrap^TM was removed to provide access to splice joints between floors.

Aluminum angles for folding glass doors carefully grouped and labeled.

A dry van is parked on site for storage and shipment of the parts.

On Nov 9, the house was fully deglazed. A crane will arrive this week to lift the separate chunks and place them on the ground, where they will be disassembled and packed. Photos will be posted next week.