Urban Land Interests was very keen to use unique and exotic woods throughout the project , and had worked in the past with custom millwork fabricator Carley , Wood Associates . Robin Carley and Greg Ericson from Carley , Wood were brought into the project at its earliest stages to offer their expertise .
“ For Block 89 , the developers knew they wanted to use ‘ flashy ’ materials , because this is Madison ’ s highest rent district ,” says Robin Carley . “ They definitely wanted a sophisticated look and mix of materials for all the public areas of these buildings .”
Knowing that both the developer and the architect were interested in working with exotic woods , Carley and Ericson engineered an ambitious shopping trip : they chartered a plane from Madison , picked up Jennerjahn in Chicago , and flew to an exotic wood dealer in Michigan .
“ The dealer laid out literally dozens of samples ,” says Carley . “ They knew we wanted to see some exotic stuff , so they brought out all of their really interesting species . Brad Binkowski , the CEO of Urban Land Interests , was like a kid in a candy store ; he couldn ’ t believe the range and varieties of exotic woods that were possible . Hence , every part of the project has different species , types , configurations – a lot of exotic stuff .”
“ We were able to find solid woods to match all the veneer species we picked out ,” says Ericson . “ We selected five different types of African Mahogany alone , each with different figuring and grain structures . We also picked Bee ’ s-wing Eucalyptus , straight and figured Makoré , quarter-figured European Beech , Fishbone Beech , figured Anigré , and a variety of different domestic species .” “ For the elevator cabs in the Doty Street building we handpicked figured Fishbone Beech veneers which have a lot of lively
variation in the grain ,” says Jennerjahn . “ We lightened up the curved ceilings of the elevator cabs using a Bird ’ s-eye Maple with a natural finish .
“ For the large expanses in the lobby of that building we felt that a figured wood would be too busy . We wanted the color of the wood to dominate instead , so we used steamed Beech , which has a very consistent grain .”
Jennerjahn emphasized the individuality of the wall panels by using different cuts of Beech veneer , and gave the wall a sculptural quality by using different panel thicknesses with less grain figuring that project by varying degrees . Blocks of stone in varying sheens are mixed in with the wood .
“ That ’ s one of the things we like to do – juxtapose visually hard materials , like stone , and a softer material with more depth , like wood . That sets off each material , and helps to make each more distinctive .”
Urban Land Interests wanted each area of Block 89 to have its own distinct appearance , its own “ sense of place ,” so the Main Street building lobby features another unique palette of woods .
“ We skinned the circular elevator core with Bee ’ s-wing Eucalyptus panels , which have taken on a very nice patina , separated by strips of aluminum ,” says Jennerjahn . “ On the back wall , which extends back into the block and other tenant spaces , we used Makoré . It ’ s a large wall , and we liked the
Many of our clients are tech-based companies who tend to want more metal and glass , so it was a real pleasure to investigate and work with a lot of different wood species
DAVID JENNERJAHN , VALERIO DEWALT TRAIN
IMPORTED WOOD 21