Response 3

Building: Ross School of Business,

Location: 701 Tappan Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Type: Sublimated

Scale: Component

This crossbeam is a significant detail in both the formation and aesthetic of the building. This beam is one of eight, each supported by stone pillars and used to reinforce the glass overhang in front of the entrance to the school. Clearly, this detail contributes to the buildings construction by acting as a load bearing form. However, the way in which it conceals this role as essential structurally is a both creative and effective method, in that it doesn't conceal its role at all. This detail is hiding in plain sight, disguising itself among the surrounding aesthetic of the building. The Ross School utilizes a modern aesthetic and to achieve this look, the building implements regular use of straight lines, often intersecting each other in a grid pattern. The glass overhang of the entrance repeats this aesthetic with the beams that support it. This crossbeam may be a small part of a whole, but it is an example of an ingenious way to conceal the construction of a building through the transformation of the important elements of that construction into aesthetic details. Which is in turn is done by integrating them into the design of the building itself. Because of this role that the beam plays, it perfectly encapsulates Marco Frascari's definition of detailing in his article, "To Tell-theTale Detail,"  "The art of detailing is really the joining of materials, elements, components, and building parts in a functional and aesthetic manner."