I don't know of a recent issue of Musea that was more fun to do than this one. I love architecture and for decades have enjoyed designing imaginary buildings that I would love to visit, work at, and live in. How drab a day at a 'box' building that no architect has ever loved. How exhilarating a day at a labor-of-love edifice rising with gusto and moxie from its surroundings. Come with me and take a walking tour of Tommy-ville populated with lots of new and hopefully - some day - 'ground-breaking' buildings . Enjoy!
1 Musea (USS Musea or Musead) Description: Dallas dry docked, ocean liner is actually a massive 'ship-shaped' art center celebrating every art on earth. Scattered throughout the ship are small and large theaters, cinemas, concert halls, studios, etc.; that alternate with quieter libraries, art exhibits, stores, lounges, restaurants, and offices. Specifically: 6-12 floors (plus deck dinning, concerts, exhibits, and lookout spots; and landscaped parks and outdoor events venues) that may include, but not limited to : The Grand Staircase curving from bottom "cargo" entrance, around bulkhead to the top of the ship and to the main meeting hall; 2 or 3 concert halls large enough for opera, ballet, orchestral concerts, circuses, music theater, major music concerts, fashion shows, variety shows, dances, lectures, rallies, or major gatherings of any kind; 6-7 movie theaters showcasing a medley of classic films, foreign films, premiers, new releases, short films, documentaries, cartoons, plus video libraries with viewing rooms - even an outdoor cinema that uses the side of a ship for a screen and has lawn seating; a wall of TVs room/lounge; numerous art galleries that might include one each of classic paintings, contemporary art, special exhibits, sculpture, drawing, photography, crafts, etc.; libraries of lit plus reading rooms, book related exhibits, zine libraries; a series of small concert halls for chamber music, small dances, smaller musical groups, lectures, comedians, magicians, etc.; 4-5 theaters that might include one each for classic plays, blockbuster plays, new plays, short plays, children's plays, plus a connecting backstage, dressing rooms etc.; a radio station to broadcast live and recorded music, radio shows, lectures, interviews, etc.; a TV station that can broadcast from any room in the ship or shoot original programming; a space for an in house orchestra, the Muse Murals contemplation room, numerous Texas-themed eating places, plus snack bars scattered throughout; bookstores of new lit and used classics, souvenir shops, special events rooms for chess tournaments, spelling bees, art training classes, annual art awards ('Museys'); offices for staff, offices for art preservation and protection; arts events and job opening bulletin board/center; internet room; libraries for lp's, mail art, comics, art books, videos, radio shows, computer games etc.; and assorted lounges and lobbies inside and out to catch your breath! Purpose: This art amusement park within a ship, has 3 goals: 1. To support art, artists, art lovers, and art related professionals 2. To help make all art available to all 3. To preserve art for the future. Just for Fun: How incongruous an ocean liner on the prairie! One asks in Zen fashion, just where is this ship sailing? - oceans of the mind? Related project (not pictured) - Tugboat. A tugboat is the entrance to an underground children's Musead. Place it near the parent ship. Just for more fun: When this ship is full up, build another... and another... and a fleet if necessary!
2 Science Museum Description: 30' high tall building
with dome top, 3 columns in front, covered oblong walkway and thin curved
crescent shaped 3 story exhibit building. Purpose: The 3 floors have
rotating science exhibits. Just for fun: cream colored walls, white
marble columns, red roof, green stone courtyard, and grey/beige circular
cement step surrounding building.
3. Saturn Cafe Description: Square 1 story high building seems to have planet Saturn as a roof! Purpose: Ground floor and inside of planet can either be an astronomy museum or just an upscale restaurant with an astronomy theme. Just for fun: How sweet if the planet skin allowed Saturn-ites to see out as if the planet is 1 large round see-through window. Also use rings as balcony walkway.
4. Art du Triomphe (front and side views) Description: Gateway to the city Purpose: Patterned after the Paris triumphant arch with this viva la difference - this gateway to the city celebrates art not war. Just for fun: Note its prairie-fitting simplicity. The lack of fussy detail gives it a solidity, grandeur and elegance that well fits our American style. It also well celebrates art of substance.
5. ? Building. (Front and side views) Description: Rectangular shaped building has 3 columns in front and arched roof. Purpose: May be used for a gov building, or museum or? Just for fun: A bank would fit nicely too!
6. Home. (Hendricks Manor!) Description: My dream house would also be part theater/concert hall, hotel, art museum, restaurant, movie theater, bar, lobby, art workshop, library, offices, observation deck, + assorted kitchens, dining rooms, a porch, and gardens. Note the picture. There is a large main square building with rounded roof (5 floors) a tower (6 floors), an 'L' shaped building connecting the two (4 floors), and a basement under all 3. Here's what's in each floor starting with the main building: Floor 1 and 2 - a concert hall/theater, with a 2nd floor balcony all around the 4 walls. On display on the balcony are a gallery worth of paintings. Face the rail and see the concert, face the walls and see the paintings. Floor 3 - hotel. A floor of 4-5 rooms for guests. Floor 4 - library/reading room. Floor 5 - workshop for painting and storage. Tower. Floor 1 - kitchen for concert hall events. Floor 2 home kitchen. Floor 3 - movie theater/ and/or building's living room. Floor 4-5 - master bedrooms. Floor 6 - tower; observatory and lounge with telescope, great views of the city, and small snack bar. Side building. Floor 1 - grand staircase to floor two, also concert hall bathrooms. Floor 2 - art gallery lounge, plus private dining room, bathrooms etc. Floor 3 - Maids quarters for hotel, and offices. Floor 4 - master bedroom storage + roof walkway. Note: the side building holds all the elevators too. Basement. Most of the basement is 1 large bar/snack center, diner/lounge - much like a playful gentlemen's club with rooms to sit, read, play games, have snacks, watch TV, etc. One third of basement space is huge storage area for rest of the building. May have a recording studio here too. Purpose: A multi purpose place to live, work, and entertain. Just for fun: Note no windows on the facade. Actually the windows are hidden here there and everywhere. When they're closed the shutters blend in with the walls so it all looks like 1 solid wall, prairie castle. Also in a house this big, there HAS to be secret staircases to secret rooms!
7 Pi Portal. Description: tall arch, gateway, door is 1 sculptural piece. Purpose: a monument to celebrate pi , a portal to the world of mathematics etc. Just for fun: Have a circular stairway that shows the history of pi plus a computer screen that shows pi to as many palaces as now known.
8 Bell Tower. Description: Circular, domed building covers courtyard and houses a series of bells. Purpose: The bells not only chime on the hour, but once a day play a short musical piece. Also this is a place to gather for any momentous occasions. Just for fun: Want to be a bell ringer?
9 Tower. Description: Tall tower has 2 look out perches. The lower one for outside viewing, the upper one for inside viewing. The style is part gothic and part Gotham. Purpose: A place to see the city from a bird's eye view. Just for fun: On the staircase up, you could have a short history timeline of the city you're looking at, and at the top - why not a pie shop?
10 Carport. (2 views) Description: Large carport shows
some stylish columns at the ends. Purpose: Frank Lloyd Wright invented
the carport and that's all us southerners need in our milder winter
climates. Yet why not a large one for public parking and make it stylish?
Just for fun: Would also make a great space for weekly flea markets or
a giant covered playground for kids, or the worlds largest sandbox. 
11 Book Building. Literary Library. Description: Squarish building looks like a Claes Oldenburg sculpture of 5 side-by-side books labeled short stories, poems, novels, plays, and essays. Note the roof looks flat, but this is a faux roof that lets water fall to a lower pitched roof that drains rainwater out the back through gutters. Purpose: Houses all major works of lit of the world. Also has exhibits on the history of writing, book making, zines, periodicals, pulp fiction, etc. Just for fun: Inside there is only 1 floor. The multi story high warehouse space has 5 pyramid shaped stacked floors of books that each rise up through the empty space. At different floor heights the 4 rising ziggurats of books and displays (and a fifth around the edge) are tied together with bridges and walkways. The oldest books are at the bottom of each book mountain. As you go up you go through time with the most contemporary (up to 2000 AD) at the top. Lots of guard rails please! [Idea suggested by the comic The Dreaming #1 p. 16 - DC]
12 Art Museum. (4 views) Description: Tall slender multi story rectangular building has pitched roof and windows on top only. Purpose: Visitor ascends through 4 different pathways to get to the top. Each pathway houses a specific art exhibit. Just for fun: I'd love to showcase all my paintings, drawings, etc here. At the top floor have an entire ceiling mural of the solar system. May also have underground cafe, storage, offices, and gift shop.
13 Book Rocket. (4 views - one showing cutaway of the winding staircase bookcases) Description: Rocket shaped tower holds a library of children's literature. The stacks are arranged along a circular stairway with occasional exhibits and reading alcoves along the way. Purpose: A one-of-a-kind Children's book library and museum. Just for fun: Any kid of any age who loves children's lit, will relish the books inside, the voyage up the rocket, and the view at the top (to rest those reading sore eyes)
14 Flower Tower. (Two views - 1 shows interior of tower and
restaurant on top) Description: Tower looks like a tulip but
houses an elevator in the stalk and a 2 floor restaurant in the bell.
Purpose: To have a nice dinner out with elegance and playfulness. Note
kitchen in lowest part of bell, seating in top two. The stalk is green and
bell brightly colored and perhaps flower walls are transparent to
diners. Note though stalk looks off center, the elevator and curved stairway
inside are straight. Just for fun: Allow lighting to change the color
of the bell as fits the mood of the diners - nighttime blue or purple,
daytime white, orange, yellow or red. 
15 Space-Themed Merry-Go-Round. (2 views - one on the left shows
1 of the 'cars' on the ride, the other the complete carousel opened up
to show floor, ceiling and rides. Description: Worlds largest
carousel has a space theme. Both ceiling and floor are painted space
scenery with twinkling stars. Rides are mounted on a clear glass or plastic
floor above the painted scenery. When the riders go around they move
through the painted space. They also 'orbit' the center pole decorated as
the sun. Rides may include: a crescent moon boat, flying saucers,
beeping satellites, a mini Saturn with seats on the rings, small horizontal
fighter rockets with ray guns, 1 2-story vertical rocket (see picture)
with seats for 2 at the base and 1 more in the cockpit up the ladder, 1
comet, assorted Pegasi (flying winged horses), asteroids with craters
as seats, a space station train, maybe even a space monster or alien
ship with a jail for captured earthlings. Purpose: To delight kids Just
for fun: Have lots of spacey music overall, with each ride having sound
effects to push - Pegasus whinnys, space cannons fire, satellites beep,
etc.
16 Thinking Rock House Description: small outdoor roofed structure, covers flat rock seat. Purpose: People come, like Rodin's Thinker, to sit on the rock and ponder. Just for fun: Add a visitor book to allow people to write down any revelations or discoveries they've had on the thinking rock. Also have a wind chime or bell that they can strike if a eureka moment happens.
17 Moon Sculpture. Description: white marble sculpture of crescent Moon Purpose: to celebrate the Moon Just for fun: Sit in it and sail.
18 Earth & Moon Sculpture. Description: 2 tall sculptures - 1 represents rock earth, the other lower one, crescent orbiting Moon. Both columns are the same grey rock, with Earth a blue, white, and brown mix of stone, and Moon a gray and creamy white color. Purpose: To celebrate both Just for fun: Stand in front of them and have someone else take a photo from ground level looking up so that you are pictured between the Earth and Moon.
19 Saturn Rock. Description: reddish stone shaped like the planet Saturn Purpose: Sculpture to celebrate the beautiful ringed planet. Just for fun: Allow people to use the rings as benches to sit on. Another great photo opportunity.
20 Bridge Description: Whitish arched bridge seems to put a bump in the road, but that's an optical illusion. The road is horizontal but the sides of the bridge raise up. Note the decorative beige stones at the top of the arch. Purpose: Bridges can be aesthetically pleasing too. Just for fun: Raise road and bridge up and over land. Then use space below as park or outdoor covered space.
21 Clock Tower. Description: 2 story high, red brick tower has 4 sided clock face and pyramid red/brown top Purpose: To show the time in a busy public square. Just for fun: Have 5 or 6 of these scattered throughout the downtown area and all chiming on the hour.
22 Mod. Housing. Description: A floor plan for a very low cost modular house that can be built in one week. Purpose: To allow average people to own their own homes. Just for fun: The basic structure has nothing fancy. Homeowners add on as needed. Note screen between 2 bedrooms and storage hall at the end of the building.
Well that's the tour. Hope you enjoyed it. Comment welcome.
(c) Tom Hendricks 2003
Musea
4000 Hawthorne #5 Dallas, TX. 75219
tomhendricks474@cs.com http://musea.digitalchainsaw.com
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