91视频 spoke with Ozzie Tapia, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, project designer at LPA Inc., about how the design team created a safe and secure facility while maintaining the open and interactive feel typical of recreation centers.

Q: What was the main goal of the project?

Tapia: As the last critical piece to the campus life and activity puzzle, the main goal of the BRIC was to provide a true hub of student life on campus — an exciting and lively destination to see and be seen, where students can exercise, hang out and relax while immersed in a sustainable environment. The program includes a three-court gymnasium, a multi-activity court (MAC), rock climbing wall, weight and fitness areas, several multipurpose rooms, racquetball courts, an indoor running track and a 6,500-square-foot outdoor pool.

Q: What are some of the project’s key design elements?

Tapia: Neighboring sports facilities on campus were notorious for their lack of connection to the exterior, so a shift away from this paradigm of introverted buildings was established. The BRIC frames and makes a direct connection to the adjacent campus quad and views beyond by opening up to them visually with a façade primarily composed of glass, and physically by breaking the building open at the intersection of major pedestrian paths converging at the building’s entry.

This augmented transparency allows the recreation center to become a human billboard of student activity. At its center, the mixed-mode, naturally ventilated atrium houses a 55-foot-high, rock climbing wall. It acts as a transitional space between the true exterior and conditioned interior spaces.

Q: What safety or security measures were incorporated into the design?

Tapia: The building and pool enclosures were designed as one secured compound. While all code-required emergency exits are in place, there’s essentially one entry and exit point through the three-story atrium main entry. Turnstiles with handprint-scanning technology streamline user access and oversight. Furthermore, the interiors were designed as a series of large open volumes that are visually connected, reducing hidden corners and spaces. This allows for maximum supervision with minimal staff.

In high activity areas such as recreational courts and the rock climbing wall, materials were carefully selected in and around safety and run-off zones to support the wellbeing of users and — at the same time — not detract from the experience.

Q: Was staff and student feedback provided to the design team?

Tapia: The BRIC was funded entirely by student fees, and this allowed for a unique, more inclusive process from the beginning. A series of open-forum design charrettes were carried out with students and staff on campus. We received direct feedback on everything from actual program and amenities prioritization to building system and materials selection to the simple fact that a truly sustainable facility that mirrored their values was very important to the student body.

Q: What were some of the project’s key challenges, and how did your team overcome those challenges?

Tapia: A key challenge from the get-go was to accommodate a large program on an awkwardly shaped site — bound by easements, setbacks and challenging topography — with less than optimal orientation. The design solution was to use these site limitations as driving forces to actually shape the building by maximizing the footprint, extruding up and expanding horizontally once above the constraints. However, once it became clear that the upper floor needed to be much larger than the ground level, LPA’s in-house engineers and architects designed and implemented a unique Vierendeel truss structural system to support the large cantilevers, while avoiding the exterior columns that the university expressed it did not want.

The post Q&A: Cal Poly Pomona Opens Safe & Secure Rec Center appeared first on 91视频.

The post Q&A: Cal Poly Pomona Opens Safe & Secure Rec Center appeared first on 91视频.

The university, located 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, currently offers just one 2,300-stall parking garage, which was constructed in 2008, and two surface lots with a combined capacity of 600 spaces. However, the 1,400-acre campus has changed substantially in the past eight years. New student residences have been constructed — with more in the works — and the university’s recreational facilities have become popular with weekend visitors.

Design development drawings for the new structure, which will replace the two existing surface lots, were submitted in December. Construction drawings and the civil engineering package went into plan check on January 19. Currently, the project is in the first month-long phase of construction, which includes the relocation of critical utilities, as well as the excavation of 120,000 yards of soil. Crews are aiming for an August 2016 completion.

Cal Poly Pomona officials selected Bomel Construction of Anaheim Hills, Calif., and International Parking Design, headquartered in Los Angeles to develop and construct the project, along with Steinberg Architects, which maintains offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Jose, Calif., as well as Shanghai.

Balancing the university’s need for increased parking with building a structure that did not dominate the landscape proved challenging for the design and construction team. Optimizing the process of loading and unloading of vehicles was another critical function that needed to be integrated. During the competitive proposal process, Bomel Construction’s senior staff hosted workshops at the company’s headquarters where the Cal Poly construction staff detailed what they needed and listened to what Bomel’s suggestions. Ultimately, Bomel’s proposal was the only firm in the field of three bidders that made sure the proposed parking structure had a sufficient number of entrances and exits.

The design-build team devised a plan for a 1,200-foot-long parking structure that will have one underground level, a level at grade and an above ground level that is accessed at grade via the University Drive entrance. The upper level covers about two-thirds of the other levels. An extensively landscaped walkway breaks the garage into two pieces, visually reducing the overall scale while creating an essential pedestrian thoroughfare for campus visitors and students. The property for International Polytechnic High School (I-Poly), a Los Angeles County-owned school with a population of a few hundred students, abuts the lot where the new parking structure will be erected. I-Poly students must have equal access to the college campus since many take courses at Cal Poly at some point during their high school years.

“One of the main reasons we liked Bomel was because they answered all of the questions in the request for proposals,” said Cal Poly Senior Project Manager Bruyn Bevans, who also serves as the coordinator and instructor in the university’s construction management program, in a statement. “Bomel was listening to what we had to say and then came back and gave us new insights about what they could do. They redid the traffic study and told us they felt they needed to do something differently, other than what was shown in the CEQA documents.”

The post Cal Poly Pomona Addresses Parking Shortage with New Structure appeared first on 91视频.

The post Cal Poly Pomona Addresses Parking Shortage with New Structure appeared first on 91视频.