ROOF WATER
ROOF
Our proposal begins with the visually arresting roof of the Bluebarn Theater. The artificial grass and folded, pitched planes suggest a fantastical lawn worthy of lounging upon. Sloping surfaces direct rainwater towards the edge of the roof, routing the precious resource somewhere lush, desirable and unseen. Combining a rich architectural material palette of exposed concrete, corten steel, steel re-bar and a saturated, pure blue, the theater presents both elegant forms and curious juxtapositions. We appreciate the freedom and boldness offered by our partner in occupying this soon-to-be-transformed block in Omaha, Nebraska. GROUND
Our goal is to create a roof corollary on the ground - a flexible and accessible place. The faceted ground planes west of the theater create a landscaped foreground for the blue outdoor theater volume. At the same time they offer a seasonally adjusting backdrop for the formal interior theater space. Corten steel edging holds the lawn along Pacific, scaling to architectural dimensions when needed. A comfortable lawn of Buffalo grass and Brome absorbs water and heat. It requires little maintenance. A small wedge of taller native grasses and wildflowers quietly suggests an inside and an outside to the greenspace. Rills collect overflow rainwater at the intersections of folding planes, directing it towards fragrant rain gardens. A select few Swamp White Oaks and Bloodgood London Plane Trees dot the western edge of the greenspace, providing shade, texture, interior volume and a ceiling-like surface to illuminate at night. WATER
We are interested in establishing this project as a showcase in the holistic management of stormwater on a development site. We would also like to discuss how private development interfaces with the public realm, both experientially and as cooperative infrastructure. Throughout our proposal we demonstrate how water flows from initial rainfall contact from the rooftop throughout the site, how it is slowed, captured and released through a series of overt and subtle stormwater facilities. As a practical matter we’re managing stormwater at both a macro and micro scale. On a poetic level, through the rigorous choreography of water flow from high to low we are making gravity visible, acoustical and felt.
10th STREET
11th STREET
PACIFIC STREET
N
5’
25’
50’
ROOF_GROUND_WATER 12 STEPS TO OMAHA
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 *BONUS* 13
GROUND THE ROOF INSIDE >> OUT /// OUTSIDE >> IN LEVERAGE SEASONAL CHANGE ESTABLISH NEUTRAL GROUND INFRASTRUCTURE = FRIEND LIGHT AS BUILDING MATERIAL A GALLON = A GALLON GRAVITY, WATER AND THE SENSES EXPAND THE PARTY MUTUAL ENTRAPMENT DESIGNING BY MAKING DAY TRIP $$ AS EDITOR
GROUND THE ROOF Early on we became interested in the elegant simplicity of the proposed Bluebarn Theater roof. With the conscientious choreography of the flow of rainwater being such a central part of our proposal, the directionality suggested by the roof suggested a structural approach for the greenspace. We began to think of the entire site as one large roofscape, a series of purposefully crafted folded planes – some habitable and some not. All of them working together to form a subtle, but effective water management system. By grounding the roof we are able to connect the earth and the sky in ways that are both direct and abstract. In this effort we feel we have effectively channeled Jeff and E.B., embedding their initial design intuitions into the landscape.
INSIDE>>OUT OUTSIDE>>IN
From the start we were interested in exploring the relationship between the theater space and greenspace. We’re seeking maximum flexibility to allow both to function as one or as separate programmable vessels. At the same time we most like the idea that each can expand beyond itself when the other becomes integral. By pushing the inside out, the possibilities for “stage” expand exponentially. The slope of the lawn and the backdrop of the trees becomes a seasonally changing backdrop. By pushing the outside in the building forms a natural, malleable proscenium, encased in blue. In both ways of thinking we offer experimentation with the relationship between audience and performer.
LEVERAGE SEASONAL CHANGES We’ve imagined the site in different times of year and in different weather conditions. The consideration of snow and rain as well as hot and cold temperatures is central not only for design but also for considering the accommodation of programmatic activities. A snowball fight is as possible as a musical performance. Because the primary building materials – landscape and water in our case - are living, they provide dynamic change in how the site is experienced.
ESTABLISH NEUTRAL GROUND
The western edge of the Bluebarn Theater is important and geometrically complex. It is the unfinished part of the building, awaiting the greenspace. Most early attempts to connect our greenspace to this part of the building were awkward and unsatisfying. Thinking about New Orleans one day, and the elegant, highly practical concept of Neutral Ground used there to define medians in large public thoroughfares, we tried it out. Neutral Ground is a kind of “urban time out.” It’s a place that belongs to everyone, equally. In our proposal it is a generous 17’ wide space that belongs to both the theater and the greenspace. Our Neutral Ground is its own space, serving as a pedestrian connection between Pacific Street and the back of the Boxcar 10 development. It is also the end of the line for stormwater flow, the low spot on the site where water gathers in saw-cut rills and containment basins before flowing into the dramatically down-sized Stormceptor.
INFRASTRUCTURE = FRIEND
water collection hvac units cisterns
trash and storage electrical transformers
It’s not uncommon for urban development projects to try and hide power lines, electrical transformers and dumpsters. The infrastructure required to handle urban storm runoff has historically been thought of in similar ways, though more often than not because of combine storm and sanitary sewer systems. The effort to hide this essential infrastructure is often futile as it is either impossible to hide or too costly to hide. As a counter proposal we are exploring the idea that urban infrastructure should be embraced as part of the visual experience of a place. Through the design of multi-functional screening and integrated lighting infrastructure can be accommodated and the simultaneous functional and poetic needs of a place can be met. Infrastructure on display elevates our understanding of what it takes to build and be in cities.
LIGHT AS BUILDING MATERIAL We think of the greenspace as a 24 hour environment. When the space is being used at night, lighting takes on both a practical and environmental dimension. Lighting associated with specific theatrical programming has not been addressed in our proposal and needs to be further discussed. Ambient lighting takes two forms. First, linear LED’s are embedded in the vertical corten steel walls that line the north and south edges of the greenspace, creating the verticality needed to fold the ground planes. Light contains the greenspace in this application and provides ambient light for the sidewalk. Second, uplights illuminate the underside of the tree canopies, creating a permeable but perceivable ceiling along the most public edge of the greenspace. Lighting this surface creates a threshold through which the rest of the project – the greenspace, the blue exterior volume of the theater and the black interior of the theater itself.
GRAVITY, WATER AND THE SENSES
10th STREET
11th STREET
Stormwater is often considered a nuisance that is best swept away, out of sight as soon as possible, like an annoying little brother. For some time now we have been interesting in changing this perception in urban development, in both public and private work. Thought of practically as an increasingly valuable commodity we begin to think of managing stormwater as we might our 401K’s. Thought of poetically as rainfall we begin to think of stormwater as a unique building material that can activate and engage the senses. Rainwater from the roofs of buildings is a particularly attractive building material since it doesn’t possess the chemical challenges of water from roadways. Flowing rainwater introduces motion into a visual scene. Acoustically water interacts with material surfaces to create music. When vaporized rainwater reduces temperature. All of these sensory opportunities are activated by gravity, a free, naturally occurring and abundant natural resource.
PACIFIC STREET
12/16/13
01/02/14
01/10/14
KEEP INVITING / EXTEND MORE INVITATIONS The Green in the City competition allowed a number of quality professionals to think about Omaha, the site and the Bluebarn Theater. A competition format allowed a variety of ideas to come to the fore. A competition format create content for a number of public forums … We’re grateful to be among this great group of competitors and we hope you’ll continue addressing challenges via professionally run competitions. An example – we were tempted to address the monumental challenge of what to do with the high voltage power lines running east/west along 10th Street. As much as any other physical element they create a visible potential
A GALLON = A GALLON
roof water drain roof water travel
collected in cisterns
site water flows
The City of Omaha requires that ½” of rainfall over the area of a site must be contained on site. For our site, including Bluebarn Theater and Boxcar 10, that’s 10,500 gallons or roughly an 11’ cube. Rather that bury that volume of water we propose storing the water in a number of visible and functionally useful ways. The cleanest stormwater comes off the roof. That water will be stored in two oversized cisterns that can be used by either properties for landscape watering, hosing things down or flushing the broader stormwater system of rils. Parking lot runoff is captured in rils and raingardens, slowing down the peak stormwater flow and containing a smaller portion of the overall site requirement. Greenspace runoff is minimized first and foremost by pervious surfaces. Subsequent flows are channelized in rils and raingardens. The final piece of the system is a downsized Stormcepter which requires less excavation and less expense overall. In the event of larger storms much of the rainwater overflow falls into the street or into the Stormcepter as it would in a more conventional stormwater design approach.
Urbanized
Naturalized
EXPAND THE PARTY The Green in the City competition allowed a number of professionals to think about Omaha, the site and the Bluebarn Theater. A competition format allows a variety of ideas to come to the fore. A competition format sets the stage for conversations and the forming of relationships that would not have happened otherwise. We’re grateful to be among an inspiring, thoughtful group of competitors and we hope you’ll continue addressing various site and development challenges via professionally run competitions. An example – we were tempted to confront the monumental challenge of what to do with the high voltage power lines running east/ west along Pacific Street. As much as any other physical element in the area they create the potential for a unique branding and communication platform. However, recognizing our budget and scope constraints we simply cannot effectively take advantage of this opportunity.
Michael Jones McKean - The Rainbow
Bemis Gardens - FACT
MUTUAL ENTRAPMENT We’ve found over the years that the best way to achieve implementable success is to articulate undeniable constraints, identify necessary expertise and bring this expertise to the table as soon as possible. For us that means building relationships with Kiewit and Zahner, getting them ready to help us understand what is possible both economically and from a constructability point of view. It also means getting students involved – architecture and landscape students from Kansas State University where David Dowell (el dorado) teaches, and construction management students from University of Nebraska – Omaha where Pat Cuddigan (Kiewit) teaches. Not only is this project a terrific teaching opportunity, the involvement of students in the design and implementation of the project offers economic benefits that will allow more to be done that without them.
Design Team >> Implementation Team: el dorado inc: David Dowell, AIA, Daniel Renner and Vanessa Eickhoff, RLA Urban Rain Design: Kevin Robert Perry, ASLA Kansas State University Design+Make Studio: Jack Booton, Nick Kratz, Jake Baker and Cory Meyer Kiewit Special Construction: Pat Cuddigan Zahner: Bill Zahner
Urban Rain Design The Office of Kevin Robert Perry, ASLA
DESIGNING BY MAKING Our team is fundamentally rooted in the belief that design ideas should continue to unfold and improve throughout the construction process. To manage this process effectively and responsibly, the designer must be able to participate in the construction process. Our history of steel fabrication and general contracting in service of design excellence is the pedagogical basis for teaching a graduate-level design-build studio at Kansas State University. Now in it’s third year, the studio expands the traditional academic design process to include taking responsibility for design thinking by making design. Our partners in implementation – Kiewit and Zahner – give us added capacity and implementation expertise to ensure a quality project, delivered on time and on budget.
DAY TRIP We believe all projects benefit from a cooperative, face-to-face approach. What we’ve outlined here certainly suggests such an approach. The core of our team, though not all based in Omaha, is very close to Omaha. The three main locations of team members – Kansas City, Omaha and Manhattan, KS, are all within 3 hours drive of one another. That makes day trips for progress meetings possible, even last minute meetings. Our California partner is in Kansas City often and, should we be successful in earning this commission, he will be involved in the design-build studio at Kansas State University overseeing the landscape architecture students.
omaha 3 hrs.
3 hrs. 187 mi
170 mi
manhattan
kansas city 2 hrs. 121 mi
trees and grasses $13,000 (7.6%)
$$ AS EDITOR
corten steel walls $42,000 (24.7%)
misc. earthwork $17,000 (10%) cisterns $3,000 (1.7%)
Fiscal constraints are the bane of the designer’s existence. Fully exploring an idea or the potential of a place inevitably leads to expansive thoughts. This, for the most part, is a good thing. We have allowed ourselves a bit of this but we quickly arrived at a working method of stripping down complexity, thinking instead about how we might achieve an idea through more economical means. For example, by mounding our site with excavated materials from the Bluebarn Theater and the Boxcar 10 development we might well save significant money. Combined with our own experience as fabricators and general contracting we have enlisted other partners who can help us consider fiscal constraints from the initial stages. Bringing our Kansas State University design/build studio into the team offers additional financial benefits while offering a unique educational opportunity to the students. Our budget at this point is more a series of allowances and if we’re lucky enough to be selected an early step will be to more fully evaluate the economic impact of our proposed concept, with our team members, Min-Day and the client.
Design Fee $30,000 (14%)
Construction Budget $170,000 (86%)
Construction Budget Breakdown contingency, o+p $15,000 (9%)
concrete grade beams $15,000 (8.8%)
misc. custom metal fabrication $6,500 (3.8%) neutral ground concrete wall $22,000 (13%)
grating gutters $8,000 (4.7%)
lighting $16,500 (9.7%) concrete paving $12,000 (7%)
trees and grasses $13,000 (7.6%)
corten steel walls $42,000 (24.7%)
misc. earthwork $17,000 (10%) cisterns $3,000 (1.7%)
Thank You.