Bank of America Plaza Lobby Renovation Proposal

As the original aesthetic, while well suited to its original use as the corporate headquarters of Nation’s Bank, no longer works for the building or the current tenant culture, our first instinct was to start from scratch by gutting the lobby.

However, in the exercise of building the base digital model for our renderings the busy and dated surfaces of the lobby as shown in this photo were rendered as monochromatic planes.

When we saw the resulting simplified image, we reassessed our approach as we realized that the basic architectural form of the lobby was very strong and not at all a factor in consigning this design to a late eighties aesthetic.

So we asked ourselves: “How could we most imaginatively rethink the existing surfaces of the lobby?”

With inspiration from the exterior spire, we saw the need for an integrated, dynamic system for the walls, ceiling and interior of the curtain wall.

In reference to our point of inspiration, the building’s beloved lattice spire, our first clue as to how to devise this system came from our office’s original development of the spire in the late 1980’s. As the spire was developed in the years before Atlanta held the 1996 Summer Olympics, it evolved from a literal Olympic flame to a more abstracted solid gold form. From there, the idea was further refined into a lattice scheme, which not only evoked the form of a spire but cleverly held and concealed many of the building’s crucial systems while allowing them to vent to the exterior environment.

Progressing from the literal to abstract, we see the lattice spire solution as a great embodiment of form and function.

Taking this performative lattice idea and scaling it for the lobby, we devised three variations of a custom, panelized system of rods arranged in the following formats:

• a 0% open (solid) configuration at the walls (skirting)

• a 25% open configuration at upper wall locations and on the ceiling (scrim)

• a 50% open configuration in front of the exterior walls (screen).

The variation in format, from opaque to open, gives the material a great range and nuance in handling light and form. In addition, this panelized system would have functional aspects which would support the design and implementation by being installed over the existing surfaces, allowing existing building components like air returns, supplies, sprinkler heads, etc. to be seamlessly incorporated off of existing locations and not requiring full demo of the walls or ceilings..

To demonstrate the system, both from a materials perspective and a lighting perspective, we built a 1/3 scale physical demonstration model. It convincingly showed the effect of turning the existing ceiling system into the back wall of a light box with the new rods installed over it as the finished lattice which also supports the lighting infrastructure.

For this model we used pultruded fiberglass rods. This is an extremely versatile and durable product, which, although an inexpensive commodity good, has a compelling materiality.

We imagined that this material or another similar material could be developed for incorporation into large 4’6” planks that, for example, could span the entirety of the wall/ceiling system in one length.

Here at the Main Lobby, we have addressed the core walls, ceiling and exterior walls with the various formats of the Rodded Panel System.

The application of this system would retain the powerful larger architectural curves of the lobby ceiling while at the same time introducing a texturally rich language of patterned lines. The overall effect transforms the lobby into a sleek and sumptuously detailed gallery.

For the floor, we propose removing the existing stone tile and replacing it with a seamless sealed concrete floor in a greige tone.

For the larger faux columns framing the portals, we have proposed removing the existing stone and using Jet Mist to inject a naturalistic but extravagant note setting off the restrained palate of our Rodded Panel System.

The other significant luxury surface we are proposing in the lobby is a proprietary stainless steel paneling by Permastalisa called “Haze” for some reflectivity and dematerialization at the elevator corridors and at the super columns and soffit at the exterior walls.

The Rodded Panel System’s daytime white on white pin-striping gives way to a dramatic backlit amber hued lattice as evening falls mirroring the nightly transition of the tower’s glowing spire for which the building is so well known.

Here the screen is closed providing a luminous and crucial masking of the expanse of dark glazing that sits behind it at the curtain wall.

The lobby desk is shown in an illuminated stacked plate glass material configured in a lozenge shaped plan. The rounded profile and softly glowing form recalls the curves and lighting of the lobby architecture in a more dense, crystalline form.

Beyond the main reception lobby, the program called for both a cafe/lounge area and a restaurant. These functions were deployed in the additional ground level quadrants of the tower's footprint demonstrating the versatility and suitability of the proposed design.