Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), BNIM, and the University of Kansas (KU) School of Architecture & Design, have unveiled a new mass timber building called Makers’ KUbe.
The 4,645 m2 (50,000 sf) mass timber cube structure is optimized to reduce material and curtail carbon-intensive concrete. The building’s light-filled, six-story open plan creates a layered and flexible studio.
The structure uses tight-fit dowels and notched glue laminated timber (glulam) to create an all-wood structure with columns and beams that run diagonally, without steel plates or fasteners.
The stripped back facade, which is a timber structure enclosed in glass, does not have cladding and finishing; and the mix of transparent and opaque insulated glass on the exterior reduces glare.
The building’s enclosure includes natural fiber thermal insulation in the form of biodegradable hempwool.
The KUbe’s ground-level corners are angled inward, creating canopied entrances that connect the building to the surrounding open spaces, while the upper-level corners are set to provide views of the campus and the city.
