According to French Associates, a senior recreation center needs to be designed with a healthy and active senior population in mind. There are special considerations for the aging, some subtle and some more significant, that will make this specific building type successful and some of those are discussed below.
Circulation
Vehicular and pedestrian circulation should be designed to provide clarity and reduce conflicts. A patron drop-off area at the front of the building is essential as many seniors are driven to the facility by family members. This area should be well defined and separated from the parking lot traffic. Volunteer traffic for a “Meals on Wheels” program and transportation buses should be separated from the route of delivery trucks and everyday visitor traffic. Pedestrian seniors should not have to cross vehicular routes when entering from parking areas.
Senior Recreation Centers
Here come the Baby Boomers!
“ ....the senior population will double while all other age groups will decrease or increase only dlightly.”
-SEMCOG (Southeast Michigan Council of Governments)
A large facility should consider multiple entrances to allow access to portions of the building that can be isolated and operated independently for special programs. Multiple entrances reduce distances to activity rooms and increase ease of way finding.
Safety
Transparency is a key concept in the design of a senior center. The location of staff stations or offices within the building is another important consideration. A decentralized staff can respond more quickly to the users of the facility, whether it is to answer a question or an emergency situation. An active senior center will have many programs and activities happening simultaneously. Some programs are supervised while other activities are independent. Providing clear views or windows to every space will allow staff to monitor all the activities and offer the appropriate assistance. The correct choice of interior materials, colors and textures can improve the definition of edges, entries and changes in elevation. Variations in lighting levels can improve depth perception for people with even mild macular degeneration. The exterior of the building also needs to be carefully designed. Slip and fall is the number one cause of injury among the senior population. Exterior features such as heated walkways, covered entrances, and rails and lighting should be carefully designed to increase the safety of the facility.
Flexibility
Successful centers may offer hundreds of classes and activities in a given year and many special events, lectures and parties. Some facilities even offer rooms for rent by the general public and local businesses. Many spaces within the building need to adapt to different size groups with a variety of presentation requirements. Rooms may often be used by different groups for a variety of activities during the same day or week. This need for flexibility is met in part by eliminating ownership and careful scheduling. The technology in the building must allow different room arrangements and presentation media. The rooms themselves can be flexible by utilizing operable partitions to adjust the size of the room to the needs of the activity.
Comfort
Beyond the basic requirements of safety, many elements within the building can be designed with the comfort of the senior in mind. A smaller scaled building with clear entry points and short travel distances will make the facility comfortable and easy to use. Auditory comfort can be increased by the reduction of high frequency noise. Various sound absorbing materials and furniture can be utilized to achieve the desired requirements of individual spaces. For those with reduced dexterity, features such as lower cabinet heights with larger handles and toilet facilities with higher seat heights make the use of the facility more comfortable. The heating and cooling systems should be designed to respond to various size groups with different temperature needs.
Many of these concepts are applicable to all public facilities. Their integration into a facility for seniors is however critical to the success of this building type. Careful planning, both on the part of the designers and facility directors, is crucial to the outcome of a successful senior center. A vibrant and active senior center will only be as successful as the programs available to the community. However, without adequate facilities, it will be very difficult to offer the variety and type of programs baby boomers, turned seniors, will soon demand
TIP 2 from French Associates
Know who will vote
If we called a one-hour school election for two o'clock this afternoon, three categories of people would show up-yes voters, no voters, and undecided voters. The same categories of people will show up at the school election that you have called for next year. The challenge is to discover how many of each category resides in your school district. Once that is done, the job that needs doing is fairly straightforward: Reinforce yes voters, generally ignore no voters, and try to move the undecideds into the yes voter column.
Tip Two: Know how many yes voters you need to win. Find them and get them to the polls on election day.
A school district's architect can make board members look like heroes or goats. And an architect can directly affect a school district's educational program - positively or negatively - for 50 years or more! For these reasons-and many others- there can be little doubt that selecting an archtect ranks as one of the most important decisions a school board has to make.
Before you decide what architectural firm your school district will hire, develop some decision-making criteria. Give the list to every architectural firm that will submit on your project, an tell all of them that you will use the criteria in making your decision.
SCHOOL DISTRICT CRITERIA FOR SELECTING AN ARCHITECT
A briefing from
French Associates and
Banach, Banach & Cassidy
Almost everyone believes that education is important. And, almost everybody says that we must invest in our children because they are "the future." Given these beliefs, it seems that school districts should win every election they bring to the voters. Au contraire!
People vote in school elections for myriad reasons. This is what makes every election unique. Yet, school districts that tend to win at the polls do exhibit some characteristics that losers don't. The winning characteristics and some related tips are the subject of this article.
Build a support base
School leaders know that most voters in school elections decide how to vote long before election day. On election day voters step in to the voting booth, close the curtain, and pull one of two levers-yes or no.
School leaders also understand that campaigns don't win elections. Campaigns simply harness support that is already there.
And where does this support come from? It is the result of doing good over time. It is also the result of making sure people in your community know about your good work. Put differently, when school people compromise on communication with their constituents, they build barriers to election success.
Tip One: Think long-term. Build a base of support for your schools by doing good work, engaging people in the educational process, and communicating effectively. Use campaigns to reinforce the support base that you build and tap it for yes votes on election day.
Collaborate: 1. To work, one with another; 2. To work jointly with others in some endeavor.
The Shelby Macomb Medical Mall is the new standard in medical office buildings, with the physicians acting as a consortium of owners. Each physician has a vested interest in the success of this project and they have been involved from project conception.
Designed with the patient in mind, a visit to this first-class facility provides access to a myriad of medical specialties. French Associates worked closely with each practice to develop a personalized design aesthetic for every office.
Project Architects and Interior Designers at French Associates worked with the developer to implement richly appointed interiors. Extensive use of marble and ornate metalwork in the vast atrium, combined with the limestone entry and canopy drive, welcomes visitors in style.
--Government | Senior Activity Center
Senior Recreation Center Designs
Here come the Baby Boomers!
The baby boomers are almost here! The first of the boomers will turn 65 years old in the year 2010. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by the year 2025, the over 65 age group will double in 21 states and nationally will reach 18.5% of the total population.
The SEMCOG (Southeast Michigan Council of Governments) Report issued in 2002 forecasts similar population growth for the seven counties in southeast Michigan. In the largest communities, the senior population will double while all other age groups will decrease or increase only slightly.
While these "seniors" will be reaching the typical retirement age, they will not be slowing down. There is a need for recreation and social opportunities in the communities that they helped to build. The typical senior center currently is a small portion of a larger community or recreation center. These limited spaces do not currently meet the demand for programs and will be woefully inadequate in the very near future with the coming of the boomers.
French Associates is completing the final stages of renovations to Anderson Elementary School and Hedke Elementary School, a part of Trenton Public Schools. In 2008, community members approved a bond issue totaling $37 million that included this renovation work.
Here are some images from the recent re-dedication ceremony for Hedke Elementary School:
Resource Room renovation
Main Office
Gymnasium / Cafeteria
Kingsley Montgomery School (KMS), a specialized education facility in Waterford, Michigan, designed by French Associates Architects, is currently in the construction phase. KMS is a special education building that serves over 20 school districts in Oakland county. Project Manager Steve Lodge, AIA, made a visit to the site on January 13 to monitor progress.
The latest progress has been on the new main entry canopy. Composite metal panels will soon be installed where the Tyvek wrap is seen, and the bus canopy is awaiting the same composite metal panels. The contractor has completed their field measurements and the panels are now in fabrication stages. These panels are expected to be installed in February.
The bus canopy is in place to protect handicapped students who are arriving at the building via the traffic loop at the main entrance to the building.
Here are some views of the interior of the main entry vestibule.
These quotes are intended to inspire the students as they enter and exit the building each day.
The phrase right sizing has seemed to evolve in our society from the term downsizing, which struck fear into all that were in ear shoot. Right sizing is not about down sizing your district; it's about adjusting the needs of the facilities and developing a plan to assist the districts in meeting the dynamic needs of change, population, funding, and expectations
This is not about an expanding district; it's about developing a managed plan, one that will help a district meet the operational finances currently available from the state within the existing facilities. A key to this plan is identifying the populations and the facility locations, size and educational structure necessary for the population changes. The master plan for "right-sizing" will represent a coordinated set of actions concerning re-deploying facility assets to meet the strategic goals each school district has established. The feasibility of these actions are based in terms of project scope, cost, and time.
Indiana School Finance Quick Facts
The General Fund calendar year is from January 1 to December 31 each year. The State of Indiana determines the amount of revenue schools receive based on how many students are enrolled in school along with economic factors of individual school corporations. The majority of employee salaries and benefits are paid from this fund. In addition, the largest portion of utility expenditures is paid from the General Fund.
Debt Service (Local decision)
Debt Service pays for the construction and some technology projects that schools pay for over an extended period of time. Technology projects are normally paid for over a five-year period, and construction projects are paid over 20 years. Increases in debt services is a local decision for each school corporation based on the community desire for building projects along with the age of the buildings. Pension bonds are part of the Debt Service to pay the long-term teacher retirement that was incurred before 2000. Schools can no longer incur additional obligations for teacher retirement.
Capital Projects and Technology Fund (State controlled)
The Capital Projects and Technology Fund is utilized to repair existing buildings and to purchase general equipment and technology. This is a rate driven fund, which means, when the Assessed Valuation decreases, then the CPF decreases. As the value of property increases in a school district, the CPF fund increases. The State of Indiana determines the rate and amount of revenue in this fund each year.