Completed during our time working at GGLO in Seattle, the Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center at Washington State University is one of our favorite projects we’ve worked on, ever! It combined a unique design, complex geometry aided by computation design, and a full scope architectural service, through original RFP entry, design development, construction drawings & construction administration.

WSU wanted a place to unite their various campus cultural houses, providing a place for teaching, community and gathering in a space that everyone on campus could feel “at home”. Envisioned to gather the separate houses under one roof, literally and figuratively, the overall form references the surrounding palouse landscape, indigenous building traditions and seamlessly connects the landscape and interior.

The roof was the key feature of this project, and the complex double-curved shape proved to be a unique challenge for the design-build team. Computational tools were invaluable during the development, with the Grasshopper definition allowing quick iterations and interoperability between the construction Revit model & design model in Rhino/Grassshopper. What started as a small, quick tool during the RFP phase, grew considerably during Design Development & Construction Drawings to be a robust tool for the design-build team. Adding in reporting for material takeoffs, dimensioning, and required security constraints (among others) the GH definition allowed the team to work quickly to solve any issues and produce drawings & diagrams that provided a clear set of instructions for the construction of this award-winning project.