Using Curves to Shape the Way People Live

“Architecture shapes the way people live, gather, learn, and experience the world.”

Those are the words of David Businelli, AIA, the Founder and CAO of Studio 16 Architecture in Asbury Park, N.J. We at Flex-Ability Concepts met Businelli in what he describes as a project that transformed his career. It was the St. Clare’s Parish Center and Early Childhood Development Center in Staten Island, N.Y., that was completed in 2001.

For us, the center still stands out as an inspirational example of how curves inspire spaces. For Businelli, he said in a recent LinkedIn post,

“Early in my career, one project changed the way I understood architecture. … It became clear that the design of a space could positively influence how people feel, interact, and grow within it. That realization stayed with me. Over time, it led to a fundamental question: What if architecture was practiced with the intention of transforming lives, not just delivering buildings?”

The outcome of that realization is the basis of the Studio 16 Transformation Model. Discover more about that model by reading Businelli’s post. To learn more about St. Clare’s Parish Center and Early Childhood Development Center, check out a video that is on the Flex-Ability Concepts YouTube page.

Collaborating with Businelli is something that we enjoy doing. His work—and his words—are thought-provoking, like what he says in “Controlling Curves,” a collaborative article published by Walls & Ceilings magazine:

“I think that the No. 1 concept that an architect needs to embrace when designing with curves is that curves can solve problems while creating dynamic space. I fit a pediatrician’s office into a 900-square-foot rectangular space with an odd length-to-width ratio by utilizing curved walls. I could not have met the accessibility requirement, fit the program and made the space pleasing for children without curves.”

Can you tell we are a Businelli fan? Following is an interview with Businelli that ran in a previous blog. He says the concepts still apply, but what he would add, 10 years later, is:

“At Studio 16, we believe architecture should do more than solve technical problems—it should transform human experience. At St. Clare’s, the curves were not simply aesthetic gestures; they allowed us to solve difficult programmatic challenges while creating an environment that felt welcoming, calming, and emotionally engaging for children and that gave the children a visual horizon that was theirs alone. That project helped shape what eventually became the Studio 16 Transformation Model: the belief that design, technology, and human-centered thinking must work together to create spaces that truly serve people.”

Flex: What challenges do curves present?

DB: For curving with traditional methods, curves present challenges in framing and sheathing because neither material in stud form bends easily, of course. Gypsum board and plywood have to be quite wet in order to bend for a really tight curve or radius.

Flex: What is the best way to use curves?

DB: Curves should be an essential part of the transformative nature of the design; they can be used to shape rooms, to direct circulation, to establish visual horizons, and to create facades and building massing that imply movement.

Flex: How does Flex-Ability Concepts’ products make projects easier for you as an architect?

DB: The Flex-Ability Concepts products have allowed me to create curves that I would otherwise have not been able to achieve. The compound curved wall in the St. Clare's Parish Center/Early Childhood Development Center on Staten Island, N.Y., would not have been possible to be built in a cost-effective manner without them.

Flex: What more do you want to see with curves?

DB: I'd like to see curves used in the vertical plane more often.

Flex: Do you have any advice for an architect who is hesitant to use curves or our products?

DB: Don't use curves in a gratuitous manner—they should have a purpose and meaning for the project. It can be practical and/or a metaphor, but don't use a curve for the sake of using a curve.

Flex: What do you want contractors to understand about curves from an architect’s point of view?

DB:  In my experience, the owner loves the curves, and then the contractor talks them out of it, usually claiming that they are too expensive. It has not been my experience that curved walls are appreciably more expensive than straight walls. When the curves are an essential part of the transformative nature of space, the elimination of them changes the whole character of the design. That does a disservice to the client. When properly designed and specified, the contractor should have no problem with the pricing or the construction of said curve. Using Flex-C Trac is the best way to achieve the curves in a very efficient manner.