Double Arches

This concept was derived from a system that has been used on several stadiums.  This one does not really address the park, but I would imagine the park structure to be like those up the interstate with elements that carry through.  Though it does not show here I would really like to emulate Roche/Dinkeloo Arch.  Oakland Museum.  They have the building peaking out of the ground through a series of roof gardens and terraces.  This concept does not display any notion of connections other than the cable structure itself. 

Another idea off of this one is to shrink it down and use a similar structure over the park, suspending down from two space trusses. 

Again, I am working on a digital model to put this concept into to be able to give a little bit more contect to it.

Spiral

This concept is a little larger than the others.  I was inspired by the Bavinger House, a cable stayed house designed by Bruce Goff.  This concept tries to alieviate the disconnect from the building to the park.  Each dowel in the model is actually a mast which cables will suspend from to hold up floors.  The problem is that it is single directtional.  If I take this concept further, I would try to incorporate other directions that the spiral comes from.  I am also working on a digital model to help give some better context to the connections of the building to the rest of the city.

Early Concepts

These two concepts look at different ways to hold up the park.  They did not address any part of the building other than being almost column free.  This scale is too small to work with, the next ones will be a little larger.   Again, the cable structure was looked at as a way to visually reach out.  The park is also an attempt to functionally reach out and bridge the interstate.

Cablestay structure

The project has been about connections.  More in depth it is about reaching out to the community connecting people and places.   Cable structures and masted structures seem to best display that that concept.  So I have been doing some in depth studies on those systems. 

Programmatic

This multimodal transit station will include a highspeed train station, visitor center, car, bike, and segway rentals, parking garage, main hall/lobby, skywalk link, bus stop, deli, coffee shop, bar and restaurant.  The program will include expansion for other personal rapid transit (prt) for whatever the future brings us.  The program will be about 13,000- 15,000 sq. ft.  depending on how large the parking structure turns out to be.  I am also proposing an expansion to the park system that bridges across I-35 adding about 6 acres of park. 

A Collection

This is the site context model I have been working on and will continue to work on.  It is a work in progress.  I apologize for not having images from when I started.  It began as two series' of sections through the city.  Each were perpendicular to eachother.  So I had a grid across the city.  I then placed paper mache over the grid to get a surface.  This way I was able to get the surface relatively close to the topo map.  As you can see now I have plaster over the top.  Eventurally it will be nice and smooth with some surface buildings.  The scale here is very small, 1" equals about 250'.  To give you a little more perspective, it is just short of 2 miles lengthwise.  From the lowest part of the model (about at my site)  to the top of the hill is an elevation change of 650' just short of 3". 

The Incline

I have been doing some research on the area and found something interesting, the Duluth Incline.   The Incline ran on 7th Ave. W. from Superior St to Skyline Dr.   It dates from about 1891-1939.  In some versions the trolley cars were large enough to hold a horse and carriage.  For some time it was the only and safest way to the top of the hill.  It was also motivated by development at the top of the hill.  There is a bar downtown that gets it name from this. 

http://www.shorpy.com/Duluth-Incline-Railway

http://www.salmelaarchitect-clureproject.blogspot.com/

Duluth Collage

Here is a small collage of what I have found Duluth to be.  Although, if you have been to duluth there is much more to it.  Some of these are my own while the others are findings from flickr.com.   The past week and a half I have been working on some site analysis and a small scale model.

Nodes Knots Connections

I see a transportation terminal similar to a doorknob.  Just as the doorknob is the handshake to a home, a terminal is a handshake to a city or region.  So I was wondering what makes duluth such a great location, a location that draws so many people to it?  Duluth already has a history of being a transportation hub, transporting goods.  This shipping hub is the inner most port of the country, linking the midwest to the oceans.  Mix that with the natural resources in the area, iron ore, taconite and timber and the region booms.  Today, the port is still used to export iron ore and taconite as well as import goods for the midwest.  This along with the parks and trails have opened up tourist attractions that draw people to the area.  People want to experience the history.  People want to experience nature and wilderness.  The city of Duluth exists because of its natural resources, yet the built environment tries to respect nature.  The area shows a balance in support of nature and the built environment. In the end they are each interconnected and supporting eachother.