The building’s new entry hall serves as a front door and a direct link to the city. As a nod to the character of the park, the entry hall is clad with a variable aperture pattern inspired by façade details on the park's historic Memorial Park Library.

Abundant natural light and controlled climate fosters the growth of several species of plants, including a fig tree, a lemon bush, and many other subtropical plants. From first light in the morning, the translucent cladding floods the space with a soft, diffuse natural light, washing over the restaurant’s patrons and plants throughout the day.

The building’s polycarbonate skin has a high level of UV transmission as well as a high insulative value, both of which are crucial in passively heating the space throughout the year. In the warmer months, a large overhead door opens up the space to the park, pulling a breeze through the solarium and up through the skylights.

The structure was designed and modelled parametrically in order to ensure a high level of iterability, maintain precise tolerances and accuracy, and seamlessly transition from design to fabrication to onsite assembly. The entire lattice structure required 160 sheets of plywood (or 4,700 square feet of material) milled over 150 CNC hours (see cut sheets above), as well as 450 linear feet of dowel to connect the pieces.

The size constraints of the plywood panels and CNC cutting bed required that the laminated panels be composed of multiple pieces, which are staggered to avoid intersecting seams and structural weak points and then laminated with wood dowels.

The wood lattice structure that forms the roof and walls of the solarium is made entirely of 3/4” fir plywood CNC prototyped and milled in-house by Studio North. The plywood components are laminated with wood dowels to form continuous structural members that function as both columns and rafters across the structure.

The rigid frames simply slot together using cross-halved joints which allow for ease of onsite assembly. Over large spans such as the garage door and entryway, exposed laminated veneer lumber supplements the lattice canopy structure.

As shadows are cast on the building’s roof, the cathedral-like space is animated by the dappled light, constantly shifting throughout the day. Sitting back and looking up, the sinuous structural lines of the roof and walls invite the eye to wander from one side of the space to the other. At night, light emanates from the wooden lattice structure, illuminating the park around it.