Expansive glazing brings nature inside

Designed to mediate between urban and natural, the Lakeside Nature Center in Kansas City, Mo., brings the look and feel of a forest to its inner-city surroundings. Floor-to-ceiling glazing rises 28 feet to enhance the feeling of being in nature. Clerestory windows, shaped by the heaving wedges of the wood roof, simulate the effect of diffused light penetrating through a forest canopy.

Transferring loads from the extensively overhung roof to the cedar columns without deflecting and breaking the glazing was a major design challenge, as were the large spans of glazing and multiplicity of sizes. Pella worked with the project team to overcome design and structural problems with affordable solutions.

Pella

Input No. 220 at BDCnetwork.com/quickResponse