Rec Center: Page 73

2012 Facility of Merit Winner: California State University Northridge Student Recreation Center

Situated on the outer fringe of the CSU Northridge campus between future sports fields to the east and existing campus buildings to the west, the site of this new recreation center provided an opportunity for the building to delineate a new campus edge to the community, while establishing a terminus to the campus' main pedestrian axis. Utilizing this singular position, the east faÃ§ade is comprised primarily of glass, creating a "human billboard" that reveals the activities within and addresses the university's desire to advertise the recreation programs provided by the university. It's the west faÃ§ade that really caught the judges' attention, however: The three-story lobby is protected by a perforated metal veil that allows the introduction of light and maintains visibility of activities, but reads differently depending on the time of day. Commented one judge, "It's monolithic and solid by day, providing a continual play of shadows as the light changes, and transforming in the twilight to a transparent vision - a building in flux."

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2012 Facility of Merit Winner: Brant Sports Complex

AB's panel of judges found a lot to love in this small public ice complex in Paris, Ont., beginning with its advantageous use of a constrained but sloping site to allow players and spectators to enter at different levels at either end of a two-story glazed gallery. Initially viewed as an obstacle to arena design, the site's constraints were eventually embraced as offering an opportunity to reduce the mass of the building and to celebrate the activity taking place there. Running the entire length of the arena's north faÃ§ade, the resulting gallery creates an architectural billboard by using ample glazing and fritted glass graphics that together broadcast activity to the surrounding community.

2012 Facility of Merit Winner: University of Massachusetts Amherst Recreation Center

Prominently sited along the university's main thoroughfare, this recreation center project centers on a public concourse that extends through the building and reaches out to the east in the form of a new landscaped quadrangle, thus creating a link between campus athletic and academic facilities. Inclusion of the new quadrangle reflects the university's commitment to a pedestrian-friendly campus and speaks to a perceived paucity of high-quality outdoor space offering opportunities for relaxation, informal recreation and socializing.

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2012 Facility of Merit Winner: University of Central Missouri Student Recreation & Wellness Center Renovation and Expansion

It's a complicated renovation and addition, involving co-locating two programs within three formerly separate historic stone buildings on a tight site fronting a campus quadrangle, but the solution is actually quite simple, said AB's panel of judges. Wrapping the 1938 Morrow gymnasium so that the new structure bridges the gaps between that building and two other older buildings, the plan transforms the Morrow gym by inserting a new fitness mezzanine and expands a contemporary image to the east with a new addition. The addition was by far the most notable element, the judges said, with the new, gleaming curtainwall becoming a complementary element to the perpendicular, textured stone building on its flank. "It's all about the height, the scale and proportion of it," remarked one judge. "It really celebrates the historic buildings, and that clear juxtaposition of what was new and what was old made it a very exciting project."

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New Projects: St. Mary's University, Florida State, University of Nebraska

In a partnership with Bexar County, Texas, St. Mary's University has begun construction on the $15 million Outdoor Sports Complex.

West Haymarket Arena at the University of Nebraska (Rendering DLR Group, BVH Architects and The Clark Enersen Partners)

Why Public Rec Center Renovations Must Be Done Right

On Dec. 19, 2009, the staff and patrons at the Lynnwood (Wash.) Recreation Center threw a party. After all, it would be the last time everyone could really celebrate for awhileHow do we build public support for a project?How will we pay for this renovation?How will we celebrate when the renovation is finished?

Staggered Courts Help Make Gym Less Boxy

It's difficult to avoid the big box of the gymnasium becoming a really big box, particularly when the building plan includes three basketball/volleyball courts laid side by side, the three rectangles creating one very large rectangle.

(Photo by Ed LaCasse Photography)

Recreation Services Should Be Convenient for Customers

We work when other people play: That's our business. Rec services need to be convenient, and it should be convenient to do business with us.People don't want to drive very far to get where they are going. Location itself can be perceived as inconvenient, and if you factor in ludicrous gas prices, location can be perceived as super-inconvenient. If you serve a large town, consider offering duplicate programs at different times or in multiple locations, or bring your agency to your customer. In Bloomingdale, we offer aqua exercise classes at a local hotel's indoor pool, active adult programming in our senior living community's multipurpose room and daycare in a vacant store at our local mall during the holidays.Thursday can be the new Friday. If weekends are successful for certain services like birthday parties or other programs, try offering those things on Thursdays. Many parents will accept Thursday events, because they know they only have to push through one more day of the week on Friday to get to the weekend.Not all children go to bed at 8 p.m. Many people don't get home from work until 6 p.m. - therefore, they are not going to put their children in bed by 8. Offer programs later in the evening; you will be surprised by how successful they can be.Registration can always be more convenient. Set up drive-thru registration and drop-off/pickup services. Parents who don't have to get out of the car and drag their two-year-old inside will be very happy. In Bloomingdale, we set up a table on the pool deck to sign up for the next session of swim lessons on the day the prior session ends. Allowing people to sign up right away while they are in the moment is much more effective than waiting until next week, when they will have forgotten all about it.You have to get the word out. You have super-convenient hours, locations, programs. But can a total web neophyte easily find information about them on your site? Post this information repeatedly and in multiple places. Our office hours are posted on every page. Our services are promoted high in the web structure hierarchy - not buried on sub-sub-sub pages. Do you have an e-newsletter or Facebook page? Also, don't forget the real world - are hours, schedules and program information easy to find in your bricks-and-mortar building?Different lifestyles suggest scheduling alternatives. Many agencies don't program on Sundays. Guess what - with birthday parties and sports crowding Saturday schedules, Sunday is often the only day families don't have something to do. Don't be afraid to offer programs at nontraditional times and on nontraditional days. Many children of divorced parents are with mom or dad every other weekend, meaning some drop-in programs will do better if they don't take place every week.Transportation is an inhibitor to some groups' participation. Transportation should always be part of your focus on convenience. For your senior population, consider free rides or valet parking. For youths, consider bundling services. Two districts near us have shown sensitivity to these user groups' transportation issues. Supervisors at Streamwood Park District coordinate with senior centers to offer classes at their facilities, since it's clear that seniors are more likely to sign up when the program is offered where they live. Roselle Park District provides transportation to summer camp after swim lessons, so that kids can take part in two activities without their parents having to worry about how to get them from one program to the other.You can charge for it. It's true - people will pay more for services that are convenient. Open your fitness center at 5 a.m., or keep your after-school care open until 6:30 p.m. rather than 6, and people will happily pay for it.

Consider offering swim lesson registration on the same day the prior session ends. (Photo courtesy of Bloomingdale Park District)

Air-Destratification and Dispersion Technologies Enhance Heating and Cooling Efficiencies in Large Interior Spaces

About eight years ago, Xcel Energy of Colorado paid a visit to the Longmont headquarters of Avedon Engineering, a custom manufacturer of injection-molded plastics.

Air Pears can be dangled above climbing walls, like this one at the Longmont (Colo.) Recreation Center (top), or made to virtually disappear among catwalks, as is the case at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House. (Photos courtesy of Airius)

New Projects: North Richland Hills; TCU; Auburn University Montgomery

Following Texas Christian University's undefeated football season that ended with a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin, a $105 million renovation of Amon G. Carter Stadium began on the Fort Worth campus.

Photo of Texas Christian University's Amon G. Carter Stadium (Rendering courtesy of TCU Athletics)

Biometrics Becoming Popular for Access Control at Rec Facilities

The very word biometrics tends to evoke scenes from sci-fi movies or thoughts of political intrigue. Despite that cachet, biometrics has evolved into a rather practical tool in access control.

Photo of a member signing in using thumbprint scan technology

Multipurpose Recreation Facilities Require Design Considerations

Multipurpose. Multifunctional. Multiuse. These terms fly about in athletic facility design circles like tennis balls across a net. Sure, you can raise the basketball goals and put up the volleyball net, or open everything up and stick a couple of goals at the ends of the gym, but is that all it takes to be multipurpose?

The Campbell County Recreation Center in Gillette, Wyo., combines a full-service public recreation center with an indoor field house for track & field, tennis and soccer events. (Photo by Edward LaCasse, courtesy of Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative)

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