Easter Island Cultural Center
In collaboration with with Britton Shepardson, the founder of the Terevaka Archaeological Outreach (“TAO”), we developed a concept for a new cultural/learning center on Easter Island. Called the “ Heritage and Innovation Vocational Academy”, HIVA seeks to establish an advanced educational and research campus on the island. This center is a unique example of how a cultural center project can be developed from a grassroots, bootstrapped model, incorporating from the very beginning the ideas of a multi-stakeholder community.
In the design process, we were drawn to the “hare vaka”, a traditional boat houses that resembles overturned canoes. Although these wood thatched structures no longer remain, their remnants still dot the island and suggest a unique form. Some, in fact, measure 320 feet in length, while most were approximately 50 feet long and 5–6 feet wide.
In terms of construction, round holes in the outer stone foundation were used to anchor the end of a wooden pole that was then bent over and tied to another pole coming from the other side. Once these wooden poles were tied together, they formed various arches, much like a line of ribs. These wooden arches, the skeleton of the house, would then be covered by other branches, thatch and pieces of wood.
Given the scale of these boat houses, we thought they could potentially translate into our community center project. The linear form could also suggest methods for plan and program organization. In initial sketches, we experimented with how multiple boat houses may be aggregated for a complete campus or sorts, and also how a “single” volume may encompass all of the main programmatic needs.
In the end, we developed the single boat house scheme, adding a curvature to the house as a response to the strong wind conditions of the site. This crescent shape thus creates a sheltered and buffered space for use as a courtyard and public gathering space. The roof is also angled to create an efficient angle for potential solar panels.
