Performing Arts Center on the Alexandria Waterfront

Oscar Antonio Maradiaga

Performing Arts Center on the Alexandria Waterfront

Oscar Antonio Maradiaga

Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor’s of Architecturein Architecture

Professor Markus Breitschmid

December 17, 2015

Alexandria, Virginia

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Acknowledgements

Thank you Christine.

Thank you mom and dad.

Thank you David, Henry and Jaan.

Thank you Professor Breitschmid and the students of his studio.

Thank you Professors Schnoedt, Pittman, de Han, and Doan for their time and insight.

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Dedicated to

Victor and Salomé

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Table of Contents

6 Site

8 Plans

14 Sections

18 Details

22 Images

28 Context

32 Program

34 Structure

36 Methodology

42 Criticism

44 Conclusion

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Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the nature of public space defined through architecture, to explore the possibilities of a rigorous conceptual methodology, and to examine the poetic expression of structural systems. The program of a Perform-ing Arts Center is utilized to explore the potential of providing public space both inside and out of the proposed building. The selected site along the Alexandria waterfront allows the project to be gauged in a reality driven context as the site is slated for redevelopment in a plan approved by the city.

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1 - ORONOCO BAY ENTRANCE2 - LARGE BOAT DOCK3 - WC4 - RESTAURANT ENTRANCE5 - COAT CHECK6 - STORAGE7 - KITCHEN8 - DISHWASHER ROOM9 - KITCHEN STORAGE10 - RESTAU RANT11 - DRY STORAGE12 - BAR13 - WORKSHOPS14 - LIQUOR STORAGE15 - SECURITY OFFICE16 - BAR ENTRANCE17 - STAFF BATH18 - STAFF ROOM19 - ELECTRICAL ROOM20 - INSTRUMENT STORAGE21 - MECHANICAL ROOM22 - ORCHESTRA PIT23 - WC STORAGE24 - LAUNDRY ROOM25 - DELIVERY STORAGE26 - UNDER STAGE27 - MAINTENANCE WORKSHOP28 - AUDIO WORKSHOP29 - AUDIO STORAGE30 - WARDROBE STORAGE31 - LIGHTS STORAGE32 - TEMPORARY STORAGE33 - LOADING DOCK34 - OUTDOOR TERRACE ACCESS35 - LOBBY ESCAPE36 - PERFORMER ENTRANCE37 - BACK STAGE38 - EMERGENCY ESCAPE39 - LOWER THEATER ACCESS40 - MULTI PURPOSE AUDITORIUM41 - LOWER FOYER42 - EQUIPMENT STORAGE43 - OUTDOOR STAGE44 - FOUNDER’S PARK ENTRANCE

GROUND FLOOR PLAN SCALE 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

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1011 1213

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2120

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3031

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C

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A

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SECOND FLOOR PLAN SCALE 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

1 - ORONOCO BAY ENTRANCE2 - WC3 - STORAGE4 - OFFICES / ADMINISTRATION5 - CONFERENCE ROOM6 - STAFF ROOM7 - WARDROBE8 - MAKE-UP9 - MAIN AUDITORIUM10 - ORCHESTRA PIT11 - MAIN STAGE12 - MAKE UP13 - MAIN AUDITORIUM FOYER14 - MAIN AUDITORIUM ACCESS15 - CONCESSIONS16 - LOUNGE17 - NORTH PATIO18 - OUTDOOR TERRACE19 - CAFE20 - CAFE STORAGE21 - MANAGER’S OFFICE22 - COAT CHECK23 - TICKET COUNTER24 - SOUTH PATIO25 - MEN’S WC26 - WOMEN’S WC27 - MULTI-PURPOSE AUDITORIUM28 - UPPER FOYER29 - OUTDOOR STAGE30 - FOUNDER’S PARK ENTRANCE

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THIRD FLOOR PLAN SCALE 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

1 - WC2 - WARDROBE3 - MAKE-UP4 - MAIN AUDITORIUM5 - MAIN STAGE6 - BACK STAGE

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C

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SECTION A SCALE 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

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SECTION B SCALE 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

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SECTION C SCALE 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

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SOUTH ELEVATION SCALE 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

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CONCRETE VOID SLAB AT ROOF

VIERENDEEL TRUSS SYSTEM ATLOAD BEARING FACADE

UPSIDE DOWN WAFFLE SLAB WITHSELF LEVELING CONCRETE TOPPING

36” THICK MAT SLABS WITH COMBINEDFOOTINGS OVER PILES

STRUCTURAL DIAGRAMS SCALE 1/128” = 1’ - 0”

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MAIN THEATER ROOF CONSTRUCTION SCALE 1/4” = 1’ - 0”

TYPICAL FACADE CONSTRUCTION SCALE 1/4” = 1’ - 0”

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WALL SECTIONS SCALE 1/4” = 1’ - 0”

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EXTERIOR VIEW FROM SOUTH

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EXTERIOR VIEW TOWARDS POTOMAC RIVER

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MODEL SCALE 1/16” = 1’ - 0”

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Performing Arts Center on the Alexandria Waterfront

Context

The city of Alexandria is on the cusp of a major waterfront redevelopment aimed at adding approximately 250,000 square feet or six acres of new public space. In 2012, the city adopted a plan to essentially unite all public parks along the waterfront into a continuous experience. (Fig.2) This plan spans approximately 3 miles from Daingerfield Island in the north to Jones Point Park in the south. (Fig. 3) In essence, the plan’s main objective is, ‘where the land meets water, the public is welcome’ by planning for continuous access and accessibility along the river.

Site

The site of the project lies at the midpoint of the redevelopment between Oronoco Bay park to the north and Founder’s Park to the south. It’s known as the Robinson North Terminal (Fig.1), and it currently houses two buildings once used as warehouses and owned by the Washington Post. The goal of the project is to complement and reinforce the public nature of the redevelopment plan, and to do so, I propose to continue Founder’s Park through Robinson North Terminal and link it with Oronoco Bay park. Between these two parks, a Performing Arts center will weave itself into the landscape and create new paths for the park to continue. The building is thus conceived as a continuation of the park by extending the circulation defined by the meandering paths into the building. The paths for both theater patrons and general public alike converge onto a grand terrace with an elevated and open view of the Potomac river. Suspended between two theaters, the main foyer is lifted to allow the park to continue through and flow around the building. Two generous courtyards allow sunlight to enter into the space below, creating informal publics spaces.

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Fig. 1

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Fig. 2

Oronoco Bay Park

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Fig. 3

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Program

The program of a performing arts center is meant to attract the community and provide a cultural anchor that is inclusive and engaging to public life. Currently, the majority of the built portion of the redevelopment plan includes commercial, high-end residential and hotel programs 8. Through research of similar community oriented performing arts centers (Fig. 5 -7), the scale and capacity of the theaters was kept to a modest scale in order to provide the most public space and to tailor theater performances to a community scale. Smiljan Radic’s competition proposal for the Bio Bio Regional Theater (Fig. 4) served as a guideline for area calculations and technical specifications.

At the same time, the building will act as a piece of infrastructure, providing public space in and around the building. Much like Kahn and Berlage, I believe that the walls of the environment embody the space of society, and acts as a matrix by which society is formed. 1 Like fragments of amphitheaters facing the context beyond, the footprint of the building is meant to envelope ‘un- programed’ space for society to occupy, free of pre determined purpose.

Visitors are welcomed to explore the building and increase their perception of the park and Potomac river beyond without having to attend a performance. A covered area is provided as a shelter for public performances to occur with the river and park as the backdrop. The public can enter through a grand ramp adjacent to the shelter and immediately encounter an outdoor terrace overlooking the Potomac.

It was for this reason that the image and idea of a pavilion tent came to embody the conceptual underpinning of the project. The pavilion tent symbolized the open nature of the building by acting as a shelter for various types of public life to engage in. The ground floor open air pavilion is an example of the building’s primary mission to provide space and allow its function to be guided by the public. Adjacent to the pavilion, the grand ramp leading to the foyer presents itself as an architectural mise–en–scène in which the procession of theater patrons encourages the general public to pursue the experience of watching a play. The grand staircase of Garnier’s Opera House in Paris is inverted and exposed to the outside public. In this way, the building provides a multi faceted array of communal space and blurs the boundary between institutional, private space and public, civic space.

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Fig. 4 Smiljan Radic, Bio Bio Regional Theater 2014

Fig. 5 Sandlar Performing Arts Center, Virginia Beach, VA

1,300 seat main performance hall

Fig. 6 Hylton Performing Arts Center, Manassas, VA

1,123 seat main performance hall

Fig.7 Arena Stage, Washington, DC

1,394 seats divided between three theaters

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Structure

Good architecture starts always with efficient construction. Without construction there is no architecture. Construction embodies material and its use according to its properties, that is to say, stone imposes a different method of construction from iron or concrete.

But I cannot ignore a sentimental factor, which we must reveal in our construction, otherwise we shall be stagnant and inhuman..., then we shall choose our material not only according to the standards of economy and pure science but with the spirit of emotional freedom and artistic imagination. Hence architecture finally stands beyond pure purpose; higher than the achievements of logic and cold calculation. 2

Aris Konstantinidis, Architecture, 1964

In essence, the building is conceived as an uniform net that is stretched, pulled and grafted into the pedestrian flow of the park. The primary structural system is composed of a series of bent and curved vierendeel concrete trusses cast in place with floor and roofs supported in between. The trusses act as bridges spanning between the two theaters. The vertical members of the trusses are placed at a maximum distance of 12’ on center in order to maintain a uniform chord depth of 24 inches. In elevation, the truss ends are pulled down to create an arch like condition in which space can continue through underneath as well as seamlessly into the truss.

The result is meant to invoke a light, billowing object like a pavilion in a garden. The structure becomes the space as the trusses bend and curve to follow the meandering paths below and create pockets of space around the exterior. In order to facilitate an efficient process of construction, the truss ends are laid out onto a grid scaled from the neighboring streets of the site and by the park boundary on the river.

The theaters are encased in cast in place concrete shells on top of a 3’ mat slab. Under the walls, combined footings with piles are built to withstand unstable soil pressures due to the site located within a floodplain. 6 foot high trusses span between the concrete walls to support the roof over the column free interior of the theaters. The walls also provide lateral stability to the system of trusses.

Toyo Ito’s design for the Tama Art University library (Fig. 8) serves as a case study in defining a non-linear, organic form in plan. Rob Gregory’s analysis in The Architectural Review magazine discusses Ito’s evolving characterization of the ‘emerging grid’. Gregory discusses how Ito prefers to focus on the building as a manifestation of continuity, and how ‘structure should control use and the flow of people through space, and as such [the] emerging grid deforms Cartesian geometries to mimic how nature adjusts to regularity’ 3 . The structure itself is reduced to a basic, primitive form with an emphasis on ‘tautness’, meaning the perception of the form is further reduced to a single plane. The building is constructed out of steel, and later encased in smooth, fair-faced concrete expressed inside and out. Gregory points out that ‘die-hard functionalists may consider it something of a sham structure, a folly, mere scenography’. Ito is not interested in material authenticity however, and prefers to discuss the building in relation to the emerging grid, which justifies a way of construction that ‘makes space the master of matter’.

In much the same way, the Performing Arts Center seeks to delineate space through structure. To further emphasize the perception of space, all representational motifs are excluded and the tectonic expression kept as regular as possible. A three dimensional ‘grafted net’ arises to subtly enclose space in and around the building. ‘Tectonic truth’, meaning a structure that expresses the stresses taken in reality, is discarded in favor of a characterization of space. Vertical members are kept at a uniform thickness, while diagonal bracing is calculated into the overall structure.

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Eladio Dieste, Iglesia del Cristo Obrero, Atlantida, Uruguay 1952

A Building conceived through structural calculations while achieving a seemingly arbitrary form.

Circus tents

The barrier between inside and out is almost imperceptible.

Fig. 8 Toyo Ito, Tama Art University Library 2007

Plan of ground floor: en example of Ito’s ‘emerging grid’.

SANAA, Rolex EPFL Learning Center, Lausanne, Switzerland 2010

A building conceived as a continuous level containing ‘micro-landscapes’ and supported by a floor slab.

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Conceptual Development

An architect must be a craftsman. Of course any tools will do. These days, the tools might include a computer, an experimental model, and mathematics. However, it is still craftsmanship - the work of someone who does not separate the work of the mind from the work of the hand. It involves a circular process that draws you from an idea to a drawing, from a drawing to an experiment, from an experiment to a construction, and from construction back to an idea again. For me this cycle is fundamental to creative work. 4

Renzo Piano

See, architecture is about ideas. The fact that we can articulate it intellectually from the outset makes architecture even more conceptual. It is conceptual because we give birth to it in the realm of an intellectually articulated language... Much is determined by the idea. The idea tells you how it has to be. There is the presence of an internal logic to my buildings. To uncover that logic is what is more important for the making of my architecture than a compositional playfulness. 5

Valerio Olgiati

The above two quotes serve as a methodological underpinning for my thesis. Since the beginning, I strove to find an ‘idea’ that would unravel and permeate itself throughout all aspects of the project. To be sure, it has been the most difficult part of my work since the ‘idea’ was constantly being re evaluated and judged to ensure it’s rightful claim as the foundation of the project.

I began the project with the intention of somehow connecting the public into the theater. Ramps connecting from the park level into various programmatic elements of the theater began this process of experimentation. The image of a tent as a tectonic expression began forming the subsequent models. Throughout the process, I kept evaluating the efficacy of the idea in coordination with discussions from different peers. The idea was to be an interdependent series of decisions referring to the functional, urban and programmatic realities of the project coupled with seemingly irrational influences that grants it a personal and intellectual presence.

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07/15/15 :

- Footprint formed by structural grid and historic railroad axis at South facade- ‘Suspend theaters above park’: 4 ramps allow access to theater level and act as part of structure- Theaters suspended around public core

08/12/15 :

- ‘Building as tent like pavilion’: facade curved towards river and bay- Large open foyer towards Founder’s park- Theater as a monolith encased by a veil

08/28/15 :

- ‘Building as tent-like pavilion within a garden’: theaters and other program elements shaped to provide a meandering experience through building- Pavilion tent as symbol of openness to public and permeabilty of space- ‘No boundaries’ between institutional space and civic space

09/11/15 :

- Building orientated north to south to allow greater park permeability- Ground floor open to public and elements

09/18/15 :

- Building shaped to allow greater sunlight onto park level and to create various public spaces

10/15/15 :

- Exploration of arches to support facade and create a singular object

10/20/15 :

- Theaters joined by single story foyer suspended over park- Foyer accessed by ramps at north and south

11/13/15 :

- Ramps at north and south connected into singular corridor like space

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07/15/15 MODEL SCALE 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

08/12/15 MODEL SCALE 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

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08/28/15 MODEL SCALE 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

09/11/15 MODEL SCALE 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

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10/15/15 MODEL SCALE 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

09/18/15 MODEL SCALE 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

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10/20/15 MODEL SCALE 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

11/13/15 MODEL SCALE 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

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Blacksburg Thesis Presentation

December 15, 2015

Professors Heiner Schnoedt, Hunter Pitmann, Henri de Han, and Patrick Doan

- Elaborate river wall detail to deal with changing tide

- Develop greater site sensitivity with regards to flood plain

- Study stage orientation, site lines and stage size

- Refer to conventional theater proportions (1/3, 1/3, 1/3)

- Clarify thermal details

- Amplify amenity spaces to serve large public gatherings

- Provide rendering from inside

- Revised circulation into theaters

- Truss thickness should vary to show stress

- Stair not adequate support

- What is the structural system? Is it a vierendel truss?

- Fine tune position of ‘ ’ buildings in site as there is no clear hierarchy

- Odd moments present where curves split and trusses intersect

- Loading dock form not related to trusses

- Refine concept of outer shell / inner shell to resolve noise pollution problem due to airport vicinity

- What are the flood plain levels and how do they affect the building?

- Study sections of buildings in Venice for inspiration on how to deal with flooding

- Size of piles under footings in adequate

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12/15/15 BLACKSBURG THESIS PRESENTATION

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Conclusion

One may argue that the tectonic resists and has always resisted the fungibility of the world. Its tradition is such that it has constantly sought, at one and the same time, both to create the new and to reinterpret the old. Notwithstanding the idiosyncrasies of any particular architect, it is, in its essence, anti - individualistic, for unlike painting and sculpture it is not given to the subjective creation of images. In this sense the figurative is denied to architecture both subjectively and objectively; and while architecture inevitably possesses sculptural qualities, in and of itself it is not sculpture. 6

Kenneth Frampton

Architecture can be divided into two large groups. One group could be understood as “an architecture of dividing.” The other group is an architecture that adds. An “architecture of dividing” and an “architecture of adding” are the two large species of architecture. The architecture of dividing is based on one thing, one idea, and then takes the one thing and divides it up until it works as a building. The architecture of addition is compositional. The building gets a little something here and a little something there, it gets bigger, and then something sticks out here and then there. One could say that the building is brought into a harmonic balance. Personally, I cannot make that kind of architecture. It is too underdeveloped, too dependent on instinct ...Architecture either has an idea or it does not. Here we have the difference between man and animal because ideas solely belong to man. 7

Valerio Olgiati

As mentioned before, the most difficult aspect of this project was the definition of the ‘idea’. I strove to maintain a clear focus on what my intention was as an architect. I believe that the end result is a happy mixture of failure and success. I argue that Olgiati’s method could be one that is intensely personal, and possibly impossible, to replicate in other architects. His methodology is a culmination of personal influences that converge to create his own ‘truth’. His buildings hold an undeniable admiration from me, and as such, his methodology is extremely compelling. After finishing the project, I am now more convinced that it is imperative to find my own ‘truth’. I believe the ‘idea’ led me towards compelling thoughts and strategies, but I was not able to divide it into a more functional result. Also, I believe I could have benefitted from a greater awareness of engineering and structure. In making assumptions on certain principles that are the foundation of a project, it risks becoming compositional as described above.

My greatest delight however, was the freedom to explore the boundaries of what could constitute an idea. Such discussions are not the norm. I was able to have these discussions in Professor Breitschmid’s studio along with his students. A rich array of insights led to the determination that the idea must be manifested to it’s fullest. As such, I believe that this project constitutes a thesis in the truest sense: I sought to test out a methodology and was able to make conclusions based on the project.

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Bibliography

1. Frampton, Kenneth and John Cava, ed. Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture. MIT Press, 1995: 337.

2. Ibid., p. 335.

3. Gregory, Rob. “Reading Matter.” The Architectural Review 326. (2007): 48.

4. 1. Frampton, Kenneth and John Cava, ed. Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture. MIT Press, 1995: 383.

5. Breitschmid, Markus. The Significance of the Idea. Zurich: Verlag Niggli, 2008: 47.

6. Frampton, Kenneth and John Cava, ed. Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture. MIT Press, 1995: 375.

7. Breitschmid, Markus. The Significance of the Idea. Zurich: Verlag Niggli, 2008: 47.

8. City of Alexandria Department of Planning and Zoning. Alexandria Waterfront Small Area Plan. Feb. 25, 2012.https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/planning/info/Waterfront/Entire%20Waterfront%20Plan_No%20Appendices_High%20Quality%20for%20Print_FINAL_070612.pdf

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