Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Revised Floor Plans

Conceptual floor plans for the museum/library (if you click on them, they will take you to an enlargement):

Above: second floor

Above: First Floor


Above: Basement Level (potential option)

Monday, December 14, 2009

Building Meetings


The architects met with the building committee, library and museum staff, city officials, and the public last Wednesday and Thursday. The public meeting was held on Thursday evening with a turnout of approximately 30 people. Here were some concerns and questions:

  • Need basement storage (so we'll take a look at two options and cost them out accordingly in order to make sound decisions)
  • Kitchen/ Kitchenette - delete the stove so that we won't have to design a commercial kitchen which means having commercial hoods, 3-compartment sink, commercial dishwasher, etc. We're to look at creating a small area within the meeting room storage area for a tidier appearance
  • Meeting room sink - make sure it's a double sink to function well for childrens' art/craft classes/sessions
  • Windows - lots of views and openness/light versus energy loss/consumption. We're going to use some computer modeling techniques to analyze energy and lighting ramifications
  • Art - where and how to incorporate into the building. Need to discuss with the building committee and user group to create a process of where and how much art. Could incorporate into the building elements as well as separate art pieces. It was suggested that we could even etch art into the exterior finish materials!
  • Exterior finishes - metal siding can be quite cold and sterile. The finishes have not been considered at this point. Currently we are making sure that the plan works and that we have the right amount of window to wall ratio.
  • Roofing material and loads - concerns about low-slope membrane roof. We're proposing to use a PVC or TPO membrane roof that is very durable, raven proof, and can be installed without tenting. Typical warranties range from 15 to 30 years. There will be internal drains to mitigate freeze up and manage roof run off as there are no storm drains to tie into to.
  • Plan modifications to lessen the boxy nature - we will look at introducing plan gestures within the interior spaces, especially at the children's library. But generally we like to use the section, or vertical/spatial aspect to give interest and variation to the spaces.
  • Boilers/ HVAC system - we suggested that perhaps an electric and oil fired boilers could be explored as a possible way to mitigate market fluctuations in fuel costs. Typically 2 boilers are designed for the sake of redundancy in the event that one goes out. We are going to explore having one electric and the other oil.
Seward was great and there's a lot of community involvement, we hope that the library will be a valuable asset for 50+ years! The next time we'll be in Seward is around the middle of January to meet with the building committee.

Interpretation and Museum Design

Last week the interpretive/museum designers were in town gathering information in order for them to start developing content for the new museum. Gathering history and beginning to plan, were Isaac Marshall and Alix Noble from Aldrich Pears (a Vancouver, British Columbia interpretive design firm). Aldrich Pears is quite familiar with Alaska through their work on such projects as the Islands and Oceans Center in Homer, the Denali front country Visitor Center, Eielson Visitor Center and the Kodiak Visitor Center.



Isaac met with elementary school students (photo above) to listen to their ideas and what they think should be included in the new museum. While perhaps not historical, the idea for a rooftop pool floated to the top. Maybe we can even add a hot tub!

In addition to gathering information at the school, they met with the building committee, museum staff, a National Park Service staff person, and visited the Sea Life Center. The goal for their visit was to gather content for the new museum, and ensure that they do not duplicate information already presented in other facilities around town.

Their visit to Seward was productive (and fun). They will be back in March to start the visioning workshop. A visioning workshop is where the community and design team ideas start to take form, and where people can start to visualize what the products could look like. Stay tuned!