Diller Scofidio

+ Renfro

For us, spacemaking and detailing are interconnected. We start with spacemaking and then develop detailing, which in turn informs the design of the space to reinforce the architectural concepts. For example, the overall form of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum consists of four petals which overlap each other in a pinwheel configuration. These petals spiral and twist up from the ground, aspirationally gesturing toward taking flight. The outer skin wraps over the galleries and folds in on itself to form the walls of the atrium, just like an origami. At the four corners of the building the exterior "knife-edge" detail, which ties the outer diamond panel skin and the inner darker skin, continues over the museum, transforming into the crisp interior "knife-edge" detail of the atrium walls. The detail was carefully studied so that the outer diamond panel skin and the inner darker skin meet in an intentional way, allowing the overall skin to have a darker "liner fabric" to wrap the media-based galleries. The dark liner functions to reveal the interior, pulling it outside.At the four corners of the building the exterior "knife-edge" detail, which ties the outer diamond panel skin and the inner darker skin, continues over the museum, transforming into the crisp interior "knife-edge" detail of the atrium walls. The detail was carefully studied so that the outer diamond panel skin and the inner darker skin meet in an intentional way, allowing the overall skin to have a darker "liner fabric" to wrap the media-based galleries. The dark liner functions to reveal the interior, pulling it outside. Expressing the architecture of the overlapping folding petals was critical in the spacemaking of the galleries. The overlap creates a soft diffused beam of light over the gallery, connecting the light filled atrium on one end and an exterior vertical window out to the city of Colorado Springs. This serves as wayfinding device, giving visitors a sense of orientation in the spiraling museum. As Olympians and Paralympians aspire and struggle for that 1/32" higher or 1/100 second faster, we believe that our architecture strives for that 1/32" detail in order to bring together the architectural concept and the experience.