The building's challenging design — a curvilinear mass supported by towering concrete columns, and that ascending S-shaped ramp, essentially splitting the structure in two — has in recent years been seen as more forbidding than welcoming.
Its tower is a curvilinear pyramid resembling eastern Indian Hindu temple towers, and its enormous brick mass is pierced with two circuits of vaulted corridors.
She points out two distinct types of tower: One is curvilinear and rises vertically while the other is pyramidal and tiered.
The front elevation is bowed in such a way as to incorporate the two towers into this curvilinear structure and to create a transition to the side elevation.
An unusual example of art deco architecture applied to a gas station and restaurant, the building features two flared towers with geometric detailing, curvilinear massing, glazed ceramic tile walls, and neon light accents.
Designed to attract the attention of the passing motorists, the towers also feature geometric detailing, curvilinear massing, and are outlined with neon lighting added additional character and uniqueness to the building's design.
Outstanding designs include the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, a steel and glass megastructure cantilevered over the Ohio River from a silvery cylindrical base; the Chamber of Commerce in Prato, Italy, a rectangular box wrapped with blurry glass grids; and the Dentsu Tower in Tokyo, a monumental glass skyscraper of curvilinear contour.
Two distinctive structures that transformed the skyline in the early 21st century are the 28-story EPCOR Tower (2011) and, a short distance away, the low-rise curvilinear steel-and-glass Art Gallery of Alberta (2010).
The tower, designed by the firm of Michael Schimenti P.C. - with Der Scutt serving as a design consultant - will be a series of curvilinear bays rising from a three-story pedestal.
