The Corner

What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project?

My wife and I purchased the property in 1984 to supplement an adjacent 12-unit historic apartment building. The site contained a 2,500 square foot remodeled gas station in moderate disrepair.  

Can you describe your design process for the building?

Unlike any of our past projects, this project had an extremely long gestation period of 20-plus years. It was only a year or so before construction started that we landed on a specific program based on the capacity of the site, height restrictions, zoning, etc. Ideas ranged from a 12-car parking lot to the building that currently stands. We worked with the city to change the zoning to a PUD (planned unit development) in conjunction with placing a Historic Overlay Zone on the parcel. In return the city gave us concessions on the building height and setbacks. Owning the adjacent parcel allowed an easement agreement which benefited the parking and parking access as well as the coordinated development of the open space between the two buildings. 

There were a number of factors that impacted the design. Multiple staggered floors with split levels allowed us to design high ceilings in the living, dining and kitchens with lower ceiling heights in the bedroom and bath areas. The height limit imposed by the city required us to squeeze the floor-to-floor height to 8’-10” at the 5 levels of bedrooms. The steel frame allowed us to “coffer” the ceilings to gain height. Structural steel contributed heavily to the “green” requirements of the project and the use of 25,000 board-feet of reclaimed African mahogany, fir, and pine for doors, flooring, cabinets, trim etc. Through the use of Cor-ten steel siding the building became much more alive; the patination of the steel adds interest as the building develops its color in the arid Montana climate.  

How does the completed building compare to the project as designed? Were there any dramatic changes between the two and/or lessons learned during construction?

One thing that we regret in the design process is not placing a ground source heat recovery grid below the 8,000 square foot parking garage and tying it into a heap pump system, to feed the radiant in-floor radiant heat and the air conditioning heat pumps. The ground temperature below this slab is consistently in the optimum range for this type of application.

How does the building compare to other projects in your office, be it the same or other building types?

We attempt to develop each building based on the factors unique to the site, the client’s requirements and aesthetic, the neighborhood and location, the budget, and our own particular sense of how all these factors need to be expressed. The triangular site, how the building addressed the two adjacent arterials, and its historic neighborhood, all are unique to this particular project. The design is uniquely responsive to these conditions and would not fit anywhere else. 

How does the building relate to contemporary architectural trends, be it sustainability, technology, etc.?

From the beginning The Corner has had the genes to relate to current contemporary trends, but as a ongoing process to create a better environment rather than to just fall in line with what is popular. The use of reclaimed pine, fir, African mahogany, redwood and ipe decking for most of the floors, cabinets, doors, millwork, decking, and ceilings were stockpiled by the owner years before the building came to be. Daylighting was and is always an important part of the projects done by our office, as is energy efficiency. The green roofs were not initially in the budget but their popularity made the added cost a non-factor and allowed the sale prices to reflect the cost.

Are there any new/upcoming projects in your office that this building’s design and construction has influenced?

As we utilized and detailed the exterior cladding of Cor-ten steel, it became apparent that this material had many possibilities, even in spite of its limitations and detail requirements based on the rusting characteristics. The material itself has a rich, changing patination process that gives life and depth to the structure and has virtually no maintenance. The fabrication, bending, and anchoring process allow for many different design solutions. Perhaps this is why the material is so widely used in sculpture. We are currently looking at this material for several single family residences here in Missoula.

How would you describe the architecture of Montana and how does the building relate to it?

Montana is the fourth largest state in the United States, yet it only contains slightly over one million residents. Because of its wealth of natural beauty and relatively unspoiled landscape it attracts many out-of-state people who are looking at sharing in this “Big Sky Country.” This second-home development has driven much of the current architectural trends of the state (and other western mountain states) in what could be called the mountain lodge or western resort architecture comprised of stone, logs, heavy timber, steeply pitched and beam-framed gable roofs, etc. This architecture is not unlike what is found throughout the mountain west so it is not unique to Montana.

Email interview conducted by John Hill.