Corinne Jones Playground Renovation Studio V, Fall 2011
CACC
Compiled and Edited by Sara Cheikelard STUDIO DESIGN.BUILD
Clemson Architecture Center N CHARLESTON
The Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston is a part of Clemson University’s fluid campus. The CAC.C’s mission is to bridge academia and practice by teaching in a hybrid environment—a cross between academic and professional modes of work. The CAC.C offers coursework for third- and fourth-year undergraduates in architecture and landscape architecture and first year MArch graduate students. Since 2001, the Center has won three NCARB Prizes from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards for the Integration of Practice and Education, as well as the American Institute of Architect’s Best Mentoring Practices award in 2006.
CACC
Clemson Architecture Center N CHARLESTON
STUDIO V focuses on architecture and tectonics, particularly the relationship between design and building. Studio V emulates practice in that, unlike standard academic exercises, students do not always work in isolation on hypothetical situations. We work often in collaboration. This studio offers an approach to design informed by how something is assembled and the materials from which it is made. The studio employs craft in the execution of the work, which requires patience, planning, understanding tolerances of materials, testing and mockups, and pushing the limits and capabilities of tools and materials.
STUDIO DESIGN.BUILD
Studio V, Fall 2011 Introduction
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Team Members
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History
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Community Involvement
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Site Information & Analysis
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Construction Documents
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Materials
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Full Scale Mock-Up
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Construction Process
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Completed Structure & Details
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Special Thanks
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Introduction Studio V of Fall 2011 was devoted to the execution of the following project, including designing, fabricating, and installing the shading and seating structure at Corinne Jones Park in the Wagener Terrace neighborhood in downtown Charleston, SC. The process included: Collaborating with the local neighborhood association and the Charleston Parks and Recreation Department on the park’s master plan and shading structure design, Coordinating with the Charleston Parks Conservancy on the installation and development of the new children’s playground and green spaces at Corinne Jones Park, Working with local architects and engineers on creating a full set of construction documents for the shading device, Presenting the design before Charleston’s Design Review Committee, and Fabricating parts of the shading structure off site at the CAC.C’s shop facility and finishing with on site installation.
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Studio V Members, Fall 2011
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History
Wagener Terrace Wagener Terrace was another residential subdivision developed on the upper peninsula during the early twentieth century. In 1917, James Sottile acquired the old Wagener Farm. He retained the historic Lowndes Grove Plantation house at the center of the tract and subdivided the rest of the grounds – bounded by the Ashley River to the west, Third Avenue and Gordon streets to the north, Twelfth Avenue to the east, and Hampton Park and Grove Street to the south – into uniform two-acre blocks. The marshy ground hampered development, as construction did not really take off until the 1920s. Aerial photographs indicate that the subdivision was still mostly open land as late as the mid-1930s, when brick Colonial Revival houses began to go up on the lots.
The Park Corinne Jones is sometimes called Hester Park due to the street it is located on. According to an August 1960 article in The Courier, the park on Hester Street was opened in January 1961 as an all white playground. It was the sixth all white playground in Charleston while there were five African American playgrounds. Given the Jim Crow Era laws at the time, it would have been a segregated playground until the mid to late 1960s.
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Corinne Jones Corinne Jones was the City Superintendent of Playgrounds and was heavily involved in community activities from 1933 until 1957. She established the first organized baseball and basketball leagues in Charleston, believing that “every child should be doing something every day.� She was made a member of the Hall of Fame for Charleston Women in 1957, and in 1961 the park was named in her honor.
Today... Today the park is a hub of activity for the children of Wagener Terrace and their families. The park renovation has made it a destination park for other neighborhoods as well. More activity takes place there, including an increase in the use of the other features of the park (the tennis and basketball courts and the soccer field). The shading structure is a great addition serving as an icon for the park while being integrated into the fabric of the playground because of its dynamic design.
Community Involvement
Park Fundraiser The Wagener Terrace Neighborhood put together a fundraiser to raise money for the new playground equipment. Studio V helped with the setup and clean-up of the park, as well as with scooping a few snow cones throughout the day.
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Playground Equipment Build Days In addition to Studio V’s contribution to the park, Corinne Jones underwent a major renovation, including all new playground equipment and landscaping. We volunteered with the Charleston Parks Department and Wagener Terrace Neighborhood Association to construct the new equipment and embraced the opportunity to share our ideas for the park and receive feedback from the community.
October 22, 2011
Site Information & Analysis
Master Plan The Charleston Parks Department created the new master plan for Corinne Jones Park, designating the strip between the new sidewalk and tennis courts for our structure.
Charleston, South Carolina 14
Aerial views of Corinne Jones Park
Circulation This circulation diagram shows that the main entrances are on the East and West sides of the park because that is where most of parking occurs. There is a secondary entrance on the North side that is used by a lot of people walking to the park. The design focuses on celebrating this entrance as a main pedestrian entrance for families in the neighborhood and the circulation path along it that leads to the central node of the park where the basketball courts, tennis courts, and playground meet.
Primary Entrance Secondary Entrance Primary Circulation Secondary Circulation Parking
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Site Usage The usage diagram to the right shows the distribution of people in the park throughout the day. The nodes of activity overlap and illustrate the variety of location of uses throughout the site. The diagram below breaks down the percentage of users in the five main areas of the park. The field is used the most while the playground is least utilized by the community. We determined that the renovation needed to be an icon to draw people to the playground and become the center of activity.
Field Basketball-Full Court Tennis Courts Basketball-Half Court Playground
Site Proposals Analyzing the site led to the following four different proposals for the location(s) of the new shading structure:
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Proposal 1 (chosen proposal)
Proposal 2
The area between the tennis courts and playground to provide seating for both venues, as the tennis courts are also part of the renovation.
Creating two separate structures between the playground and tennis courts where one serves solely the tennis courts and the other caters only to the playground.
Proposal 3
Proposal 4
Two structures located in the center of the site that serve all four major areas: (1&4) the two playground areas, (2) the tennis courts, and (3) the basketball courts.
Two structures on the new sidewalk: one near the secondary entrance serving the tennis courts and playground, and another as a buffer to Marlow Drive on the West side.
Construction Documents
Master Planning Phase 1, the northern wall, was built during the semester, with plans for the southern part, Phase 2, to be completed by the City at a later date as the time frame for the removal of the half basketball court did not fit into our schedule for the semester. Phase 1 was designed to provide seating for parents to overlook the playground while Phase 2 was the original part designed to function as a buffer between the toddler playground and basketball court. 20
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Plan The segmented concrete wall curves around the existing sidewalk, providing seating overlooking the playground and tennis courts. Ten wooden trusses are inserted between key blocks to create the shading and benches. The steel 2” x 2” louvers are tabbed and twisted 90˚ prior to being attached to the beam structure to create a unique twisted shading pattern above the poured concrete blocks and benches. There is a plan for the Charleston Parks Conservancy to plant a small berm along the eastern side of the wall.
Wall Details The 4’ wide blocks and trusses continually change across the entire curving wall. The first block is 9” tall, and each successive block grows 3”, until the tallest block is 39” tall. Then they begin to decrease by 3” in the remaining blocks. The front face of the blocks starts out projecting forward at the top and cantilevering out. Each 5’ then loses 1” in depth at the top while the bottom kicks out block 1” so that the blocks have a scissoring effect when next to each other and the benches fall on blocks that lean back. At the tallest block, they start to reverse the scissoring effect. The back face of the blocks remains perpendicular to the ground in every block.
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A
B
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B
B C
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Truss Details The trusses also change in relation to the blocks. They grow 3� taller at each block, and the beams are also 3� longer. The angle of each truss is dependent on the lower block it is adjacent to, and is the same angle as the front face of that block. The tallest block doesn’t have a truss in its section because the truss is dependent on the lower blocks to both its sides.
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B C
C E D
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Materials Meranti: A tropical hardwood similar to Mahogany that has a lifespan of about 25 years
White Cap Construction Supply Liberty Cedar
Poured Concrete: Suitable and durable for the playground site Rebar: Reinforcing the concrete blocks that form the wall
Keystone Concrete
Corinne Jones Park Woodshop
8 mi.
6 mi.
4 mi.
2 mi.
1 mi.
Hughes Lumber
Steel Angle: 2”x2” louvers tie the structure together and provide shading
CAC.C
Buck Lumber
All of the materials were locally sourced from companies in and around Charleston.
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Lowe’s 0
2 mi
1160 linear feet of rebar
640 square feet of melamine
24 cubic yards of concrete
443 board feet of Meranti
1020 pounds of steel angle
1160 linear feet of rebar
20 sheets of melamine
24 cubic yards of concrete
443 board feet of Meranti
1020 pounds of steel angle
27 days of c
Amount (cu. yd.;lf)
Cost per
Adjusted Quantity
Total
Tax (8.5%)
5.22
87.5
5.5
481.25
40.91
2 tons/100ft3
70/ton
Concrete Pour 1 Rebar #5 Chairs (rubble)
5 148
84 9.8
6.5 8
564.2
Concrete Pour 2 Concrete Pour 3 Rebar #4
5.28 5.39 952.2
87.5 87.5 6.5
5.5 5.5 50
481.25 481.25
Concrete Stepping Stones Concrete Pour 4 Gravel Foundation
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Wall
Materials & Budget Breakdown
Rebar Total Formwork Melamine 2x3 and 2x6 Shading Structure 2x6 Meranti 2x4 Meranti 2x4 Meranti (Benches) Total Meranti Metal 2x2 Metal 1.5x1.5 Hardware Ceramic Screws Finishes Sealer Extras Miscellaneous Steel Galvanization Vibrator Mock Up Total Steel Edging
40.91 40.91
460 18
10 60
180 150.53
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1746.86 860 18.3
148.48
4.43 2.75 2.75 156 louvers 16
21.5 18.3
360
105.99
40 1
252.6
75 30 131.55
1020 lbs
Donation 108 883 200
54/day
6991.19 Total:
538.81 $7,530.00
Full Scale Mock-Up Studio V constructed a full scale mock-up in the yard of the woodshop to test the formwork and bracing, durability of the trusses, shading capabilities and structural strength of the design. The foundation was dug and leveled, the rebar cut, bent, and set in place, and the concrete was mixed and poured. While the concrete cured, the formwork was built for one full block and a half block on either side so that two trusses could slide in.
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October 24-31, 2011
The mock-up was our first experience with using concrete and how to treat it to release from the forms while keeping a smooth finish. It was also a test of how to get the keyways parallel without them shifting due to the force of the concrete against them, while also ensuring that they would remove cleanly once the concrete set for the trusses to slide in.
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We also tested the process for cutting, twisting, and tabbing the steel louvers to figure out their durability and shading capabilities, along with how best to fasten them to the trusses. Once completed, Studio V took part in a review of the mock-up and construction documents with City of Charleston officials and structural engineer John Moore who gave us some suggestions on how to brace the forms better, how to more strategically place the rebar, and how to fasten the trusses together. Overall, he was impressed with the joinery techniques and strength of the trusses, and the unique idea of the keyways that the trusses slide into.
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Construction Process
We broke ground on November 2 by laying out the curved form of the wall. For the next four weeks, work continued everyday (including and especially weekends) from 8am until the sun set at the park, and then back at the woodshop for fabrication until midnight or later. The construction schedule was kept on a whiteboard at the shop, ensuring that the structure would be completed on time.
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Site Layout A series of radius points, strings, and measurements worked to layout the complex curved geometry of the wall. This crucial step determined the precise location and orientation of the wall, and was laid out several times until it fit with the designed plan and curve of the new sidewalk.
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November 2, 2011
Foundation Preparations The City of Charleston brought in a backhoe to start digging the 8� deep foundation for the wall. After most of the dirt was cleared, the ground had to be leveled using a transit and the curve re-measured and compacted.
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November 5, 2011
Rebar and Formwork We used 1/4” plywood to create the curved formwork for the concrete foundation. We also started preparing the formwork for the pavers that would be in a subsequent concrete pour. Placing the rebar was very important in the structure of the wall. Two parallel lengths ran along the curve over the distance of the wall in the foundation, while ‘U’ shaped pieces were measured, cut and bent. Four of the bent pieces run vertically through each wall segment. This was done very precisely because the rebar needed to be 3” in from the faces of each block.
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November 6, 2011
Concrete Foundation Pour
The first concrete pour consisted of a total of 5 cubic yards in order to fill the foundation. Due to the formwork bowing out and the fact that the pour was onto soft ground, the first Keystone Concrete truck was about 1/2 cubic yard short of filling the formwork. Another truck arrived with the remainder of the concrete and we finished leveling and troweling the surface, being careful not to displace the rebar.
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November 7, 2011
Wall Formwork
While the concrete in the foundation set, we went back to work at the shop on building the formwork for all 19 wall segments out of melamine, a coated particle board that would leave a smooth finish on the concrete. The melamine was reinforced and braced with several 2x4s to prevent the blocks from misshaping under the pressure of the concrete.
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November 8-9, 2011
The formwork for the blocks was complicated and required a lot of adjustments to get the angles correct on the front faces while making sure the trusses were parallel on adjacent sides of neighboring blocks. We also lined up the blocks in the shop yard to make sure they worked together in sequence. In addition to working at the shop, we had to add the rest of the rebar to the ones already in the foundation. More ‘U’ bent rebar was secured upside down on to the verticals coming up from the foundation and horizontal pieces were added to span the blocks at the top, as well as through the midpoints of the tallest blocks.
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November 10-12, 2011
Setting & Bracing the Formwork Setting the formwork on site was one of the most difficult tasks for Studio V. It took four trips with three trucks to even get the extremely heavy forms on site. They had to be lifted up and over the rebar onto the foundation. Once all of them were roughly placed, they had to be correctly angled and the space between them measured and consistent. A 1 3/4” space between the blocks meant that with a 3/4” sheet of melamine on each side, there needed to be only a 1/4” gap between the forms. This crucial measurement was the key to keeping the keyways, and trusses, parallel. Several forms were taken back to the shop for adjustments when the sides weren’t parallel. We also added plexiglass letters to two of the forms so serve as signage for the park.
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November 13, 2011
Bracing the formwork was more involved than we realized, none of us ever working with concrete before. As we were placing the forms, a retired concrete contractor named Steve Gross happened to drive by and observe us insufficiently bracing the forms. He stopped and offered his expertise in the field, helping us brace the forms properly with extra 2x4s in a triangular shape to ensure they wouldn’t bow out from the pressure of the concrete. Steve also instructed us on bracing the forms for the pavers, half of which were also included in the wall pours. He offered to come back and help us with the concrete pours, and was a vital resource throughout the process.
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Wall Pour 1
The wall was poured in two sections, with the first nine segments of the wall in the first pour and the remaining ten blocks and half of the pavers in the second pour. A total of 11 cubic yards of concrete make up the wall.
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November 14, 2011
Beginning the Truss Construction
While the concrete set in the wall segments, we worked back at the shop making jigs and cutting, sanding, routing and planing the meranti into ten trusses.
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November 15, 2011
Wall Pour 2
During each pour we worked nonstop moving shovels of concrete around and leveling and troweling the concrete. After several long days of laboring, we were all getting worn out. In order to get a really smooth finish on the tops of the blocks, they needed to start to set up a little, and we took that time for a friendly game of basketball and a little break. During the second pour, the cloudy weather made the set up process slower, so we worked past dark and pulled up our cars to shine headlights on our work. The pavers were edged and given a broom finish which yielded a textured surface that is less slippery to walk on.
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November 16, 2011
Removing Formwork
We were excited to remove the formwork from the blocks and reveal all our hard work. The melamine on the front and back faces of each block released from the concrete easily, but the rain from the previous night caused the particle board in the melamine to swell, making it difficult to remove the formwork between the blocks. We used jacks and pry bars to remove the stubborn formwork.
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November 17-18, 2011
The formwork was stuck more than we anticipated, and we had to result to some creative techniques to remove the remaining pieces. We employed the use of a two-handled lumberjack saw, wedges, levers and sledgehammers, and finally a chainsaw for the last two stubborn forms.
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Building the Trusses
Everyone took part in creating the trusses because there were several steps to complete: sanding the columns and beams, organizing the pieces, routing the half lap joints, using epoxy to glue the pieces together, pre-drilling and countersinking the screws, and cutting bungs to plug the screw holes.
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November 18-19, 2011
Placing theTrusses
Once the trusses were on site, we rubbed the meranti down with a tropical hardwood sealer to protect it and slid the trusses down into the keyways. A few adjustments were made to make them fit better, and plastic blocks were cut for them to sit on so they would be protected from the moisture and not sit directly on top of the concrete.
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November 20, 2011
Cutting the Steel Louvers
Once the trusses were in place, we took the measurements for each of the 157 louvers, one of the last major parts of the structure to be completed. We cut, labeled, twisted, tabbed and drilled each one in a big Studio V assembly line. We completed the task in one day, something we thought would take several days. We needed the efficiency because the steel had to go to a galvanizer in the next few days before Thanksgiving and had to fit perfectly before leaving the shop. We tested the fit of the first bay of louvers to ensure our system would work and fit correctly and continued cutting the louvers.
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November 21, 2011
Fitting the Steel Louvers
We tested the fit of all of the louvers because once they were galvanized they could not be re-cut. The cut edges of the steel would become exposed and vulnerable to rusting. This also gave us our first look at what the completed structure would look like.
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November 22, 2011
Preparing for the Pavers
We picked back up with construction after Thanksgiving break with clearing the area leading up to the sidewalk for the rest of the pavers. We also removed all the trusses to prepare for sealing and bag finishing the concrete. This was also our only construction day that got rained out and cut short.
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November 28, 2011
Formwork and Finishing the Concrete
We built the formwork for the remaining pavers and made sure they were level and met the sidewalk appropriately. We also bag finished the faces of the blocks. The bag finish was a process rubbing on a mixture of portland cement and sand with a piece of burlap to fill in some of the bubbles in the concrete.
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November 29, 2011
Pouring the Pavers
The remaining pavers were the final concrete pour of the project. 5.5 cubic yards were poured in the forms leading to the sidewalk. We leveled and edged them quickly because they started to set faster than the previous pours due to the sunny weather and large surface areas of each paver. They received the same broom finish as the others.
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November 30, 2011
Laying the Gravel
The gravel we chose was a recycled tumbled glass from Fisher Recycling. Its dynamic shine really balanced with the steel louvers and created an interesting texture on the ground. However, it was later replaced by a sand and crushed shell mixture because the glass would not compact enough and loose pieces were getting on top of the pavers, creating a risk for people slipping.
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December 2, 2011
Installing the Louvers & Bench Slats
On our last day of construction, Studio V installed all of the steel louvers and bench slats. The previous day we picked up the steel from the galvanizers. Half of us pre-drilled and hand-tightened all of the bolts for the louvers while the other half cut the bench slats to the correct angles and spaced them accordingly. The steel supporting the bench slats was also galvanized with the rest of the louvers.
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December 3, 2011
Final Review
We had a great turn out of people at our final review, including professors, architects, urban planners and people from the City of Charleston. They were all amazed at the project, and Jacob Lindsey, a professor at the CAC.C and head of Fabric Urban Design Office said “it is the best design build project [he’s] seen.” All of our hard work over the past semester was definitely worth it, and our project is only the second permanent design build installation that Studio V has ever done.
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December 5, 2011
Completed Structure & Details
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The wooden trusses are made of Meranti, a tropical hardwood that is dense and durable. They slide into keyways created in the concrete formwork.
The beams of the trusses are attached to the columns with a lap joint- the 2 x 6s are notched out to receive the beam. They are joined with epoxy and countersunk screws.
The benches are connected to the columns with the same technique as the upper beams, and have a half-lap joint at the tips. Steel angle supports the bench slats.
The steel louvers are galvanized 2 x 2 angle that was twisted and tabbed to lap over the wood. They are screwed into pre-drilled holes on top of the beams.
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Special Thanks Studio V would like to thank the following for their contributions to the project: The Charleston Parks Conservancy and Executive Director Jim Martin Charleston Department of Parks and Senior Project Manager Matt Compton Structural Engineer John Moore The Wagener Terrace Neighborhood Association and President Fran Clasby Industrial Galvanizers of Columbia Director Ray Huff and the CAC.C faculty and staff
After
Before 84
After
Before
This book covers the Corinne Jones Playground renovation by Studio V from September-December 2011. This shading and seating structure in the Wagener Terrace neighborhood was part of the overall renovation of the park by the Charleston Department of Parks and the Charleston Parks Conservancy.