Emerald Shapery Center

Design Concept

Recognizing that the universe is a fully integrated energy system, Emerald Shapery Center represents a design concept which strives to respect important resources and respond to human parameters as well. The wise use of resources means savings in the project that can be passed on to the tenants both in the form of lower operating costs and finer amenities without the associated higher costs.

The forms used in designing the Center have their basis in nature. The study of crystals has recently attracted much interest from scientists and mathematicians. Most crystals found consist of a series or cluster of hexagons. The hexagon itself is constructed from the triangle, one of Nature's elemental building blocks. Buckminster Fuller determined that the shape of the hexagon is unsurpassed for its structural integrity on a linear plane.

As it is employed in this building, the haxagon allows shorter hallways and provides much more visually stimulating spaces than the conventional long corridor found in rectangular structures. Both office space and hotel rooms benefit from a hexagonal orientation which can encourage interesting interior volumes while maximizing daylighting.

When compared with a traditional office space of equal square footage, each floor of the Center's office tower (a cluster of five hexagons) contains 858 more square feet of exterior office space, allows 2,098 square feet more daylighted area and uses a significantly smaller core area. In addition to having considerable practical implications, the hexagonal shapes provide distinctive exterior forms which identify Emerald Shapery Center as a 21st Century structure.