Tiki Architecture

Greetings all you tikis, it has been awhile since I have had a chance to stop in at tiki central, and I arrive back on bended knee. I have a project upcoming that will require around 4 large tiki pavilions 3 for food concessions and 1 to serve as a swim up bar on the shore of a large lagoon. additionally I will most likely need some additional smallish structures to support a lazy river. I'm in the process of gathering up reference materials for pacific island architectural types prior to the architectural design phase of the project. any help you all could offer in finding reference materials would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Bwana

Well it appears as though I was somewhat too brief in my explanation as I see over 50 views and no replies. So I’m guessing you all would like a more in depth explanation of who I am and what I might do with these leads on information I seek. So here we go…
First up is the subject of tiki and me. My story is pretty much the same as many others, as a small kid I spent many summers hanging around my grandparents pool. Grandpa was a WWII Pacific Vet and like many of his fellow servicemen came home from the war and set up a backyard paradise with a large game room addition complete with a fairly large tiki bar. Grenadine rickies in tiki mugs and other sweet kid drinks were the order of the day, for years. Cut to Hollywood… actually we’ll skip most of that and pick up as I’m leaving. So after around 12 years in show biz I decide it’s not for me and set off to school for four years to study landscape architecture. After this stint I begin working on water based projects such as commercial pools and large fountains. Throughout all this I somehow remain enthusiastic about tiki, (just ask anyone who knows me). Eventually this all leads me to waterpark attractions. Now mind you since beginning school I have been possessed with the idea of designing tropical rivers and lagoons with pacific themes, (as an avid racing sailor and tiki culture fan it seem almost unavoidable). And now I have a modest project with this goal. As such I have been assembling photo reference and articles on the subject of traditional pacific island architectural styles. I already have quite a bit but the fact is that I could always use a bit more. I use this material to spark design ideas. For instance I might use ideas from foundations of Micronesian falwas as a base for a swim up bar and perhaps I may stray towards a Samoan round house as the structure upon this raised stone foundation. In any case as I design these spaces I always have traditional forms and layouts in mind I’m not one to just make stuff up from whole cloth. It seem the projects get more involved every time I turn around, and the scope and budget grows, and we get nicer environments. With so much tiki being ripped down I feel good being a part of seeing it go up. Waterparks have provided a unique opportunity for the commercial expression of the Polynesian Pop culture, and it looks as though they will continue this trend for some time to come. So this is where I’m at professionally, 7 years into the task and determined see to it that these types of themes are executed with a genuine
Knowledge base and a passion for the form.
Right at this moment I’m working on what would resemble a small fishing village with the boathouse acting as a swim up bar, and the round house as a food concession, and groups of smaller huts acting as dining pavilions, as well as a few outbuildings.
What I’m looking for could be as simple as the address of a website or some cool photos of large thatch buildings, or an article about traditional construction methods. I know that Tiki Central is a vast knowledge base and if you can’t get a lead on good tiki info here you’re in pretty rough shape. So with that in mind… any help you all could offer would not only be appreciated but put to good use.

Thanks,

Some "authentic" reproduction tile murals for outdoors would give it some dramatic focal points.
Alicia

http://www.AliciaTappDesigns.com

Hey man, try Tiki MAgazine (www.tikimag.net), they have links to ALL KINDS of websites and company's taht specialize in what you're looking for. The only place I know of that carry's it that I can get to, is Hi-De-Ho Comics in Santa Monica. Hopefully I can get there tomorrow to pick up the latest issue.

if you are going to do anything with bamboo you gotta get this book.BAMBOO STYLE,by GALE BETH GOLDBERG. GIBBS SMITH , publisher.

[ Edited by: TIKI DAVID 2006-09-19 06:01 ]

Thanks Guys this is all very heplful stuff, keep it coming.

well? did you get the book?

Went out to find the book yesterday but could not locate it. I went online and read the reviews and I'm not at all sure it will be of much use to me on this project as everythig on the project is very much public space and code applies. anyway it looked like an interesting read and I ordered a copy just to have on hand, (I have a lot of what I call reference books on art and architecture and can not always resist the urge to add more). in any event the book (Bamboo style) is on the way.

Thanks

Bwana Tiki

[ Edited by: Bwana Tiki 2006-09-24 10:01 ]

Have you considered tracking down blueprints on some of the classic SoCal Poly Pop structures? I believe they can often be found if you go to the city; I haven't done that myself, but a few folks here have done that when they've been researching history.

Perhaps you could visit places like Humphrey's Half Moon Inn (for their dramatic A-frame) and the Red Lion Hanalei (for the gazebo/hut that was once at Steve Crane's Luau) to eyeball how they may have been constructed.

Many of the old midcentury tiki places focused on interior design, rather than authentic architecture... there was some very dramatic architecture, to be sure, but it often was a very stylized take on authentic shapes, so I don't know if that's what you're looking for.

Tiki David...
turns out the publisher is out of stock as well, so no dice on the book.
Humuhumu, thanks for the advice. although I have little use for poly pop arch styles in my work I do have a particular fondness for the style. I spend a fair bit of time around Shelter Island and am more than a bit familiar with Humphrey's, as beautiful as it is it's not what I'm seeking. BTW I cruised over to one of your sites and saw the giant Ku tiki bar... what a sight! I'll have to get in touch with those boys and talk about that monster, I may well be able to find a home for him and others of his kind. anyway helpfull stuff, thanks for the leads.

Hey all I Just returned from the world waterpark show and while I was there I ran across a great new thatch product. it's an artificial thatch that comes as either "reed" or "palm" mounted to a 304 stainless steel binder strip which means it goes up more or less like a standard asphalt shingle. and here's the kicker... this stuff looks great and has a U.L. class A fire rating, a 4000 hour accelerated UV testing, wind driven rain testing and a severe hail damage testing, in fact in the field it has proven its salt against Hurricane Charley and held up to 140 mph winds and came out intact while neighboring structures got thrashed. anyway so far all the building depts. in the US that have seen the stuff have given it the okay. as far as cost goes it looks like the break even point is around four years unless a storm comes along before then and thrashes your natural thatch, in which case this stuff would jump ahead. for California folks you can see it installed in Disneyland the reed type is installed on the mad hatters tea cup ride shack. this was a rather shaggy style of installation. there may be more of the palm type over near the tiki room but I've not had time to go check it out. on the east coast you can see it at the Bronx zoo, ( I'm a left coaster so I can't give you much more detail than that). anyway no more mildew, no more bug infestations, no more rotting thatch. I've omitted the name of the product and their email address as I'm not sure that sort of thing is allowed on the forums, but if you need info just drop me a personal message and I'll hip you to the details. (I don't sell this stuff or have anything to do with the company that does, I just thought some TCers may find it useful).

See ya round the funny farm,