Multistudio designs towers with "crisp white skin" in Downtown Phoenix
A pair of white towers anchor a mixed-used project called Central Station, which was designed by US firm Multistudio to serve as "a model for multimodal development" in Phoenix.
Envisioned as "a new civic landmark", the project is located near an urban park and the downtown campus for Arizona State University. The 2.6-acre (one-hectare) site formerly held a nondescript transit facility.
A key aspiration was to turn the utilitarian site into "a shaded, pedestrian-focused gateway for the city's center".
The project was designed by Multistudio, a multidisciplinary practice with several US offices, including one in Phoenix. The desert metropolis is experiencing significant growth in both its downtown core and public transit network.
Totalling approximately one million square feet (92,903 square metres), the Central Station development features two residential building – one rises 33 levels and contains market-rate rental apartments, while the other is 22 levels and holds student housing.
The buildings emerge from a "porous ground plane" with shops, restaurants and outdoor seating. The development also incorporates bus and light-rail stops, and a transit centre is located in the bottom two levels of the 22-storey tower.
"The project's ground plane is conceived not as a fortified solid podium, but as an open civic plaza," said Multistudio.
"This ground-level porosity creates a fine-grained, textured urban fabric, positioning Central Station as a model for multimodal development in the fifth largest city in the United States."
The residential buildings sit perpendicular to each other and frame the plaza. The taller sits atop a podium structure containing tenant amenities, retail space and two floors of office space.
They have concrete structural frames and facades with a mix of glazing, panels and fins. The exterior insulation and finishing system cladding (EIFS) was prefabricated.
The specific design of each facade was driven by sun exposure.
Along the east and west elevations, where sunlight is most intense, the team used narrow windows and "self-inflected shading panels", which taper in depth from one to 12 inches (25 to 305 millimetres).
The glazing is more expansive along the north and south elevations, although shading strategies were still incorporated. Every fourth level, the team extended the floor slabs outward to form shelves that provide shade and support vertical fins.
Facade elements are coloured white to reduce solar gain while also giving the buildings a distinctive look in Phoenix, also known as the Valley of the Sun.
"The towers' crisp white skin sets them apart within the earth-toned palette of Phoenix," the team said.
"Against the muted browns and reds of the Valley, the white facades read as both contemporary and timeless, carrying forward a regional tradition of using light colours to cool and protect in arid climates."
The site's overall layout was heavily influenced by its transit components.
The light-rail stops are found along the edges of the site, while bus bays are located at the centre. Storefronts, residential lobbies and pathways are wrapped around the bays in a way that ensures "visibility, activation and safety".
"Rather than conceal transit, the project foregrounds it, making riders part of the site's social life," the team said.
The Central Station development is the result of a public-private partnership. The City of Phoenix owns the land and transit facilities, while private partners lease the property and funded the project.
Phoenix has been working for decades to revitalise its downtown core, with the initiative getting a major boost when ASU established a campus there in 2006. Similarly, the car-dominated city has been working to expand its public transit system. Its light-rail system began operating in 2008.
"Other projects in downtown Phoenix include a large student dorm by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and wrapped in sandstone and metal louvres, and the conversion of a 1920s church into an event venue with a large open-air courtyard hidden behind historic walls.
The photography is by Bryan Tarnowski unless stated.
Project credits:
Architecture: Multistudio
Multistudio team: Krista Shepherd (principal-in-charge), Betsy Lynch (project manager),
John Dimmel, Kelly Hatch, Shawn Croissant, Steve Valev
General contractor: Layton Construction
Landscape: Floor & Assoc.
Structural engineer: MBJ
Civil engineer: Dibble
Mechanical: Henderson Engineers
Electrical: DP Electric
Lighting: Derek Porter/Multistudio
Code: CCI
Concrete: Suntec
Glass/windows: Walters & Wolf
EIFS: MKB
Geotech: Speedie & Associates
Traffic: CivTech
Owners/developers: Medistar Corporation, GMH Communities, CBRE Investment Management, City of Phoenix
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