Riddell Advertising and Design

Entry.

Words from the Architect

The Riddell Advertising and Design Building, created from 1993-1995, is an example of the idea of place-making. This recent insertion into the new commercial fabric of Jackson Hole, Wyoming is an architectural celebration of the region's natural and man made context. Its sculptured form, responding to the dynamic curve of the street it faces, strives to optimally meet rigorous zoning rules while providing for future expansion.

Interior atrium.

Anchored to and rising from its naturally landscaped setting, the building's distinctive base and stair towers, clad in random width vertical board and batten weathered cedar siding, become scaleless and abstract much like the ranch, barn, and haystack architecture that dominates the region's unparalleled landscapes. The masses of the upper two floors step out to shelter horizontal strips of glazing for the offices within; the building greets the sky with strength. These canted elements are more tailored, with taut skins of resawn ship-lap regular width boards. The rhythm of wood terminates at the north and south corners in lanterns of glass and light, where randomly spaced wood vertical slat louvers work to animate interiors and diminish sun glare. A sloped wall of galvanized barn roofing on the rear elevation brings reflected sky to the ground, creating a dynamic backdrop for the staff lunch and meeting garden.

Office interior.

From the parking area, the north entry facade fully displays the building's poetic and pragmatic aesthetic rigor. With the stepped logic of the east facade wrapping around to the north elevation, the low scaled entry weather vestibule with cantilevered log trellis, a large galvanized metal clad studio delivery door, the conference room bay window at level three, and the northwest stair tower clad in random board and batten, a rich sculptural synthesis of program and space is evident.

Inside, the building creates a dialogue of space, light, and wood which reflects its exterior form. Moving down a textured concrete ramp guided by the logs of the entry trellis above, the visitor/client is drawn to a virtual 'canyon of light'. At the hub of the flow, three large log columns reach skyward in an atrium overlooked by the offices above, capped by a generous 'trough' of light which folds down to grade on the western side of the space. In the southwestern corner of the atrium a perforated metal shroud engages a basic hydraulic elevator, surrounded by a garden of bamboo. On the east a reception lounge and workstation bask in the verticality of the room. Wrapped in maple veneered paneling in soft contrast with the rustic logs, the space is further energized by two layers of lighting suspended dramatically on skewed cable filaments. This space has the quiet vibrancy of a zen garden, yet holds a sense of familiarity rooted in the dynamic lobby of the historic Old Faithful Inn.

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