Umeå School of Architecture
An exterior architecture precedent showcasing a continuous vertical timber screen combined with playful, asymmetrical punched windows for an educational facility.
- What we like about this project
- The windows vary significantly in size and placement, disrupting traditional floor-level horizontal bands.
Materials
- timber
- glass
- concrete
Visual identifiers
- timber-slat-facade
- asymmetrical-windows
- punched-openings
- monolithic-mass
Style tags
- contemporary
- nordic
- sustainable
- timber-clad
Visual tags
- institutional
- timber
- facade-study
- contemporary
- educational
- Geometry
- Rectangular four-story massing featuring a randomized, non-grid distribution of punched windows across vertical wood slatted facades.
- Facade system
- Vertical timber rainscreen over insulated backing, integrated with framed punched windows.
- Structural guess
- Timber frame or concrete structure wrapped in a continuous timber rainscreen.
- Spatial scale
- Four-story institutional scale, grounded by a glazed double-height entrance pavilion at the ground level.
- Lighting
- Bright daylight with crisp shadows highlighting the wood facade slats and deep window reveals.
- Atmosphere
- Bright, clear, and tactile, emphasizing the natural warmth of wood against a vast sky.
- Environmental context
- Open plaza setting with low-rise context and distant trees under a partly cloudy sky.
- Spatial experience
- Approached across an open hardscaped plaza, the building presents a monolithic yet textured timber wall punctured by varied window sizes that scale the facade.
- Composition rhythm
- Irregular rhythmic scatter of window apertures breaking up the strict linear flow of vertical wood slats.
- Style reading
- Contemporary Nordic timber architecture
- Program
- School of Architecture / Educational
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- timber, glass, concrete
- Visual identifiers
- timber-slat-facade, asymmetrical-windows, punched-openings, monolithic-mass
- Style tags
- contemporary, nordic, sustainable, timber-clad
- Visual tags
- institutional, timber, facade-study, contemporary, educational
- Geometry
- Rectangular four-story massing featuring a randomized, non-grid distribution of punched windows across vertical wood slatted facades.
- Facade system
- Vertical timber rainscreen over insulated backing, integrated with framed punched windows.
- Structural guess
- Timber frame or concrete structure wrapped in a continuous timber rainscreen.
- Spatial scale
- Four-story institutional scale, grounded by a glazed double-height entrance pavilion at the ground level.
- Lighting
- Bright daylight with crisp shadows highlighting the wood facade slats and deep window reveals.
- Atmosphere
- Bright, clear, and tactile, emphasizing the natural warmth of wood against a vast sky.
- Environmental context
- Open plaza setting with low-rise context and distant trees under a partly cloudy sky.
- Spatial experience
- Approached across an open hardscaped plaza, the building presents a monolithic yet textured timber wall punctured by varied window sizes that scale the facade.
- Composition rhythm
- Irregular rhythmic scatter of window apertures breaking up the strict linear flow of vertical wood slats.
- Style reading
- Contemporary Nordic timber architecture
- Program
- School of Architecture / Educational
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture