TOMS RIVER HIGH SCHOOL NORTH: COMMUNITY WORKSHOP OCTOBER 30, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 ABSTRACT Hurricane Sandy Reconstruction Program......02 ReNew Schools...............................................03
2.0 COMMUNITY Community Identity........................................04
3.0 PROJECT Workshop description.....................................06 Station 1 - Wayfinding....................................10 Station 2 - Stadium Entry................................12 Station 3 - Press Box......................................16 Station 4 - JV Baseball Field Dugouts.............18
4.0 SUMMARY Charrette Summary........................................20 Acknowledgements........................................21 Designed and created by Architecture for Humanity
ABSTRACT
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY
HURRICANE SANDY RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
Architecture for Humanity is a nonprofit design services firm founded in 1999. We are building a more sustainable future through the power of professional design. By tapping a network of more than 75,000 professionals willing to lend time and expertise to help those who would not otherwise be able to afford their services, we bring design, construction and development services where they are most critically needed.
Since 1999, Architecture for Humanity has responded to fifteen major disasters throughout the world and spearheaded reconstruction programs to support affected communities. Every disaster zone delivers a unique set of challenges, and Architecture for Humanity believes that communication, coordination and access to professional design and construction resources and knowledge are the most critical components for successful longterm reconstruction. After the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, Architecture for Humanity established the Hurricane Sandy Reconstruction Program in response to the needs of homeowners, small business owners and community groups to rebuild in a resilient and sustainable manner. The Program is run by NY-based full-time professional staff with the support of our international headquarter office in San Francisco, California.
For more information, please visit: http://architectureforhumanity. org or find us on: Twitter at @archforhumanity Facebook at http://on.fb.me/156PNav
The mission of the Hurricane Sandy Reconstruction Program is to provide underserved communities hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy the tools and resources to recover and rebuild their built environment, leading to the enhancement of the community’s social infrastructure, and improvement of livelihoods that are stronger and more resilient than ever before. The Program will identify programs and projects that address the unmet reconstruction needs in communities by implementing resilient strategies to build back better. The Program will focus on the physical rebuilding of structures via services provided on a pro bono or reduced-fee basis and follow our community engagement methodology. The community workshops are critical in building excitement for the project within the community and building a shared vision for the way residents see their neighborhoods transforming for a brighter future.
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ReNew SCHOOLS The ReNew Schools program will create innovative and inspiring places of sport by transforming public school athletic facilities damaged by the storm. With the help of Perkins+Will, Architecture for Humanity has assessed damage to schools in NYC and school districts in several communities of New Jersey. Through this process, three New Jersey Schools have been identified as participants in the program.
Nike, Inc. and Designed to Move In collaboration with the American College of Sports Medicine, the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education, Nike, Inc. with the support from dozens of for and not-for profit organizations authored the Designed To Move initiative. Designed to Move calls for dramatic and urgent commitment to increase physical activity levels. Special emphasis must be placed on youth, especially kids under the age of 10. We must also find ways to integrate physical activity back into our daily lives through the design of our cities, communities and build environment. This is a powerful, preventive course of action, ripe for innovation, investment and impact on positive human development. The full report - at www.designedtomove.org - offers more context and specific ideas about how to make the vision a reality. C. W. Brearly Architect Craig Brearley Architects; named 2013 Firm of the Year, Jersey Shore Chapter; is a leader in quality design for projects of various type and scale in New Jersey. CWB creates beautiful work throughout the area, and has been a leader in the rebuilding of the shore after damage from Hurricane Sandy. Since 1990, Craig Brearley Architects, with 23 years of diversified architectural and design consulting experience, has consistently provided client satisfaction with various types of projects-including single-family custom homes, coastal design and CAFRA permitting, alterations and additions, developmental housing, commercial work, shopping centers, office buildings, historic rehabilitation, and land planning. CWB Architecture’s substantial experience and high standard of work is highly regarded in the Jersey Shore and surrounding areas.
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COMMUNITY
TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY Did you know? TOMS RIVER WAS KNOWN AS GOOSE CREEK BEFORE 1727 AND BECAME THE SEAT OF OCEAN COUNTY IN 1850. in 1890, the town contained five churches of different denominations, a “graded” school, a national bank, a fire company, eight secret societies, and an abundance of high-quality roads for cyclists. HURRICANE SANDY & TOMS RIVER:
New Jersey 8721 Sq. Miles
Ocean County 916 Sq. Miles
Toms River 53 Sq. Miles
Hurricane Sandy made landfall, due South of Toms River on October 29, 2012. Many homes and businesses located within the Township’s border were damaged, and even more significantly damaged or destroyed, displacing thousands of residents. The Toms River Regional Schools and the facilities found within the area were used extensively during and immediately after the storm as a safe haven for the community. High School North was used as a Red Cross shelter, whereas High School East was used as a community shelter and housed hundreds of families (and a few dozen pets) on campus for several weeks after the storm. The schools were closed during this time, with many families finding temporary or long-term housing assistance. Today, of the over 900 displaced families, almost all are back living in the community of Toms River. Many students from the other Toms River High Schools found a place to learn at North.
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PROJECT
TOMS RIVER HIGH SCHOOL NORTH CHARRETTE Date: October 30, 2013 Toms River High School NOrth Pine Belt arena NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 2,400; grades 9-12 SPORTS TEAMS: 30 inter-scholastic sports SCHOOL WEBSITE: http://www.trschools.com/ Pine Belt Arena, photo by Jessica Terdeman
INTRODUCTION On October 30, a community design workshop was held at Toms River High School North. Its purpose, to gather representatives from the community, and promote community collaboration by generating ideas to enhance the reconstruction of athletic facilities that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
AFTER SANDY For the ReNew Schools program, Architecture for Humanity is collaborating with Nike, Inc. and the Toms River Regional Schools to renovate school athletic facilities that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Based upon site assessments by our staff and volunteers, Toms River High School North was included as one of the participants in the program; based on the level of damage sustained, need, and appetite for sport. Toms River High School North is one of three high schools serving the regional district along the New Jersey shore. With a student 6
body of 2400 in grades 9-12, the school is the largest and most diverse of the three high schools in the system. Along with the core groupings of academics, students have access to over 30 clubs, and 30 athletic teams. The athletic facilities at Toms River Regional Schools are used on a regular basis by its own teams, as well as a host for regional and state athletic events year-round. The facilities are also used by several local recreation programs throughout the year. Since the school is located inland, the primary damage was due to wind. The roofs of the training/fitness building, dugouts and the main press box, concession stand and athletic field toilet rooms were damaged by the storm. Additionally, many of the movable sports equipment (soccer, lacrosse, field hockey goals) needed to be replaced.
Gathering representatives from the student body, faculty/staff, parents and community members; participants were asked to generate, collect and collaborate on ideas for enhancing the athletic and recreational experience at Toms River High School North. STARTING THE DESIGN PROCESS The framework for the athletic facilities will be determined through a community design process. The participatory design and construction process will integrate the neighborhood and school community. The Community Design Workshop invites participants to first create a vision for their community’s school and to brainstorm improvements to their campus without any constraints or parameters that would enhance the quality of experience for student, teachers, staff, and the community. Community workshops are an excellent way to engage the community in the project, get to know the people that the project will serve and to have fun. Moreover, community members represent the best authorities on their needs. Every successful design begins with their input.
The evening began with an opening activity, where the participants were asked what they love about Toms River and the High School North. They wrote their responses on designated colored pieces of paper, so the thoughts of different user groups could be understood. Participants were asked to post their responses around the map of Toms River, to be viewed by all. With direct input from community members, the project team can define the identity for the school, better understand how the participants viewed the place where they lived, and their association with the school. Knowledge of and exchanges among the community encourages collaboration, and reinforce the community’s unique identity and the special character of the school. In order to engage the community to its fullest, the workshop was organized around a series of stations, each associated with a specific design problem for the campus. The teams were given 20 minutes at each station in order to generate their proposed ideas for each of the four issues. Each station had an instruction sheet along with a series of questions that the teams could use as guidance for their response. At the end of each time period, the facilitators collected the drawings and displayed them on the walls as a gallery. The teams were encouraged to look at what others had accomplished throughout the evening.
The Workshop was held on school grounds to capture a diverse group of school and community members. Of the approximately 60 people in attendance representing the four constituencies, teams were formed with diverse representation. Each person was given an information packet with pertinent information outlining the ReNew NJ/NY Schools program, the Toms River Regional Schools, and the Workshop. The evening was split into a series of events, facilitated by Architecture for Humanity and C.W. Brearly Architect. The participants were guided to generate design and program ideas to create active designed to move spaces, for the school. Teams responding to opening questions, photo by Gail Gambarini 7
PROJECT
OPENING: Identifying the Spirit of the Community To learn more about the workshop attendees, each participant was first asked two questions: Existing Ticket Booth, photo by Brian Baer
What makes Toms River a great place to What makes Toms River North a great live? place to go to school? The students, parents, faculty and community members of Toms River High School North agree that Toms River is a great place to live because it is a large town with the amenities of a city but has a small town feel. They love that it is by the shore and feel like this informs the feeling of the community. The people have a sense of pride in the town and this fosters the sense of community.
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Toms River North is a great place to go to school because it really is a central hub of the community. The school community is large and diverse and provides great opportunities for its students. The school has great academics, clubs, sports programs, facilities, band and after school activities. It prepares the students well for college.
top left: A student responding all photos by Jessica Terdeman
top right: The big board of responses
bottom left: Participant responses
bottom right: Participant responses 9
PROJECT
STATION 1: Wayfinding and Signage
Left: One of the team’s proposed ideas, photo by Jessica Terdeman Right: Students participating creating new wayfinding, photo by Gail Gambarini
The campus of Toms River High School North is a large campus, including a large academic building, parking for over 1000 vehicles and approximately 100 acres of land. To the “seasoned” individual, moving about campus is familiar and customary, yet to a visitor the experience is quite different. Signage from the entrance directs buses and visitors to the main entrance, yet there is no direction provided towards the athletic fields. Additionally, pedestrians walk in driving lanes through the parking lots to the main building, as well as fields. What about those who are new to campus, who have never been here before? Is the campus safe for pedestrians as they move about campus between buildings, parking areas, and playing fields? How could the flow and continuity of outdoor spaces and buildings be enhanced?
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This station will challenge you to answer “movement” questions on campus. 1. If a visitor is here for a non-athletic event, how do they know where to go once they have arrived on campus? 2. If a visitor is here for an athletic event, how do they know where to go once they have arrived on campus? 3. Once a visitor has exited their vehicle, currently, can they walk to the playing fields safely (without crossing vehicular traffic lanes)? What about to the non-athletic spaces? 4. Can a visitor make their way to their intended destination without asking for directions? 5. How can movement between a vehicle and the intended destination be made safer? How can the movement be made more experiential (interesting, involving, educational)? 6. What elements of design be used to create these “experiences,” and where should they occur on campus?
The responses and ideas were similar 1. • WALKWAYS 10’ wide path/wider path/ADA • concrete path among the teams. Each group drew a • solar lighting/ motion lighting • fenced in walking path diagram of proposed improvements to • signage along path • extended sidewalk • no steps in band path the campus, and outlined in two primary categories, “walkways,” and “parking.” 2. • PARKING additional single lane parking • • • •
extended parking lot (push field-hockey field back) band parking new parking behind visitor bleachers pave road behind bleacher
Baseball Soccer Hockey
Band
Track
JV Baseball
Softball Football
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PROJECT
STATION 2: Stadium Entrance: Entry-Ticket BoothConcession Stand-Toilet
The entrance to the primary multi-purpose track and field stadium can be defined as a “non-descript” entrance to a major component of the campus. When Hurricane Sandy damaged many of the buildings, it created an opportunity to re-think how to reconstruct this important athletic support space. 1. Movement through the space can be chaotic with the number of participants at any one event. The existing entrance does not provide a sense of arrival. How can we create an energetic, lively space that encourages the participant to celebrate sport? 2. With the buildings connected by asphalt pavement, how can the entrance plaza be softened and inviting, while still providing the needed space for the participants to use the facilities? 3. What are the building opportunities to accommodate these programmatic uses? Should the current separation of uses remain in the buildings, or can a future project be initiated to design and construct a single building housing all of the functions? 4. How can materials and textures be used to promote the celebration of sport, while continuing to create functional, resilient and sustainable buildings? 5. If you could introduce a new aspect to the entry plaza, what would it be and why? For example, would you introduce a “walk of fame” for those student athletes that have attended this school? 12
Ticketing Concessions Storage Restrooms Press Box
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The diagram represents the ideas generated by the teams for a number of the stations and buildings. The bars show the number of times each of the ideas were mentioned in the various reponses throughout the evening. Many of the ideas span multiple buildings. The colors shown relate to the school colors of blue and gold.
ing scho ol lo g o/ pav team ed logo ent 2n s ran dg c e ate
Wheel of Ideas
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PROJECT 14
STATION 2: Stadium Entrance: Entry-Ticket BoothConcession Stand-Toilet
Students documenting their ideas
Viewing team responses
Many teams, many ideas
Generating ideas for the entrance
Ticket Booth The ticket booth is used during evening and weekend games and tournaments to help support the School’s booster club. Proceeds generally go towards scholarships for college-bound student/ athletes. The structure’s 170 square feet is the first building that a spectator interacts with before entering the stadium grounds.
all photos by Jessica Terdeman
Concession Stand
Restrooms
The concession stand is used during evening and weekend games and tournaments to help support the School’s booster club. Proceeds generally go towards scholarships for collegebound student/athletes. Food products are prepared on site and sold during an event by the booster club. Capacity is limited the storage and cooking capabilities on site. There is a desire by the school to expand the stand in order to create an expanded menu.
The restrooms are used throughout the day by physical education classes, practices, as well during evening and weekend games and tournaments. These are the only restrooms that are open to the public during a sporting event.
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PROJECT
STATION 3: The Press Box Existing press box, photo by Brian Baer
The Press Box is a highly-used facility by not only the School’s teams, but visiting opponents and outside groups. Accessed by the grandstands, it has a presence that can be seen from the main road and parking lots adjacent to the athletic fields. Hurricane Sandy damaged the exterior and interior of the press box with its wind and rain. 1. How can we create a structure that is separated by distance (vertical and horizontal) and size that still feels connected to the body of the campus? 2. There is a desire to provide a separated space so that teams (home and visitors) can film a sporting event on the main field. Where should this space occur? On top, to the side, in front? 3. What should the reconstructed press box exterior wall be made of? Should it take a different shape/form? How are the door(s) and window openings treated? 4. What should the interior of the press box look and feel like? What materials could be used? 5. What are the missing elements (in your opinion) of the press box? How can these elements be provided?
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Ideas for Reconstruction Overlooking the stadium field, the press box is a prominent feature at the stadium. The structure is used regularly by the local, regional and state public high school programs, and local community groups throughout the year. It is an important facility for the users of the field. The teams produced a list of ideas and sketches on how to improve the press box.
• • • • • • • • • • • •
home and visiting coaches/videographers must be given equal access to the press box. separate entrances/ dedicated staircases bigger/wider/expand foot print exterior/durable siding alterations roof access for filming lighting/sound system/speakers heat/insulation window configuration/access and views/cross breeze seating school identity through color signage with messaging additional storage
Team discussing press box ideas
Ideas for press box
Many teams, many ideas
Ideas for press box, all photos by Gail Gambarini 17
PROJECT
STATION 4: JV Baseball Field Dugouts
The Junior Varsity Baseball dugouts were severely damaged by the wind and rain from Hurricane Sandy. They are a necessary feature to the baseball diamond, and in need of reconstruction. One question that may be answered in planning for another pair of dugouts is: why were these dugouts damaged, and not those of the softball field or varsity baseball field? 1. Should the dugout be rebuilt in the same fashion as they were before? 2. If not, what shape and/or look should the dugouts take that can make them more resilient and less prone to future weather damages? 3. What features are missing from the dugouts that, in your opinion, should be added?
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Ideas for Reconstruction The teams were asked to design a new form for the reconstructed dugouts, as well as provide a written narrative of some of their ideas
• • • • • • • • • • •
comfortable seating ventilation heating and cooling movable / can be stored transparent enclosure concrete slab signage equipment storage water fountains lighting sunken / recessed
Dugout idea 19
SUMMARY
Charrette Summary Through the community design workshop, much was learned about the community of Toms River and of High School North. The participants were engaged throughout the evening and provided excellent ideas for each of the programmatic elements highlighted by the workshop. Given the experiences by the community from the results of the storm, it was no surprise that the community is as tight-knit as what was presented during the evening’s events. The ideas presented throughout the evening support the care and compassion that the attendees have for the student body and those that use the facilities at High School North. From the site improvements for signage, safe walking surfaces and lighting that can help movement around the campus; to the individual building reconstruction ideas throughout the stadium area. The community design workshop provided an excellent forum to garner support and ideas for the athletic facilities that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The ideas created during the event should be taken into consideration for further development of solutions for the reconstruction of the athletic facilities. Some of the common thoughts from the evening could include: promotion of community and school pride, durable materials, safe environment, and access to views. With the completion of the workshop, the design team will be moving into the design phases of the work. It is anticipated that the design phase would be completed by the end of the first quarter 2014, with construction completed by the end of June 2014.
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Acknowledgements Architecture for Humanity would like to thank the following organizations and people, who without their assistance and generous participation, this event could not have been as successful. C.W. Brearly, Architect: Craig Brearly, Arnold Boyle, Gabrielle Cooper, Eddie Fitzpatrick Toms River Regional Schools: Joseph Arminio, Thomas Gialanella, James Hauenstein, William Doering, Paul, Barnoski, Tammi Millar, Ed Schumann, Mark Wagner, Dharm Bhatt, Ed Kellar, Chip Phillips Turner & Townsend Ferzan Robbins Nike, Inc.
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