Leisure Facility Proposal - Case Study Example

Leisure Facility Proposal April Table of Contents Design proposal 3 Aims and objectives 7 Aims 7 Objectives 8 Programmes offered 9 Legal issues 10 Performance indicators 12 Bibliography 13 As the newly appointed leisure and recreation facilities development consultant, my findings are given in this report. The Central Library space in Chamberlain Square is placed in an area full of history. While the Brutalist architecture might be out of style, the building could be turned into a modern leisure and recreational facility. The £250 million pounds allotted to this project if used wisely will help turn the Central Library into a modern leisure and recreational facility. Design proposal There are many indoor sports venues in Birmingham. The one proposed will have an indoor ice skating ring and a gym which will be included in this proposal. The current building’s condition must be taken into consideration, as well as the sports that will be undertaken. The Central Library has an atrium that allows light into the building. Two options are viable for the atrium level. The atrium could remain open allowing natural light to flow in. However, as the Central Library found, natural light can harm and fade objects (Clawley 2011). Anything the natural light touched would eventually fade. Architectural improvements, like a dome on top of the atrium would minimize this effect while allowing natural light in. The second option would be to add more space by flooring over the atrium. There are seven levels and an underground garage (Clawley 2011). If the top five floors were extended, an added amount of space could be achieved by covering the atrium. The ground level and 1st floors could remain open. An ice skating ring would be placed on the ground level. This would allow an observation deck on the 1st level to watch the ice skaters. The ice skate ring needs to be put on the ground level due to the weight of the ice. The ground level was chosen because originally pools and waterfalls were meant to be on this level (Crawley 2011). Pools and waterfalls are water weight, so the floor must have been reinforced. It is also an ideal location due to the observation from the 1st floor. The underground garage would still be an underground garage. The need for parking space would still be a essential. People coming to the Leisure Centre would require parking. It would be more convenient to keep the current parking spaces for the new Leisure Centre. The 1st and 2nd levels would be made up of locker rooms, refreshments, and other various kiosks. The 1st floor would have the refreshments and kiosks. Customers that had just worked out could watch the ice skaters, or mothers could have a beverage while watching their children. The 2nd floor would have the locker rooms. This is practical as well as necessary since the toilets of the Central Library are currently on the 2nd floor (Birmingham Central Library). Showers and toilets could be installed more efficiently on the 2nd floor. The 3rd floor would be the regular weight lifting gym. Weights, barbells, and other weight machines would be offered on the 3rd floor. The 4th floor would be a cardio floor with independent and instructor led activities. Treadmills, jump ropes, and other cardio activities would be offered on the 4th floor. The 5th floor would be a child friendly floor. Activities for children would be here. A day care facility would be open for mums and dads. Gym related activities would be available as well. On the 6th floor racquetball courts would be offered. A track would be available on the outside of the racquetball rooms. The racquetball rooms would be heavy duty glass rooms in the middle. The activities and services that are being planned can all be justified. An ice skating ring built on a ground level that could support pools and water is an opportunity that cannot be passed up. The customers need a place to park, so the parking garage is also obligatory. When individuals work out, they get thirsty, need showers, and need a place to put their things. The 1st and 2nd floor locker rooms fill the need for showers and places to securely place their items. Vendors, stores, and other shops will help thirst or hunger. A gym is not complete without weightlifting. This is provided on the 3rd floor. People that do not want muscle but want to lose weight need a place to go. That is the 4th floor. The 5th floor will have a childcare and child activities. This helps mums and dads work out while the tots are enjoying themselves. The 6th floor racquetball courts and track are for those pairs that want to compete against each other. My proposed area is to give the people of Birmingham a modern leisure facility. Aims and objectives Four aims for this project are modernising the Central Library, making the changes within budget, finishing on time, and making the building into a leisure centre. Three objectives are flexibility, communication, and community feedback. All of these things will help enhance and complete this project. Aims Modernising the Central Library is one of the hardest aims. Alexander Clement (2011:35) describes the Central Library as “a forceful structure, pressing its terraced profile against the sky like an inverted pyramid or a giant tack of books.” The architecture of the building is brutalist. This type of architecture could be the biggest benefit as well as liability. The large top floor can serve as the racquetball and track area. The atrium can be covered on floors 3rd through 7th floor. I would not change the outer design, but work with it. The sharp box look could be replaced with tiles that slant downward from the edge of one level to the top of the lower level. It would create a modern twist from a brutalist design. Old buildings can be renovated and made modern, while retaining some of their original elements. The parts of the building that are cracking and failing will need to be replaced. A new exterior paint, tile, or other material might also be considered. Changes as the budget allows is the second change. Changing the original plan in the future is reality. If the budget cannot be met, or a change would be more cost effective then it must be done. The design proposal must be looked at as an outline of the project, not a permanent contract. The covering of the atrium, redoing the exterior paint/textile, and other changes can always come under review later. All of these changes will be up to the builder, contractors, and on site managers. Even the original architect, John Madin, had to forego some of the intended elements in the design (Gold 2007:124). Originally the outside was going to be marble, but due to cost concrete was used instead (Gold 2007:124). The outside has been used as a canvas before. Liam Kennedy (2004:81) states “Birmingham Central Library became a vast canvas to be covered with this luminous field of strongly coloured spray paint, of which there were over twenty colours including iridescent cooper, cobalt teal, burnt umber and fluorescent orange.” The outside does not have to be concrete grey, but colourful as well. Time is of essential importance. This project will have a time limit. Everything must be done to meet this deadline. This is second only to coming in under budget. A six month time limit should be sufficient. Making the Central Library into a leisure centre is the final aim. If the building is made more modern, the project comes in on time and is under budget, but the Central Library does not transform into a leisure centre the whole project was in vain. The most important aim is to transform the Central Library into a leisure centre. Objectives Flexibility is a necessity in any project. One example is the spiral staircases on the floors. Some would be in favour of keeping them. However, if it was not cost efficient, then staircases would go. Communication with all of the construction, architectural, and other workers are also necessary. If my construction manager is of the opinion the pool would not hold on the first floor, they would need to communicate that. Communications of the project and the goals need to be understood by everyone involved. Community feedback is necessary in order to create a place of leisure that the community wants to visit. Building a whole new leisure centre is to give the community a new asset, not to complete a dream of the builder or other worker. In an effort to reconcile some of the history different exhibits could be shown monthly. The Central Library used to hold a vast amount of drawings and other information (Ferguson 1994:83). These holdings could be borrowed from the new library in an effort to make the community feel more at ease with the building. Programmes offered Many programmes will be offered in this leisure centre. Many activities will be offered daily. Here is an example of day to day operation for 4th floor. Normal Hours 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM Morning Hours 6:00 AM until 9:00 AM Evening Hours 5:00 PM until 10:00 PM This schedule is based on the time. Different instructors could work different times. The work schedule would be determined weekly, not daily. The extended hours are to accommodate different daily lives of the Birmingham residents. Legal issues Legal obligations for health and safety and licensing must be taken under consideration. Health and safety issues that need to be addressed are the age of the building. Licensing for appropriate building permits and operating permits must be sought out. All of these implications must be taken into consideration before construction can be completed. The Central Library was built in the 1970’s (Clawley). Pieces of concrete, cracks in fixtures, and other wear and tear are obvious on the building. The structure must be brought up to date before the renovation goes forward. The project should be looked at as a whole, not just a regular renovation in a modern building. The renovation must take into account that the whole building needs to be renovated. Modern lights, heating and air vents, ceiling tiles all must be current. Bathrooms and other public facilities must be made up to date as well. Detailed plans must be provided to the Birmingham City Council for approval. The renovation plans must meet the Birmingham City Council approval for support. Before any construction can start or be done, these permits must be obtained. Upon approval the Birmingham City Council it is obligatory for construction inspection teams from the Birmingham City Council be informed. The Birmingham City Council (2012) law states: You have a legal obligation to inform us when work starts on-site and at each stage of construction. This is to ensure that the building work is monitored for compliance with the Building Regulations. Once work has finished on-site in accordance with the Building Regulations you will receive a Completion Certificate. The entire process will be monitored to ensure compliance with the Birmingham regulations. The final legal issue is universal planning. All of the floors must be accessible to wheelchairs and other handicap rules. The universal rule is the architect must plan for the middle 95% of the population. While it might seem unlikely that a man in a wheelchair would want to play racquetball, it is not impossible. Spectators and parents might also be handicapped, so everyone must have access. Performance indicators Performance indicators can be evaluated by input and output. The input could be community based. Questionnaires could be given in local businesses about the new leisure centre. Not everyone will answer a questionnaire, so inquires fielded by a communication office could suggest success or failure. Community feedback will let the project team know if they are succeeding or failing in their eyes. Output data would be communication between the builders, architect, and others. The result of this communication could be tracked. This would show if the project is on time, funded, and so forth. Elements of the project are output data that would help with the performance indicator. All of this output information would help understand the performance indicators. Efficiency performance indicators are time and budget. Another source of output data would be the time, budget, and other elements of the project coming together. If the time and budget are coming together, the project is going well. If the money or time is running short, the performance is poor. Effectiveness indicators are if the project construction can be feasible completed. Finally the effectiveness performance indicator is the availability of permits for the building. If the project is on time, within budget, and has permits, the performance indicator would be positive. The performance indicator would be negative if all of these elements did not come together. Bibliography Building Regulations. (2012). Birmingham City Council. Accessed on 18 April 2012 from http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite/buildingconsultancy?packedargs=website%3D4&rendermode=live Birmingham Central Library. (2012). Birmingham City Council. Accessed on 22 April 2012 from http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/centrallibrary Clawley, A. (2011). Back to the Modern. The Birmingham Press. Accessed on 18 April 2012 from http://thestirrer.thebirminghampress.com/Images/brumlib.pdf Clement, A. (2011). Brutalism: Post-War British Architecture. UK: Crowood Press. Ferguson, E.S. (1994). Engineering and the Mind’s Eye. US: MIT Press. Gold, J.R. (2007). The Practice of Modernism: Modern Architects and Urban Transformation, 1954-1972. London, UK: Routledge. Kennedy, L. (2004). Remaking Birmingham: The Visual Culture of Urban Regeneration. London, UK: Routledge. Read More