SAC Federal Credit Union | Leo A Daly

SAC Federal Credit Union was designed by Leo A Daly, Located in a blighted area of Omaha, Nebraska, USA and abandoned for over two years, a former Hollywood Video retail store was purchased by SAC Federal Credit Union (SACFCU) with the goal of converting the building and site into a branch office. It was important to SACFCU that the building be a beacon of encouragement for growth within the community, and to present themselves as a dedicated partner to the entire area. Given the task of converting the building into a fully-functional branch, LEO A DALY’s design team set forth to provide a functional and sustainable project that transforms the existing building beyond the little big-box.

Photography: Matthew DeBoer

During the design process, it was important to the design team that the existing building is modified to create a new connection with the community while also serving as a functional transformation for the Credit Union; transform to sustain, add to extend. Needing only 2,800 SF of the original 5,000 SF for the interior program, the decision was made to “blow through” the existing building to create a drive-thru, eliminating the need for an additional drive-up canopy, thus reducing the amount of added materials needed for construction.

Photography: Matthew DeBoer

The northwest corner was “eroded,” allowing a protected entry element while connecting the building to pedestrian traffic. The original storefront glass was heavily tinted and the framing was damaged in several areas, so new storefront systems were installed with clear glass to take advantage of natural daylight and increase visibility for the employees working at the branch. A new window was added on the north elevation with the addition of a conference room to the program.

Photography: Matthew DeBoer

One hundred percent natural poplar wood, chosen for the primary cladding of the building, is wrapping the exterior and slipping within the building to form the interior program. This transition will intentionally provide a weathered, grey appearance on the exterior (reminiscent the SACFCU headquarters facility) while leaving the interior wood in its natural state, providing a warmth that is framed from the outside and felt on the inside. The poplar siding has been thermally modified – heated at a high level in an oxygen-free environment to improve the wood’s dimensional stability and make it resistant to rot/decay and insect damage due to the lack of water and nutrients left in the wood. Aesthetically, the thermal modification process transforms the typical light color of poplar into a deep, dark tone that is integrated throughout the material, allowing for field modifications during the construction process.

Plan

The interior program consists of a public lobby with an internet kiosk, coffee bar, teller line and lounge seating; four offices; a conference room; and back-of-house functions. The lobby ceiling was left exposed to the building’s structural elements to allow for a tall open space with the adjacent offices “framed” with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified, thermally-modified poplar wood with unobstructed views of the lobby. On the north elevation, vertical thermally-modified wood slats are used to create a privacy screen to obstruct views into the manager’s office and conference room from passing vehicular traffic while still providing access to natural daylight.

Photography: Matthew DeBoer

Project Info:
Architects: Leo A Daly
Location: Omaha, NE, USA
Project Architect: Martin Janousek
Designer: Matthew DeBoer
Interior Design: Heather Robbins
Project Manager: Dale Bowder
Civil Engineering: Kyle Crouch
Structural Engineering: Andrew Johnson
Mechanical Engineering: Shane Cherney, Chuck Rogge
Electrical Engineering: Lisa Lyons, Kelly Carman
Technician: John Kent
Plumbing: Chad McCarthy
Photographs: Matthew DeBoer
Project Name: SAC Federal Credit Union

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Church Hill Barn | David Nossiter Architects

Church Hill Barn was designed by David Nossiter Architects, The site, situated on the Essex/Suffolk borders within the landscape immortalized by Constable was originally the home farm of the nearby estate, destroyed by fire in the 1950s. It consists of a collection of farm buildings forming a courtyard. The centerpiece of the site with views over the rural landscape is a large barn of cathedral-like proportions.

Photography: Steve Lancefield

Cruciform in plan with a collection of smaller spaces surrounding it, the arrangement sought to provide shelter for different farming activities under a single roof. The barn complex is the legacy of the model farm movement.
The clients purchased the buildings in a dilapidated condition. Having sold their own property in nearby Colchester they decided to reside in a caravan on the site during the build. David had worked on a previous project and was the natural choice of architect.

Photography: Steve Lancefield

The barn is a Listed structure and the contemporary refurbishment required lengthy agreements with the local planning authorities.
A large component of the renovations consisted of the refurbishment of the roof. Roofing slates and timber materials were salvaged from the other agricultural structures on the site that were too decayed to be usefully renovated. In order to allow the existing structure to be viewed internally but still conform to modern standards of thermal performance, the roof is a ‘warm roof construction’ meaning that all of the insulation is located on the exterior of the roof above a new timber deck.

Photography: Steve Lancefield

The external walls were insulated with sheep’s wool and clad with larch timber, which has been left to weather naturally. The original openings have been simply fenestrated with glazing set back from the external wall line. Oversized bespoke glazed sliding doors fill the hipped gable porches, allowing views from the courtyard towards open fields. Two three- meter square roof lights allow daylight deep into the interior of the eight-meter tall central spaces.

Photography: Steve Lancefield

It was decided early on during the design process to keep the spaces as open plan as possible. Where necessary partitions and screens are designed as overscaled freestanding furniture. Constructed from birch faced plywood sheets, they organize the spaces, providing privacy for bathrooms and sleeping areas.
A reminder of the barn’s agricultural past, lighting is operated using existing switch boxes and concealed within the existing structure, existing metal grilles and new joinery.
Polished concrete flooring flows throughout with 10mm floor joints aligning with the spatial demarcation. A biomass boiler is assisted by a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system that recirculates warm air stacking in the taller spaces.
Landscaping and planting reflect the internal spaces and is kept simple with wildflower planting and brick paving salvaged from the existing barn complex.

Photography: Steve Lancefield

Project Info:
Architects: David Nossiter Architects
Location: Suffolk, United Kingdom
Structural Engineer: AFP Consult Ltd
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Steve Lancefield
Manufacturers: Glazing Vision, James Latham, Cantifix, Thermotec, GEZE, Cellotex
Project Name: Church Hill Barn

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