Gardena, California, USA
Santa Monica-based Folonis Architects collaborated with Los Angeles-based architectural system designer and manufacturer Arktura to create a bespoke façade for the new showroom of the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, presented at the crossroads of Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Place.
Its design pays homage to Tesla’s roots with an electric arc-inspired perforation pattern — branding the space outside through the functional passive solar veil that tempers the effects of the Southern California sun, and casts playful shadows for the visitors inside.
The project has been awarded a 2021 Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Folonis collaborated with Arktura, who used proprietary software, combined with engineering and manufacturing ability to translate the synergetic graphic forms of electrical waves into the complex curved, custom exterior Graphic Perf® panel system that envelops the space.
The screen design, led by Folonis, was inspired by magnetic flux diagrams capturing measurements of Tesla units, a unit of magnetic induction that also takes its name from the company’s namesake, Nikola Tesla.
The primary lines of the façade are an abstraction of kinetic energy waves formed from electron decay during energy release.
Perforations are strategically dispersed to control visibility and allow filtered sunlight to pass through into the lounge and salesroom on the second floor.
Arktura worked to bring the vision to reality while assuring the façade integrated seamlessly with the building’s 30- foot- high curved glass curtain wall, supported on standoffs and custom bow truss columns developed for this project.
With arms projecting out from the low-iron glass, the façade floats gracefully free and independent of the existing building.
The result effortlessly supplies the functional benefits of protection against the elements while serving as a unique representation of the company’s iconic roots.
Project: Tesla Showroom Façade
Designers: Arktura LLC., and Michael W. Folonis Architects
Manufacturer: Arktura LLC.
