Prairie Block

In June 2017, a fire in the Marda Loop commercial distinct claimed a 1950s-era, one-storey building on this street corner. Gravity was approached to reimagine the site with a two-storey, mixed-use design that would meet the goals of Marda Loop’s redevelopment plan and bring new life to the block. 

The building was designed to host the small-scale businesses Marda Loop is known for: Retail space at grade draws the community in and activates the street, while the upper floor offers quieter office space for tenants.

The client had a personal interest in clocks and directed the design team to work one into the building. The vision focused on how the building would interact with the block, not just occupy the site. Rather than treating it as a decorative add-on, the timepiece became a part of the façade itself.

Along the parapet, twenty-four LED ticks mark the passing hours: twelve on each face, with the North side tracking the morning and the East side the afternoon, shifting from dark blue to white as the day moves forward. Below, sixty LED ticks along the main floor soffit track the minutes, and at the top of each hour, they sparkle through a broader spectrum before resetting to dark blue to begin the cycle again. 

A change in ownership later shifted the site’s direction, but the design remains as an example of how one client’s personal interest can shape a public space and offer something unexpected to a community.

Data

Architecture: Gravity Architecture
Rendering: Phrame and Gravity Architecture

Location