Architecture, Engineering & Planning EVstudio | Denver & Evergreen Architect | Colorado & Central Texas | Blog » Recreation

Accessible and Smart Rec Center Cabana Design

Matt Svoboda — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:00:45 +0000

One of the most important functions of recreation center cabanas in family locker rooms is providing a convenient place for users of all physical ability levels to change in comfort and privacy. As the recreation center cabana concept has become more common, the diversity of target users has increased and the types and arrangements of fixtures has evolved as well. Cabanas now are often larger and better designed to not only accommodate wheelchair users but families and seniors also. Standard clearances and adjacencies are of course observed, but there are other factors for an architect to consider:

The Bench - An accessible bench is required by code for the rec center cabana to be considered a changing room or part of a locker room, and benches of this kind are often misinterpreted. The bench is required to be 20-24 inches deep and 42 inches long minimum, and is required to allow a parallel approach on a SHORT end of the bench. This means that a wheelchair user should be able to position themselves with their back to the wall and slide onto the bench in a manner similar to how they would move onto the retractable seat in a shower. Also, consider using a longer bench (up to 6 feet) if you have the room. Not all of your disabled guests need a wheelchair! For your guests which need assistance getting dressed, a place to lie down fully can be a big help. If you are concerned about using up too much space, make one "deluxe" room and minimize the rest...your users will remember which one it is!

Door swing - Swinging a door out of a room is a common trick when having trouble with required clearances in the room, but in a high-traffic area like a family locker room it is often inadvisable to allow a door to swing out for fear of hitting someone. Try keeping all plumbing fixtures on the wall opposite the cabana door to allow the maximum door maneuverability.

Toilet partition - The biggest eater of space in any accessible area is the turning radius. This can be exacerbated by the desire to have an individual toilet partition in your cabana which allows one family member (a child, for example) to use the toilet with privacy while others use the shower or wash their hands. If you have several cabanas and space is tight, consider using the toilet partition in only the non-accessible rooms, and you'll find there is greater flexibility and convenience for your disabled users, who frequently use the room solo.

Originally posted 2010-02-26 00:01:04.

Family Locker Rooms in Your Recreation Center

Matt Svoboda — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:59:42 +0000

As recreation centers continue to cater less towards the individual user and more towards families and other larger groups, the scope, size, and necessity of the family locker room has steadily increased as well. Twenty years ago when the first family locker rooms began to appear, they incorporated individual changing / shower areas adjacent to a common locker and bench area with one or two uni-sex toilet rooms. This common locker area would usually serve as a secondary access point to the natatorium from the rest of the center, saving families, groups of children and seniors from having to navigate the men’s or women’s room to get to the pool. As more and more users have become accustomed to the concept of the family locker room, they have begun to consider it as the primary entrance to the natatorium; one that offers the most privacy and convenience.

It is more common now to see not just personal changing areas, but full-service “cabanas” where families, people with disabilities and other groups have temporary access to their own toilet, lavatory, shower and changing area.

Family locker rooms may be arranged to address your specific needs. Do you have an aging community? Cabanas offer the convenience of fully accessible amenities while providing privacy for those who require assistance. Are you concerned about younger patrons behaving badly in under-supervised rooms and hide-out places? Wide open uni-sex locker areas with adjoining cabanas have increased traffic and visibility which can help reduce the risk of mischief. Will your center primarily cater towards families and groups? Locker room and cabana compartmentalization eases the burden of kiddie-crowd control with barriers, diversions and fixtures that are both child and parent friendly.

While in the programmatic phase of a new recreation or community center, it is important to consider these locker room options when the demographics and priorities of the center’s user group have been determined.

Originally posted 2010-06-27 23:59:59.

Storage Under the Stage – Code Requirements

Sean O'Hara — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:50:07 +0000

Many of our school and performance space projects have a stage that is tall enough that the client will inevitably ask what we can do to access the space under the front of the stage for storage. That space can be used as long as the following items are addressed.

First, the code requirements in the International Building Code require that any space under a stage used for storage or any other purpose besides equipment, wiring or plumbing the floor assembly must be 1-hour fire rating which generally will mean two layers of fire rated gypsum board.

Second, remember that the structure holding up the stage has depth, so the space under your 36" high stage may only be 24-28" tall. Generally any stage under 3o" high won't have enough height to be useful.You also need a series of posts to hold up the stage and those need to be coordinated with the openings to the space.

Finally, you can practically only access what you can grab from the front. Having a space 20' deep and only 2' high is unlikely to be very useful. In most cases we end up designing a chamber between 4' and 10' deep. This chamber is built with the 1-hour lid and a 1-hour wall at the back and sides.

Originally posted 2010-04-19 00:01:54.

When is a Stage a Platform in the International Building Code?

Sean O'Hara — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:50:03 +0000

One of our current projects is the renovation of the gymnasium at the Denver Montclair International School to add a stage at the end of the gymnasium. The stage area is approximately 1,090 square feet. In the International Building Code a "stage" over 1,000 sf triggers a number of requirements for construction including a standpipe, sprinkler systems, fire separations and stage ventilation.

What we needed to do was have the stage area properly classified as a "platform" rather than a "stage" which makes many of the requirements go away. The difference in the definition is that platforms cannot have "overhead hanging curtains, drops, scenery, or stage effects other than lighting and sound". By removing the main curtain we were able to get the building department to permit the renovation without the additional cost of the additional requirements.

Now, that being said, the purpose of having the stage area reclassified is to more clearly reflect the actual use of the space. I would not advise a client to reclassify it if they intended to use it for full scale productions with a high occupancy. In this case the school is using it for small audiences and small classes and doesn't have any plans for drops or anything that requires the additional code protections.

The interesting battle for another day is about any future curtain. The section about the automatic sprinkler system clarifies that sprinklers are not required on stages where curtains, scenery or other combustible hangings are not retractable vertically. The Denver building department was fine with this section allowing a traveler curtain but the Fire department references the International Fire Code which does not have exactly the same provisions.

Originally posted 2010-07-11 17:18:09.

Playhouse Project progress photos

Bill Foster — Tue, 31 May 2011 04:15:31 +0000

Catamount Constructors has been working overtime with EV Studio to put together the playhouse over the past couple of weeks and we wanted to give everyone an update on the progress photos and the final product. They have done a great job pulling everything together and we can't thank them enough but wanted to give a special thanks to Scott Boal our PM from Catamount for all the extra work he has put in to make the project happen.

There has been a change with the schedule for the Auction so please contact Rocky Mountain Communities for more details.

Custom Home in Pinon Soleil – Castle Rock

Sean O'Hara — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:31:31 +0000

The Hughes Residence is a 9,000 sf home in the Pinon Soleil neighborhood of Castle Rock, Colorado. The home is sited on a challenging building site with a small building envelope and a dramtic slope accross the lot. The home features large family areas, seven bedrooms, formal living areas, four bedrooms and two unique recreational features. The lower level of the home has a swimming pool which crosses from the inside of the home to the exterior and a sport court with an 18’ ceiling.

Steve Dow of Paragon Development is the builder of the home. Once again the combination of client, contractor, architect and interior designer came together to produce a fantastic result.

Fantastic kitchen cabinets with a blend of three different cabinet and countertop styles.

Looking at the entire kitchen including the six person bar.

Looking down at the living room from the upper level common area.

Looking at the kitchen through the large butler's pantry. In addition to the serving area in this photograph the door on the left leads to large walk-in pantry including a second refrigerator and significant storage space.

The formal dining room is one of the front rooms in the house.

Looking through the stone entry arch toward the living room and informal dining nook.

Besides the usual bar, pool table and family room the lower level also includes a swimming pool, half indoor and half outdoor.

The most surprising amenity in this Castle Rock home is the sport court with an 18' high ceiling in the basement. The floor of the court is another level down from the basement floor level allowing the required size despite a tight building envelope.

Clubhouse Addition for Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club

Beth Concha — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:53:33 +0000

We just completed design for an 800 square foot addition to the clubhouse at Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club, a semi-private age restricted community in southeast Aurora. The 35,000 square foot clubhouse is used for a variety of events such as weddings, corporate gatherings, and banquets. The catering department has recently outgrown the existing space, and hired EVstudio to design the small expansion.

The proposed addition is adjacent to the existing kitchen and will provide an extra 400 square feet of dry storage, as well as space for 2 new walk-in freezers and a keg cooler. We are using the existing foundation system and attaching a new steel deck with concrete topping for the loading dock, and two new stairs for access down into the service yard.

A Sub Basement Sport Court

Sean O'Hara — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:10:28 +0000

We have a house under construction in Castle Rock, Colorado. It has a very tight building envelope and a difficult "ridge line" height restriction. It also has a 24'x35' sport court with an 18' high ceiling. The solution that makes this possible was the decision to go down.

The sport court floor is actually in a sub basement with the ceiling of the sport court contiguous with the ceiling of the basement. The sport court is under both the main house and under the extensive front porch. The top of the stairs in the photo is the basement level. The basement actually has more square footage than the main level as a result.We also took advantage of the new level by adding an exercise room to the sub basement which sits under the basement level.

A few items are important to consider when deciding to go down to create more buildable area. First, you need a soil type that allows you to dig down further without extensive shoring. You also need an engineer to design the exceptionally tall walls, they won't be 8" thick basement walls. Finally, with this being deeper than the main basement you need two means of egress, in this case we took advantage of the slope of the hill to fit in a deep window well.

Construction Cost Per Square Foot for Recreation Facilities

Dean Dalvit — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 06:01:35 +0000

We offer full scope design and engineering services for various types of Recreation Facilities, and a common question we typically get in the beginning of any project is: How much does it cost to build a Recreation Center? There is a wide range of definitions for a recreation center and the functions that occur inside. As a result, this is no easy question to answer until a thorough program has been put together for the overall facility. However, there is some guidance for the specific types of spaces that occur within the center. Below are the results of data that has been collected for a range of these projects across the country by the industry leader in construction cost estimating, RSMeans. Consistent with all of the studies available for construction costs, you will see that there is a significant range in cost, depending on location.

Enclosed Swimming Pool Construction Cost 2010

Enclosed Swimming Pools is the most common element found in community recreation centers. The cost per square foot for these types of spaces range from $167 to $292 with the median hovering around $226 per square foot. While different programmatic requirements can significantly alter the costs of a swimming facility (water playgrounds, whirlpools, etc.), this is the most expensive space in this particular study.

Racquetball Court Construction Cost 2010

Racquetball courts are still a very popular addition to any state-of-the-art recreation center. With similar building volume requirements as a swimming pool, but far fewer specialty systems, these spaces range from $128 to $224 with the median falling around $173 per square foot.

Hockey Rink or Indoor Soccer Arena Construction Cost 2010

Something of a specialty for a recreation center, and often times, a function on its own, is a hockey rink or an indoor arena. These spaces require long span structural systems, but enclose a large amount of space, helping to drive cost per square foot down to some degree. The range for this type of space is $125 to $218 with a median of $169 per square foot.

Bowling Alley Construction Cost 2010

Finally, even more of a specialty for a recreation center, and more commonly found in separate private sector entertainment facilities, is the bowling alley. Again, a large open space, and with some specialty equipment. The range is $117 to $204 with a median of $158 per square foot, and is the lowest cost for space in this study.

Each of these project types can vary greatly depending on the specific group of functions, the location, and the population served. In order to better identify a more accurate estimate of construction cost, we must look at the specific program and all of the other factors that go into a cost assessment during the initial stages of design. For more specific information regarding the cost of any project, please contact us at EVstudio and we can assist in that process, which will set the stage for a highly successful design for your project.

Security in the Family Locker Room at Rec Centers

Matt Svoboda — Sat, 15 May 2010 17:29:00 +0000

One of the primary concerns that we hear from clients considering family changing rooms in the design for their new recreation center is people using those rooms inappropriately. There are several proven methods at preventing these kinds of unwanted activities, and it is a combination of both passive and active methods which seems to get the best results.

Passive vs. active visual control – Passive visual control is achieved with increased foot traffic and general openness. Family locker rooms are often very busy places and the careful location of benches and lack of intermediate locker bays which might block the view to a cabana door can be enough to be a deterrent. Active visual control is just what is sounds like…a member of the center staff monitoring the comings and goings of cabana users. This can be extremely impractical from a layout standpoint, especially if you have a high number of doors to watch. A logical compromise is the location of your lifeguard room or aquatics managers office (which you will need anyway) in a place where there is at least a window onto the family locker area which can create the perception of surveillance, even if you do not have a dedicated security position.

Passive vs. active locking hardware - It is common for directors of recreational facilities to be concerned that handing out keys for individual changing rooms is the only way to control who goes into a cabana. For centers that have many cabanas (10 or more) or anticipate a higher percentage of mischievous users this may be an option, but it should be considered carefully. Individual cabana keys create unique maintenance and staffing issues and are generally inconvenient for both the center and the center's users. All cabana door hardware needs to be lockable from the inside for privacy, but must also be allowed to be overridden by an emergency key.

A combination of both passive locking hardware and passive visual control is typically the most user-friendly of several solutions to ensure that your rec center's family locker rooms exhibit an appropriate level of security while enhancing the user experience.