darin johnstone architects turns historic wind tunnel into mullin transportation design center

MTDC creative hub redefines ‘building within a building’ concept

Darin Johnstone Architects has transformed the historic wind tunnel facility into the Mullin Transportation Design Center (MTDC) at ArtCenter College of Design, California, creating a contemporary educational space for the college’s renowned Transportation Design program. Originally housing a supersonic wind tunnel, the refurbished 31,000-sqft facility features specialized labs, studios, makerspaces, and offices, emulating the environment of professional transportation design studios with advanced technology and vehicular access.

The MTDC design incorporates gallery and exhibition spaces, along with a hovering mezzanine, facilitating hands-on experimentation and the showcasing of innovative design concepts. The structure’s original function as a testing site for aerospace manufacturers in the mid-1900s inspired the spatial arrangement, blending solid elements with large voids, reflecting the history of the wind tunnel as both an object and a container. Additionally, the act of hovering or appearing to float became a conceptual driver for the work and a link to the poetic past of the wind tunnel, resulting in a ‘building within a building’ strategy. The LEED Gold certified project features a literal building floating within another building—63 piles connect a series of grade beams tied to columns and bearing walls, supporting cast-in-place concrete upper-level decks, supporting light metal framing, for an assembly that is seismically separated from the existing historic structure. The overall design acknowledges the interplay of time and the evolution of design processes related to transportation and modern aviation. A taut, smooth aesthetic of strange lightness hovers in contrast to the rough lovely wooden vessel of the original wind tunnel.

all images by Joshua White | courtesy of Darin Johnstone Architects

Fluid Spaces shape MTDC’s layout by Darin Johnstone Architects

The east side of the project, which holds studios and offices on two levels, is a simple bar laminated to the edge of the wind tunnel. The remainder of the space comprises hovering elements that float in the space and shape larger voids, a nod to the aeronautic history of the space. A flex lecture space and viewing deck on the mezzanine level sit above the Fabrication Lab and Vehicle Architecture Lab on level one. A curved ramping gallery, connecting to the second level, slips around and over the Art and Process Lab, framing the upper division undergraduate studio to complete the hovering diagram.

MTDC by Darin Johnstone Architects (see more here) serves as a pedestrian passthrough and focal point that connects all buildings and facilities on ArtCenter’s South Campus. This passthrough on the west side of level one also contains vertical circulation elements that allow all visitors to loop up to the hovering programs and flow around the lab spaces visible below. As a result, MTDC is also the juncture where all disciplines and constituencies of ArtCenter can converge with both physical and visual access integrated throughout the space. It represents a future of intersectionality, where silos are replaced by opportunity, fluidity and a sense of belonging.

Mullin Transportation Design Center repurposes a historic wind tunnel at ArtCenter College of Design

Darin Johnstone Architects redesigned the 31,000-sqft space for advanced transportation design education

originally used for aerospace testing, the wind tunnel’s past influenced the spatial arrangement of MTDC

a smooth, taut aesthetic contrasts with the rough wooden interior of the original wind tunnel

vertical circulation elements allow visitors to access hovering programs and visible lab spaces

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MTDC integrates technology and vehicular access, essential for transportation design experimentation

project info:

name: Mullin Transportation Design Center
architects: Darin Johnstone Architects | @darin_johnstone_architects

design team: Darin Johnstone, Sandra Hutchings, Howard Chen, Sean Davis, Dennis Lee, Matt Liese, Long Pan, Kaita Saito, Sue Choi, Te-kuei Huang

client: ArtCenter College of Design

consultants: Labib Funk + Associates, Novus Design Studio, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Kgm Lighting, Antonio Acoustics, Hka Elevator Consultant, Zc Sustainability

project manager: Parthenon Corporation

general contractor: Del Amo Construction

area: 31,000 sqft

location: Pasadena, California

photography: Joshua White | @joshuawhitephotography, ArtCenter College Of Design

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom