Please take a look at the igcusa.com website and just imagine what a good architect could do.

Transcription

1 From: Ceren Richardson Sent: Wednesday, December 22, :32 AM To: Capitol Competition Subject: Greehouse effect with plexiglass give warmth with surrealistic ice-cube structures Please take a look at the igcusa.com website and just imagine what a good architect could do. Indoor warmth and outdoor ice-imagery: could there ever be anything more surreal or appropriate for these glacial cities? If there was not an appropriate place to build such ice-melting and ice-evolving structures, surely one would still have the overwhelming desire to build. I can imagine a theme of "fire and ice" where the steel trusses are red, yellow, and orange (undernearth plexiglass ice-cubes and iceglaciers) and earthquake proof, of course. I can imagine staggering the gothic arches to obtain a more irregular exterior. I can imagine coloring the plexiglass various shades of blue, and emphasing an ocean waves theme, with green and blue steel trusses (underneath plexiglass water-waves) and windproof, of course. I can imagine coloring the plexiglass, shaping the plexiglass, melting the plexiglass, morphing the plexiglass: doing everything possible with this flexible material. I can imagine combinations of passive and agressive solar technology being implemented, as well as geothermal.

2

3 Representative Eric Croft District 25 To the architects selected for the new Alaska Capitol, Congratulations. I appreciate the opportunity to comment on this exciting project. I have been in or around the Alaska State Capitol for more than 30 years. My father served in the legislature, starting when I was 4 and ending when I was 14. I grew up in this building and around politics. Then, there were more legislators with children and they were more tolerated, so I and my brother and sister were in the lounge, in the halls, in the committee rooms, and in the gallery. There was no TV coverage so it was a more private but direct setting. I have now served as a State Representative for Spenard in Anchorage since My wife, Joanna Croft, is an architect. (She has no direct involvement in this project.) We have been talking for years about the way that her profession influences mine; the way that design affects the way people perceive and participate in their government; the way that the legislative building affects the decisions made in it. For the record, the ideas expressed here are my own and reflect my biases and lack of learning not hers. It seems to me that the architecture we have inherited from ancient Greece and Rome serves us poorly in a modern democracy. Most seems to come from the early empire rather than the late republic and seems particularly inappropriate to modern democracies. It is not just about the question of domes and columns. The effect of the traditional capitol facade is to intimidate rather than invite. It is meant to impress rather than involve. Inside most state legislative halls, a citizen is a tolerated guest. When a citizen sits in the legislative gallery, they see the backs of all legislators except the speaker/president. The conversation is directed away from them. I am interested in a total rethink of the concept of legislative capitol. Before the Vietnam War Memorial, there was only one way to honor the fallen; a statute of a group of soldiers, first on a horse, later with rifles. The wall revolutionized and freed how we can think about these monuments and these events. We need a total conceptual relook at the space to house democracy. I understand that all of you are also trying to fit the building into a very intriguing but unusual foundation, elevation, and town. I understand that it needs to be functional, maybe more than most people because I occasionally attempt to function in the capitol. In the first capitol construction project in many years, we should at least explore the limits of, the potential of, the spirit of the great democratic principles we all hold dear. I look forward to working with you on this project and eagerly anticipate seeing your proposed designs. Sincerely, Rep. Eric Croft District 25 "We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us." Winston Churchill

4

5 Gary H. Gillette, Architect 1001 Basin Road Juneau, AK My vision of the Capitol generally conforms to the parameters expressed by the Capitol Commission. My priority, is a large "rotunda" space (though not necessarily a dome) that would - from the outside be symbolic of government and - inside support gatherings and historic/current topic exhibit space. Pomp and Circumstance would be accommodated. Grand and informal gatherings (breakfast, lunch or dinner), impromtu performances, celebrations, awards presentations, etc should embrace a grand indoor park (sim to Niagara Falls). Parking (a necessary evil?) should not visually dominate the waterfront viewplane. I see an urban promonade from the Capitol culminating in a park that connects to the greater seawalk along the waterfront (Merchants Wharf). The Capitol will be a tremendous tourist attraction and would benefit from a strong pedestrian connection to the Seawalk and Marine Park. This will reinforce the Alaskan connection to the sea (spiritulism, nurishian, transport). This concept may not fit the "boundaries" of the proposed Capitol site, however, it is a dominant physical relationship to the sea and all that represents. The waterfront plan suggests obtaining Merchant's Wharf for extended public access yet including retail and restaurant spaces to keep the area vibrant. This would all work to support a great Capitol complex.

6 Gary H. Gillette, Architect 1001 Basin Road Juneau, AK 99801

7 Joe Sonneman 324 Willoughby Juneau, AK Hi there... I am for a new Capitol, provided: a) the State pays for it, not Juneau b) it has a dome, without which no one will be satisfied c) it houses 180 legislators--120 Representatives, 60 Senators. Pretty simple, eh? a) It's Alaska's Capitol, not just Juneau's. It's a STATE Capitol, not a City's. So the STATE has to pay. b) we've seen the 'Mayan Palace' proposal of some years back. Just doesn't work. Have a dome, or people won't be satisfied with it. No "Boxes". No "modern" or "international" styles, please nothing like the Stevens Airport nor the Sheffield Train Station, and please AVOID the terrible Juneau Federal Building style, which sticks out like the proverbial 'sore thumb', designed elsewhere? and apparenlty just plopped down in Juneau, with NO thought of site or siting? Bring Juneau out of its 1900-era past, yes, but acknowledge that past, too. If you use columns, which the Stevens Airport does with a nod to totem poles, let's have Corinthian capitals. The clean line, unornameted modern style is wrong here. c) Alaska's the biggest state, but has the smallest House of Representatives {40) The AVERAGE size for a State House is about 107 to 115 or so Representatives I think it's 36 States that have a House of more than 80, and 17 have more than 120 Representatives Alaska historically increased it's legislative NUMBERS TWICE before in 1913, Alaska had just 16 Representatives in 1943, Alaska increased this to 24 Representatives in 1959 (Statehood), increased this to 40 Representatives Now it's 45 years later and Alaska is STILL stuck at but in the meantime, the population TRIPLED Each AK Representative now has about 16,000 constituents...only about 5,000 at Statehood Among low population, low population-density Western States (AK, WY, MT, SD, ND) Alaska's representatives have the HIGHEST number of constituents at 16,000, while North Dakota representatives can know and personally represent just about 6,700 constituents each. TRIPLING the number of AK Representatives would bring Alaska back to Statehood levels, would make Alaska just a bit better than North Dakota, would bring Alaskans more PERSONAL representation and of course would cost a bit more, but the Legislature could than cut way back on STAFF and the more personal representation would be WORTH more!

8 Joe Sonneman 324 Willoughby Juneau, AK Sen. Elton has a study showing Alaskans do NOT now like their legislators, or, maybe more accurately, don't think they are doing a good job--check with him for exact details. But I think the fact that each House member has to try to care for 16,000 constituents instead of 5,000, that fact is PART of the reason. Why now? Because about the only time to bring up this idea of tripling the number of legislators is when Alaska talks about building a new Capitol. More legislators would justify a new Capitol and, when you design a new Capitol, one of the FIRST questions you SHOULD [have] ask[ed] is, HOW MANY legislators should the Capitol hold? PLEASE ASK DESIGNERS TO PLAN A CAPITOL FOR 120 REPRESENTATIVES AND 60 SENATORS. As you may know, should know, ought to know, some of Alaska's State Senate Districts are the biggest in the nation and include people from different geographic areas or from different ethnic groups. Tripling the number of legislators will help people represent THEIR OWN areas or groups and will somewhat reduce the size of the biggest districts, to a more manageable size. MOST importantly, tripling the number of legislators will reduce the number of constituents per Representative and provide for more PERSONAL representation, restoring that good feeling about the Legislature which Alaskans had at Statehood. OK. Thanks for listening. TRIPLE the number of legislators. Otherwise, there's no need for a new Capitol--so many functions have been moved out of that building already: AG, State Library, Courtroom, etc. I think you may be ERRING to put the AG's office BACK in the Capitol, but that's less important to me than TRIPLING the NUMBER of legislators. Please TELL the DESIGNERS about this NOW, and not just after they design something for 60 legislators!! We all know 'change orders' cost more!! So get real and tell them right away. Thanks! 324 Willoughby Juneau AK (907) Joe Sonneman

9 John P. Roxburgh PO Box Juneau, AK January 12 th, 2005 Capitol Design Competition 155 South Seward Street Juneau, AK Dear Fellow Alaskans, I like the statement that the new capitol will be ceremonial, accessible, and functional. Here are my thoughts on that. Ceremonial: Like almost all capitols, it should have a dome. But, unlike most others our dome should be pointy rather than round, in order to reflect the topography of the land around us. In other words, instead of a ball-capped tube we should have an irregular tetrahedron. Accessible: The capitol should have indoor connections (tunnel or overpass) to the AOB/SOB complex. The building should be open for people to pass through until late at night and on weekends, and the design should allow for the public spaces to remain open after the offices and meeting rooms have been locked down. Functional: The new capitol should incorporate a heated, indoor transit center in its downhill end. The public corridors connecting the transit center with the uphill exits should be lined with retail outlets, and the rents from those stores could help pay for the building. I do not want to see the capitol locked up tight at 5pm like the SOB the SOB is back out of the way, but this new building will be right out in the front of town. There are plenty of examples of buildings with spaces which remain open after the building itself is closed in Toronto, Vancouver, Hong Kong, and even Anchorage (transit center at 6 th and G). Anyway, that s my two cents worth. Thanks for the opportunity to contribute. Yours truly, John P. Roxburgh johnpr@gci.net

10

11 Julie Morris Dear Reviewers: It is to the utmost importance that space for a Chapel is set aside for legislators and their staffs to pray, have fellowship, or just have a place to go for some quiet time. A Chapel could provide some of the political advantage you will need to bring people on board to building a new capital. Moreover, Yes, I want a response to this . Thanks Julie Morris Thanks for the idea. We will include it with all the others in the packet of ideas for the final 4 design teams. The space program for the competition is set so a chapel will not be included in these designs but that says nothing about what finally will make it into a final building. Much more programming will need to be done to come to a final agreement on space needs. Maria Gladziszewski CBJ Office of the City Manager