Hason Residence, Beverly Hills Ca

MALAMA LEARNING CENTER, HAWAII 2004

NEIGHBORHOOD X INTRODUCTION

WE FOUND THE PROGRAM WELL PREPARED AND SUGGESTIVE WITHOUT BEING FIXATED IN ANY PARTICULAR DIRECTION. MALAMA LEARNING CENTER DESIGN IS BASED ON THE PRAGMATIC INTERPRETATION OF THE PROGRAM GOALS. WE ACCEPTED THE CONTEXT AS REAL AND TRY TO MAKE BEST OUT OF IT.


SITE A MEDIUM SIZE GRADING APPLIED TO THE GROUNDS TO ACCOMMODATE THE OUTDOOR AMPHITHEATRE AND THUS INTRODUCE A VERTICAL SEPERATION OF THE CERTAIN FUNCTIONS. THE FINISHED SITE IS SEEN AS SURROUNDED BY A GREEN BELT OF MINI HAWAIIAN FOREST CONTAINING THE BOTANICAL ACTIVITIES OF THE LEARNING CENTER. THE MAIN ENTRANCE IS LOCATED AT THE END OF THE PATHWAY BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDITORIUM BUILDINGS.THE PARKING SITUATION IS UNCHANGED. THE PLACEMENT OF THE DETACHED BUILDINGS/GROUPS AROUND AND OPEN SPACE IS DERIVED FROM COMMON UNIVERSAL VILLAGE PATTERNS, A SPECIAL ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO THE BUILDING PLACEMENTS, IN TERMS OF AIR CIRCULATION, DISPLAY AND BUFFERING OF THE ACTIVITIES.

THE OUTDOOR SPACES BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS THOUGHT TO ENCOURAGE INFORMAL AND CASUAL MEETINGS AND PARK LIKE USES.THE FRAGMENTATITION OF THE SITE FOLLOWS A SIMPLIFIED CODE OF THE PLACEMENT AND THE CIRCULATION, BRANCHING FROM A SPINE ON AS NEEDED TERMS.EXPECTED GROWTH IN THE PLANTED AREAS WILL EVENTUALLY ESTABLISH A WELL KNOWN HIDDEN VILLAGE FOR ALL TO VISIT AND LEARN FROM.

Design Charrette: February 7-21

Project: Grosse Pointe Central Library, expansion and renovationGrosse Pointe, MIArchitect: Marcel Breuer, 1953. The community of Grosse Pointe, Michigan has a cultural treasure that is in danger of being demolished - the Central Library, designed by noted architect and educator Marcel Breuer. Such stories are becoming commonplace across the country. Modern architectural gems are slowly disappearing despite the protests of those who recognize their value as part of our shared twentieth century artistic and cultural heritage. But there is a chance to save this local landmark from demolition! The Modern Architecture Protection Agency (MAPA) was organized by a group of concerned Archinect members with the express purpose of demonstrating that design ingenuity can lead to solutions that accommodate contemporary needs while respecting modern landmarks. To this end, we have organized a Design Charrette that will show the Grosse Pointe Library’s Board of Directors that imaginative solutions can solve their programmatic needs while saving the Breuer-designed facility from demolition. “…the library board plans to demolish the Grosse Pointe Central Library and replace it with a newer, bigger structure, despite efforts by some to save the original.The dispute is unusual on several fronts. Unlike most endangered landmarks, the Central Library isn't a neoclassical or Romanesque edifice from the 1800s, but a modernist work built in 1953.”

Phase I
By adding a glass space on top of the existing library and extending to the south as the program requires emphasizes the importance of the existing rather than the new.

Addition will emphasize the approach from the south and bring an open landscape underneath the new building. The south facade will also hold the additional reading and book storing areas facing the football stadium as a tribune.