Mediatheque + Library

Mediatheque + Library on fort street mall 16 Weeks

Comprehensive Architecture Studio A ARCHITECTURE 542 | William Paluch | FALL 2008

Project Premise The City & County of Honolulu has revised its Administrative Rules to offer an expedited permit track to those masterplan developments, which have received Community Approval and demonstrate compliance with applicable benchmarks of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan. As a result, Honolulu’s Primary Urban Center is seeing an influx of public/private development partnerships to plan and implement several of the areas underutilized sites. This studio will consider the masterplan design and architectural character of three of these districts, yet interrelated, conditions in the city. The site under consideration that was chosen by my group was FORT STREET MALL

Mediatheque + Library on fort street mall 16 Weeks

Comprehensive Architecture Studio A ARCHITECTURE 542 | William Paluch | FALL 2008

Part I. 5 Weeks Group masterplan development of Fort Street Mall

Part II. 8 Weeks Individual design development proposals

Part III. 2 Weeks Final presentation narratives, graphics and models to conclude in an offcampus exhibition

Oahu Island

Hawaii

Honolulu Pacific Ocean

Site Location: Fort Street Mall in Downtown Honolulu

Program Fort Street Mall is to incorporate a mixed-use program of recreational, cultural, commercial, civic, hospitality, and housing uses in proportions appropriate to their context.

Masterplan strategies are expected to consider the possible preservation of existing conditions while developing strategies for new construction, which optimize the development potential of the project area. Additionally, developer teams are required to implement 20% of the total proposal areas as a first phase by 2012. Individual designers will therefore be responsible for taking the selected Phase 01 parcels to a design development level of resolution

Honolulu harbor

Background on Fort Street Mall Architect: Victor Gruen Associates Funding: City & County 55%, private property owners 44%, Board of Water Supply 1% Cost: $2.7 million Construction period: Jun 1968-Feb 1969 (8 mos) Design goal: To ensure downtown is the center of retail & business activity Design problems: Traffic congestion, inadequate parking, competition from shopping malls Program: Retail, banking (Pedestrian Malls, Streetscapes & Urban Spaces, Harvey Rubenstein, 1991)

Demographics Population:

Events that occur in + around Fort Street Mall

Fairs + Festivals Total Daytime Population: 84,833 ppl, - First Friday - Chinese New Year Total Daytime Work Lion Population: 65,847 ppl; Festivities: Dances, Chinatown Total Household Units: Cultural Plaza 17,285 units (2007) Festivities, Maunakea Street Festival, About 950 housing Chinatown Parade units are available, but - Mardi Gras Carnival nearly 13,000 homeless Street Festival ppl are in need (2002). - Mushroom Music Festival 2008 Average Age: Community Events: Age 25-54 (2007) - Onipa’a: A Birthday Celebration Honoring Average Household Queen Lili’uokalani Income: $62,772 - Art After Dark (2007) - First Fashion Friday - New Year’s Eve Sources: Honolulu Star Bulletin (Feb 19, 2002) Celebration and Commercial Real Estate Online - Christmas Boat Parade - Bar/Club Event - Concerts - Performances - Theater Event

Mediatheque + Library

Zoning District

Zoning

Community Groups/Boards

Facilities 1902-1995

P-2: General Preservation BMX-4: Central Business Mixed-Use Aloha Tower Dev Corp Chinatown Special District Hawaii Capital Special District

TMK: 2-1-001:001 – 2-1-013:008 Land Classification: Commercial & Improved Residential State Land Use: Urban District

Downtown Neighborhood Board

Facilities Codes: 06 - Group Quarter (rooming house) 07 - Lodging Facility (50% or more units without kitchen) 18 - Utility Substation (Gas Tank, Telephone Sub Stat.)

The Wo Fat Building, at the corner of Maunakea Street and Hotel Street in the Chinatown Historic District

Zoning District Chinatown Special District Hawaii Capital Special District

23 - Freight Terminal (Moving Van) 31 - Commercial Building 32 - Retail Complex (Shopping) 33 - Office (Federal Building) 51 - Park 73 - Church, Shrine 91 - Parking Structure or Lot

Activity Code 3 - Boarding (Dorm, YMCA, etc.)

25 - Water & Pipeline (Pier, Marina) 27 - Wholesale Trade 32 - General Merchandise (Sears, Longs, 7-11, etc.)

33 - Apparel and Accessories

34 - Eating and Drinking Place 39 - Other (Commercial Art Gallery) 41 - Finance, Insurance, Real Estate (including cemetery ops.)

43 - Legal, Accounting, Engineering and Other Professional Services 45 – Business Services (Advertising 56 – Public Recreation (Golf Course)

61 – Public Administration (Exec., Legislative & Judicial) 66 – Religious Institution (church, temple, etc.)

72 – Electricity 91 – Subdivided Vacant Land 95 – Remnant Land (Road Widening, Planting Strip)

Zoning District P-2: General Preservation

BMX-4: Central Business Mixed-Use

Mediatheque + Library

Program Fort Street Mall is to incorporate a mixed-use program of recreational, cultural, commercial, civic, hospitality, and housing uses in proportions appropriate to their context.

Masterplan strategies are expected to consider the possible preservation of existing conditions while developing strategies for new construction, which optimize the development potential of the project area. Additionally, developer teams are required to implement 20% of the total proposal areas as a first phase by 2012. Individual designers will therefore be responsible for taking the selected Phase 01 parcels to a design development level of resolution

education node retail node tourist node

Honolulu harbor

Mediatheque + Library

Alakea Street

H South

After 5 weeks of the masterplan development for Fort Street Mall, each individual in the group was responsible for taking a segment of the site for further design.

Each student was to propose a building program that would narrarate a consistent and sensible proposal to the new masterplan development and to the proposed designs of group members

tree otel S t

South Beretania Street

South Kukui Stree t

Masterplan diagram created by group member Kristopher Werner

Bishop Street

Bethel Street

Nuuanu Avenue

Ala Moana B oulevard

Queen Street

g Street South Kin

South King Street

Honolulu harbor

Mediatheque + Library

This is my site!

Physical massing model of site context created with chipboard and wood.

White fome and colored paper is used to denote the proposed designs of individual group members throughout the site

Mediatheque + Library

CONTEXT

USER CONTEXT

Land parcel Park/open land

on ati

Water

oc

Business

el

Housing/residents

Sit

Educational - Hawaii Pacific University - Central Intermediate School - University of Phoenix - St. Andrew’s Priory School - Hawaii State Public Libary

Manipulated by the small parcel constraint, the mediatheque will feature 2-floors of digital stations in which books, newspapers, magazines and other tangible written forms of medium can be accessed through a computer database. The small complex will also house a bookstore, cafe, cinema, gallery and auditorium for access to the busy population of students, professionals, tourists and community members

DESIGN INTENT - To create an iconic building, a new gateway into Fort Street Mall - To create an end node that serves the community and other user groups - To design a building that does not obstruct mountain views Existing Honolulu Fire Station

Mediatheque + Library

SIMPLE FORM DIAGRAM This diagram shows the evolution of the building form from an orthogonal stack of blocks, shifted and manipulated to take advantage of double height spaces and a terracing effect, allowing for unique views and natural daylighting within the interior

IDEA As a mauka gateway to Fort Street Mall, a mediatheque building is proposed. Located towards the Punchbowl end of Fort Street Mall on a small parcel in the Downtown + Chinatown district of Honolulu, a cluster of three small buildings is proposed: 1) a digital library/ mediatheque linked by bridges to 2) a seven-story HPU administrative building on one side and 3) a smaller structure for spaces supporting the mediatheque on the other end

Mediatheque + Library

Early sketch of fragmenting the building into smaller components rather than having one single solid mass

Early program sketch with bridges interconnecting spaces between the smaller building to the larger building

Sketch depicting the articulation of the buildings exterior skin and relationship to each other and the site’s existing use as a park. Fragility and structure

The changing form of the main building was derived from a stack of books that has been shifted to the sides. This effect allows for double height spaces within the interior and a terracing effect to take advantage of daylighting. The skin reflects tree branches as the location of the mediatheque was once a park.

A “cut” thru the building maintains the essence of the old park as visitors wander in-between and around the two small buildings.

Modernized to fit the new program of a “digital library,” the translucent skin allows the mediatheque to glow like a lantern in the Downtown + Chinatown district of Honolulu – a symbol of learning, working, and moving forward

Existing Honolulu Fire Station

et

tre S p o Bish

Mediatheque + Library

A 5

BUILDING INTERIOR HEIGHTS + EXTRUSION 12 - 25 ft 12 ft 12 ft 12 ft 12 ft 12 ft 15 ft

10

Level 4

A 9

5

A

Hawaii Pacific University StudentFaculty Building

12 - 40 ft 15 ft 15 ft 15 ft 30 ft Mediatheque

8

Level 3 A 7 5

A

8

Program

Level 2 A 7 5

A

Cafe + Mezzanine

A

1. Open plaza 2. Lobby 3. Cinema 4. Honolulu Fire Station 5. HPU meeting rooms 6. Cafe mezzanine 7. Office 8. Digital stacks 9. Auditorium + gallery 10. Bookstore

5,128 sf 20,236 sf Existing building/program 18,288 sf 9,801 sf 9,384 sf 33,278 sf 4,692 sf 31,231 sf

Me

A

20 ft 13 ft 13 ft 13 ft 13 ft ediatheque

130

5

6

10

Level 5

A

Mediatheque + Library

CONTEXT Manipulated by the small parcel constraint, the mediatheque will feature 2-floors of digital stations in which books, newspapers, magazines and other tangible written forms of medium can be accessed through a computer database

Existing Honolulu Fire Station

The small complex will also house a bookstore, cafe, cinema, gallery and auditorium for access to the busy population of students, professionals, tourists and community members

CIRCULATION DIAGRAM

1. Existing pedestrian circulation with solid building form

South Beretania Street

South Beretania Street

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Pali H

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Pali H

2. Cutting the larger building into two creates another walking experience and gives people other options to enter, exit, and experience Fort Street

Axonometric of the building complex floor layers

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tr Bishop S

South Beretania Street

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ighw

Pali H

3-4. With the fragmentation, people enter into the building from Fort Street Mall. Visitors are distributed up to the different spaces of the building via elevators, stairs, and connecting bridges

Mediatheque + Library

Existin Honol Statio

Kukui Plaza

ng lulu Fire on

ay w h g i H Pali

Mediatheque + Library

Honolulu Fire Station

Capital Place Elevation

Aloha Tower Elevation

Honolulu Fire Station

Kukui Plaza Elevation

HPU Existing Building

Punchbowl

Kukui Plaza Building

l Elevation

Mediatheque + Library

South Beretania Street

A connecting bridge hovers over the 5-lane South Beretania Street to connect the Mediatheque to the existing Hawaii Pacific University StudentFaculty Building.

The bridge offers a cafe setting for students to study and the public, a place to enjoy a cup of tea while watching people + car traffic in the Downtown + Chinatown district of Honolulu

South Beretania Street

Mediatheque + Library

The physical model of the Mediatheque is in 1:50 scale.

Perspective taken from Kukui Plaza A laser cutter was used to cut black museum board for the floor plates.

The remainder of the physical model was hand-cut and assembled using basswood and clear and translucent plastic sheets

Mediatheque + Library