Preservation and modernity are not opposites.Re-using The Queen Theatre to a dinner theater

Historic districtDowntown Bryan

The building has deteriorated after 30 years of vacancy and neglect.

Keun Young ParkAdvisory CommitteeRobert Warden, Chair, ARCH Anat Geva, Member, ARCH Jose Fernandez-Solis, Member, COSC

71-year-old building

Key goals and evaluation criteria

1. Redesign The Queen Theatre to help the place remain a historic icon in downtown Bryan. Design for preservation is a creative solution to establish compatibility between historic design and contemporary design.

2. Compare my own building reuse design with that of a local architect, which is currently undertaking a project to convert an archaic theater to a dinner theater.

3. Design a building with materials that help achieve elegance through supe-rior detailing and craftsmanship

4. Improve the quality of community life by providing a distinctive space that is accessible and comfortable. The theater will serve as a place for public and private gatherings.

5. Utilize sustainable materials such as non-toxic, recyclable materials and those than can enhance building performance (such as an enhanced HVAC system).

The building has historical and emotional value for downtown Bryan.

Conditions Before

Challenge: Koolhass on preservation

Koolhass (2011) “preservation and modernity are not opposites.”

The type of preservation which architects are currently involved in is one that is more artificial.

12 percent of the earth’s surface has already been landmarked by groups like Unesco, and is expected to rise steeply. What’s more, the age of what is being preserved continues to shrink. This can be observed in our society’s morbid dedication to preservation.

Secretary of Interior’s Standards for rehabilitation are too conservative and frequently result in mediocre design.

Our modern history should be preserved, as a continuum of past and future history.

Case studies 1. Chatelard theater : Adaptive reuse from barn to theater 2. Carolina Theatre : Restoration project 3. Jardin de Jade Restaurant: Modern restaurant in Hongkong

Code, Historic district ordinances, Standards in the historic district of downtown Bryan

Designing and restoring historic buildings should be in accordance with the 1994 Standard Existing Building Code (SBCCI), historic district ordinances and the City’s design guidelines booklet. The Downtown Bryan Master Plan must also be respected and used as initial guidelines for the project. It is also important to refer to The secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties as a guideline to follow US standard practices for historic building treatment.

The nonprofit agency agreed on Tuesday to purchase the build-ing for $185,000 from Astin Redevelopment in hopes of turning

it into a community entertainment venue and communications center.Another $800,000 to $900,000 will be needed for renovations.

This theater is now undergoing a rehabilitation process led by a local architect firm, Arkitex Studio, which will convert the building to a dinner theater by 2014. Current restoration : Arkitex Studio

Program of proposal

As a young, aspiring international architect from the Republic of Korea, I am redesigning

The Queen Theatre into a dinner theater to compare my design with that of the local

architect.

The purpose of this comparison is not to decide which design is superior, but is simply to

compare and understand the different perspectives.

While the current design focuses on keeping the nostalgia - restoring its historic fab-

ric and creating an interior space to provide a place to entertain, I went beyond simply

preserving authenticity in forms and materials, reading into the original design intent to

make this historic place cater to younger generations as well as older generations, allow-

ing them to enjoy a modern-historic, and creative space.

With this goal in mind, I am going to try to match recreations of significant portions of a

building as closely as possible to the original design in order to visually complete the

ensemble, taking a step back from a conservative approach to building rehabilitation,

which should differentiate the two designs.

The goal of this project is to redesign The Queen Theater to allow the building to remain a

historic icon in the community, while improving its usefulness and economic viability.