Swanborn has created a diverse portfolio of award-winning projects, including higher research and academic facilities, medical and health sciences education buildings, healthcare facilities, and K-12 schools. | Photo Credit: Courtesy of CO Architects
By Lindsey Coulter听
Arnold听Swanborn, AIA, LEED AP, is one of the newest members of the 91视频 Editorial Advisory Board.听Swanborn听is Design Principal at CO Architects in Los Angeles, and, after more than three decades in the industry,听has created a diverse portfolio of award-winning projects, including higher research and academic facilities, medical and health sciences education buildings, healthcare facilities, and K-12 schools 鈥� ranging from听100,000 square feet听to more than听2 million square feet.听听
Swanborn听leads CO Architects鈥� design direction. His work focuses on connecting people to place through the design of sustainable buildings that are responsive to their environments. His widely publicized work includes the Health Sciences Innovation Building, Health Sciences Education Building, and Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building for the University of Arizona and the Loyola Marymount University Life Sciences Building. Notable under-construction听projects of his听include the Wichita Biomedical Campus, the Arizona State University Health Building, and the University of Texas at Austin Autry C. Stephens Engineering Discovery Building.
A native of the Netherlands,听Swanborn鈥檚听architectural influences include Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, and Frank Gehry. Visual artists he finds inspiring include Frank Stella and Dutch master Vermeer.听He听received his Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University, and his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California.听听
91视频 talked with听Swanborn听about his design philosophy and how he applies sustainable principles across听projects. Watch for more of this interview in the upcoming K-12 issue of 91视频, introducing all new Editorial Advisory Board members.听
SCN:听What drew you to architecture initially, and how did your early experiences shape your design philosophy?听
Swanborn:听The work I do today has a lineage that goes back to growing up in Holland. I听can鈥檛听remember a time when I was not drawn to crafting, making,听and听creating. As with many young kids, it started with Legos, the ubiquitous blocks from which you could create anything you dreamed of. I was obsessed. My creative outlets expanded to more intricate and delicate creations鈥攆unctioning balsa-wood airplanes, model cars. These creative outlets were fostered by a grandfather who built sailboats and furniture and a father who was trained as an architect and always tinkered around the house. Those nascent influences grew into an appreciation of tactile experiences and well-crafted objects and spaces. The transition into the field of architecture was seemingly听preordained,听natural. The obsession and drive to design and build that started as a young kid continues to this day. My work explores light and tactile听surfaces, and听is driven by narrative and听the experiential.听听
SCN:听Your portfolio spans research, academic, healthcare, and K鈥�12 projects. What common design principles carry across these different building types?听
Swanborn:听At its core, architecture is the artistic expression of an intentional set of experiences.听So听no matter what the program, for me it starts by narratively constructing those experiences. Since the program, location, and climatic conditions听vary听project to project, the outcome is always听bespoke听to the circumstance. In a听way听these building projects are like cities. We听have to听move people, give them places to learn, work, and heal, and do it in a way that inspires them to be at their best.听Connecting to place, time, and nature is what drives the work through the use of daylight to form and define space, surface, and user experiences.听I like to think of light as a material. Free, sustainable, and ever-changing, it creates dynamic and surprisingly new experiences to delight and provide joy in a variety of environments: education, healing, workplace. We听don鈥檛听see light until it reflects and washes across听a surface. Light creates a听mystique when you put it in the right place on and in a building. Light is the life of a building.听听
SCN:听Sustainability is a core focus of your work. How do you approach sustainable design in large, complex institutional buildings?听
Swanborn: At the highest level we strive to create 100-year buildings. Designing buildings to be flexible and adaptable over time is the most sustainable measure. Our planet has limited resources; we need to think more holistically about the crafting and making of buildings. For me that begins with understanding where it is in the world vis-脿-vis the climate. Then look for passive solutions for daylighting, ways to control solar exposure with an eye on reducing the EUI (energy use index). These have been the basics. Now, embodied carbon and electrification are the big focuses for reducing the initial and operational carbon footprint. For example, we start every project by exploring mass timber, but look at all of our choices with a lens toward carbon neutrality. Hence, while we can design a stunning double-skin glass wall, the question of appropriateness is always at the forefront. The answer is more reasonably found in a vernacular that is regionally appropriate.