performance space.

i am starting to gather ideas for the stage area in my bowling alley. i am always drawn to ornate, baroque type elements, as everyone knows. i am not planning to go this route entirely with my stage, but i do want to infuse some of those elements. i am thinking of an thinking of giving it the look of a theater that once was considered glamourous long ago, but now is aged and a little roughed up....kind of saenger meets house of blues. here is an inspiration board of images i was initially attracted to:






i am also getting inspiration from images of the backstage and wings of theaters. i like that unfinished, behind the scenes look. by revealing elements like the one in the images below, it will counteract the more orante elements seen in the collage above.




i have always like the stage on the saturday night live set also. it reflects the style of new york city, but not in an obvious way. i want to achieve this, but in a new orleans way:




here is a perspective from the dance floor, looking straight at the stage. i think this space has real potential!

daylight analysis.

beginnings of a model

here are some ROUGH perspectives of my interior. i just wanted to give a feel of the structure of the space, before i start designing.

view from stage, looking at bar (left) and party rooms (right)

view from stage again, looking at the front of the building.

view from the future pit of one set of the bowling lanes, looking at the bar and dance floor.

view from the same spot, but looking more at the lanes and stage.

midterm point.

i am in the process of documenting the decisions i have been making in diagram form, for my book and for my midterm presentation. here are some of the things i prepared.

aerial view: showing surrounding buildings and parking lots.

site plan: showing original footprint of building and the additions i am making.

block plan of interior spaces.

site plan and floorplan: showing parking spaces, entrances, exits, and delivery access.

floorplan

typical circulation paths of different users

my focus has evolved! i am now focusing on the exterior of the building...because it needs so much work and attention. below is a perspective of what i have developed so far. the signage will be light up, with backlight letters and spotlighting. neon tubing will be in the bowling pin and in letters of rock 'n' bowl. once i have the shadows and lighting in, i think it will be a nice exterior perspective !

click to see larger !

floorplan progress.

(click to enlarge)

here is the plan i have developed so far. the part that i have not done much with is the kitchen....what i have on the plan is temporary. they don't serve restaurant-type food...more like snacks and bar food. however, they do have parties and cater for them. i need to do more research on a appropriate kitchen layout for this type of food service.

the party room is pretty large (about 1,200 sq ft). i plan to have a divider that can be pulled out if there are two smaller parties....and can be taken away where there is a larger party. there are two large windows that look out onto the lanes, so people in the party room can watch the games.

option 3

i discussed the two last plans with my professor, and this is the plan we came up with. i am going to have the entrance on the side where the parking lot is. i am making a few additions to the building: a porch on the front, covered ramp on the side, and additional space where the party room is located. the party room was moved from the left side of the plan to the right...to allow for a more spacious entrance.



my mentor, alicia, had a few really good points:
i need to rework parking lot & create closer handicapped parking. i will have the parking lot in the upper right will be for employees.
she also told me to think about exits....i designated where they could be in the plan above with red asterisks. thanks alicia!


i realized i had columns in my lanes and was afraid i was going to have to rework the whole plan. i am now doing some more research on the bowling lane equipment and found ways to work around the columns. i will post the new plan when it is done !

block plans on the site.

remember how my building actually consists of two buildings joined together: the large CMU building and the smaller metal siding building?

well i have a new idea floating around in my head. i want my site to look like there has been this old, nostalgic new orleans home there for ages, and in the 1950's the owners suddenly decided that they wanted a bowling alley. they then built & attached a huge building to the house. i want to take the small metal building and turn it into the house...and the larger building will be that "tacked-on" bowling alley.


i went to the site today and realized there there are two buildings close by. this affects the first option greatly. i put both plans on the site plan & analyzed the pros and cons of each:

OPTION 1 PROS:

• involves a side of the building that would not normally be involved if entrance was right off parking lot. this is perfect for the concept of the old new orleans home with the wrapped porch
• i would have an easier time incorporating a ramp that looks like it belongs there & doesn't stand out

OPTION 1 CONS:

• the space between those upper two buildings is around 30 feet. it may be awkward to have another building that close to my entrance. also, i know there is a lease line and i am not sure, for this projects sake, if i can cross it some.
• i would have to have a entrance for shipments that can be seen from the parking lot
• because the setup of the entrance, the kitchen is much smaller in this plan

OPTION 2 PROS:

• do not have to worry about those buildings (upper right corner of plan) being too close to the entrance; do not have to worry about crossing lease line.
  
• perfect place for shipments out of site of customers
• much larger kitchen
• longer entrance hallway: place for lines to form, great large place to display their nostalgic items, pictures, memorabilia.
  

OPTION 2 CONS:

• could be harder to put the idea across that the smaller building is a classic new orleans home...if i only can work with one side
  
• more difficult to implement a ramp and have it fit in
  
• long entrance corridor could be considered too long..especially for exiting.
  

please give me any opinions or advice. i am itching to get my plans finalized but this entrance dilemma is holding me back!

space planning options.

the options are basically the same, apart from the way you enter the building. i am going to place these block plans on the site plan to see which entrance works better. also, i need to keep in mind ways to get shipments in.

what i am going for .

these are some images i have been collecting to show what direction i want to go with my project. the first group of images, images of googie architecture & signage, is very different from the second group of images, typical new orleans shotgun/bungalow homes (with porches). because these two styles are extremely unlike each other, it would be interesting to see how i can design the exterior & interior to reflect both. the googie style represents the history of bowling alley design. the new orleans architectural style represents the history of the city..one in which rock 'n' bowl has had a large part in.

my two favorite pictures out of both groups are these two below. for the first, i like the manipulation of scale with the large light signage. for the second, i love the architectural detailing that accented with the colored lighting. it looks like an old shotgun house turned into a late night jazz club.

time to start space planning.

(click images to increase size!)

i am starting the space planning phase. here are some diagrams i've been working on to show the relationships & adjacencies of zones & spaces.

my main challenge will be:
each space (apart from the back of house spaces) needs to be well integrated with each other, but also create separate, unique experiences.

location of building.

pictures of existing rock 'n' bowl.

(click images to see larger)
here are some pictures of the existing rock 'n' bowl.

these images show all the main, public areas of the space.

the biggest challenge of this project:
rock 'n' bowl has been around for decades; the business is an icon in new orleans. the patrons love rock 'n' bowl just for what it is. therefore, i don't want to create a totally different, modernized look. on the other hand, i do not want to recreate the existing rock 'n' bowl. it is very difficult to effectively recreate a space that has been around for 68 years, building up charm. going either of these routes can risk recieving negative feedback.

ways to work through this challenge:
i am still figuring this out. maybe i need to create a questionaire, asking people what they think of when they think of rock 'n' bowl, what elements of the interior stand out in their mind, what they think could use improvement, etc. i could use these feedback to let me know what people find important, and implement these things into my design.

creating a healthy balance of elements of the past rock 'n' bowl and elements of modernized bowling alleys will be key in a successful project. this will come through in my space planning, architectural pieces, technological elements, and finish selections.

five logos. which one?

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i am toying around with a font for the "lanes" part of the logo. which font makes the logo look more complete? keep in mind that i am trying to replicate the original logo, show below:

project introduction.

for my capstone project, i will be designing a bowling alley in new orleans. this bowling alley is called "mid city lanes", but is more commonly known as rock 'n' bowl. they are widely known for their live music. it is a current establishment in new orleans, and is planning a relocation in the near future. i am lucky enough to know the owners of rock 'n' bowl, and they are graciously allowing me to use their business and new building for my project. go to their website to get a feel of what they are all about: www.rocknbowl.com

above is a site plan of the new building. it technically occupies 8126 earhart blvd, but is basically on the corner of south carrollton & earhart. the building is an industrial, warehouse type. the district that this building is in dates to the 1930's to the 1940's. several businesses previously occupied the building, such as a beauty supply store and a helm paint store. it is currently gutted and ready for construction of the new rock 'n' bowl. the exterior of the building is entirely metal siding and metal roofing. below are some exterior shots! (you can click on any picture to make it bigger)

i spent last semester preparing for this project. i did a site analysis of the building, determined the physical requirements, worked with spatial zoning, began to research codes, analyzed the users, and found some great bowling alley precedents. ill be posting some of this work through the semester, along with my new work.



above s an image of the original logo at rock 'n' bowl. the building has been worked on since then, so the only existing signage they have now is the bowling pin. we are working on our logos right now, so i decided to revert back to the original logo, yet have it slightly refined. the image below is my first attempt.



thanks for reading! stay tuned for more.