recreation centers of the future · intelligence greets the member by name, noting his history, and...
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From the — Fall 2019Email: [email protected]
What does the recreation center of the future
look like? In 2005, Athletic Business magazine envisioned a scenario of a man walking into a recreation center, the door opens automatically after a scanner detects the chip implanted in his body, and a robot with artificial intelligence greets the member by name, noting his history, and escorting him to the locker room. The fictional Mr. Allen’s “smart” fitness clothes share workout feedback, music selections and email messages.
Nearly 15 years later, the magazine looked again through their time machine in an updated article with predictions from a wide-ranging field of contemporary architects. Author Paul Steinbach describes results that “span the familiar and the seemingly fantastical. Imagine yoga pants that vibrate to prompt proper technique, or robots that can serve as personal trainer, game referee and after-hours custodian. The [recreation] center of the future is one that may facilitate everything from virtual reality basket-ball to real live beekeeping, repre-
senting both a continued embrace of technology and, as one architect sees it, the inevitable tech backlash.”
ProgrammingAccording to the future-looking archi-tects, today’s emphasis on individual wellness will still be tomorrow’s news. “We are seeing an increase in smart buildings and smart technologies throughout the design industry,” says Sasaki associate Emily Parris. “The recreation center, as a key support for individual wellness, should continue to customize and adapt to the behav-iors and use patterns of individuals by using the latest smart technologies. Data gathered from smart buildings can inform decisions around tempera-ture control, lighting and acoustics to enhance comfort and capture energy savings. Additionally, collecting user input and traffic patterns through integrated systems can help to inform facility programming, ultimately in-creasing efficiency and accessibility for participants.”
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Recreation Centersof the FutureEdited by John Rainey
Says Sasaki’s Parris, “In response to an increasing need for mindfulness and stress management, I anticipate we will see a focus on environmental wellness. Programming for activities and spaces that allow people to interact with na-ture in sustainable ways — such as or-ganic gardening, composting programs,
and maybe even beekeeping — can relieve individual stress and contribute positively to our communities.”
As Colleen McKenna, a principal at CannonDesign sees it, “exercise as medicine” will be more than just a slo-gan, it will be the key to longevity for future generations, just as it has been for Baby Boomers. “This age group, and the generations to follow, are stay-ing active and exercising later in life,” she says. “This new reality will span a
variety of new, hybrid activities focused on both mental and physical wellness. It will continue to put extraordinary pressure and demand on recreation facilities to accommodate multigenera-tional populations determined to keep moving.”
Virtual RealitySome designers have suggested a future similar to the novel (and movie) “Ready Player One,” in which activity in the year 2044 incorporates haptic technology — that is, simulated sense of touch. “The buildings we are design-ing and constructing now will be only 28 years old in 2044 and should still be in great shape and flexible enough to be reconfigured to meet the future
demands of recreation,” says Eric Koch-er, a principal at Hastings+Chivetta. “Imagine a future in which recreation centers are warehouses of haptic rigs — spheres — with all participants play-ing basketball, racquetball and soccer, fencing and perhaps even swimming and diving together.
“You can imagine almost every activity in your existing recreation center as an avatar experience. Even the simple act of running on a treadmill could instead be experienced as a run through the woods of Germany or along a beach in Hawaii. (See GreenPlay’s Article on Virtual Reality) Of course, today’s VR equipment remains heavy and clunky and cannot track real objects like a
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From the — Fall 2019Email: [email protected]
From the — Fall 2019Email: [email protected]
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basketball. But who knows in the rec-reation center of the future?” Accord-ing to McKenna, “We’re going to see fitness classes taught in virtual reality and other online programming oppor-tunities skyrocket in the next 10 years,” she predicts.
Design FlexibilityEmerging material technologies also give rec center designers more building options than in the past. For instance, Nathan Harris of RDG points to ETFE
(ethylene tetrafluoroethylene), the lightweight alternative to glass that has been popping up in profession-al sports venues, such as U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. “This plastic material transmits light like glass, but at just 1 percent of the weight,” he says. “Use of this material will allow for maximum natural daylighting and provide column-free spaces that offer complete flexibility. Northern climate wellness centers will replicate outdoor environments with natural settings.
They will become indoor parks for use year-round.” Traditional sports activi-ties, too, will benefit from technically advanced building concepts, according to Harris. “Implementing the use of glass gym floors with LED court strip-ing provides quick changeover from basketball to volleyball or pickleball,” he says. “Installing synthetic turf fields made of fiber optic light will provide quick turnover from a soccer field to a lacrosse field.”
“We are looking at smaller-scale lifestyle integration,” says Tracy Coker, associate principal at Dewberry. “The current thinking around lifestyle envi-ronments is mostly limited to shopping and restaurants; they are not being created around wellness. We are think-ing about how to build a community around recreation and wellness. These need to be highly connected experienc-es that are curated for each individual. Your in-between time can be geared toward wellness at multiple times and places — however it can fit into your life. When it is easy to integrate wellness into the little bit of time you have in the day, your ability to make incremental changes to your lifestyle improves holistic wellness.”
As for the fictional Mr. Allen from 2005 and his recreation center experience involving implanted chips, robotic escorts and communicative clothing? “Interestingly enough, almost all of
these predictions now exist in some fashion,” says Harris of RDG, the firm that authored the 2005 article in AB. “Not all have been adapted by campus or community recreation centers, but the fact that all these predictions have advanced from concepts to reality is exciting. It also means aim high with your ambitions of what could one day be the norm.”
Recreation center designers continue to re-envision the state of the art in terms of form and function, with no end in sight. This is especially true within the collegiate recreation space, but the result is far-reaching. Once considered innovative programming at the community rec level, amenities such as climbing areas, cycling studios and boxing gyms are making way for a diverse new palette that can include “Black Box” theaters, artist-in-resi-dence galleries and studios, internet radio stations, recording and film-edit-ing studios, culinary kitchens and giant all-inclusive playgrounds. An increas-ing number of recreation centers are sharing footprint space with other civic interests — from community service departments to libraries.
“Officials at recreation departments and libraries often are inadver-tent adversaries when it comes to non-physical-activity programming for
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children and teens — think afterschool opportunities, computer classes and maker spaces,” says Springs. “Rather than creating a dividing line, why not combine both entities under one roof and save on building, maintenance and operations costs?” Many libraries are embracing health and fitness programs as concomitant services. (see GreenPlay article on this topic)
Emerging Technologies
Numerous industry publications and the National Recreation and Park Associ-ation (NRPA) have recent articles on emerging technologies affecting parks and recreation. In the July 2019 issue of Athletic Business, Stephen Springs discussed several areas of technology that are coming into usage at recreation centers around the country. Click here to read the full article.
Technology has become a “ubiquitous term often describing wearable devices, health apps, facility management soft-ware and remote instruction.”
Recently, the concept of on-demand fitness classes has taken hold at some recreation centers, too, in an effort to help facilities maximize available space by hosting full classes.
But some truly revolutionary tech-nology is leading the industry into uncharted territory — especially when designing a new facility or renovating an existing one. For example, LED-illu-minated sports flooring projects line markings for basketball, volleyball, badminton and other activities on a
patented Builttough glass surface. User identification badges embedded with specific access-control credentials also can be monitored by optical turnstiles. Such developments should be altering the way we think about facility design going forward.
One of the most popular technology trends involves making room for more activities and user groups in the form of rooms dedicated to esports. A forth-coming $20 million renovation to the Westerville (Ohio) Community Center
will include a large space dedicated to competitive video-gaming — a trend already transforming college and uni-versity campuses around the country and now trickling down to municipal facilities. “We’re not following fads. We’re looking for trends,” Randy Auler, Westerville’s parks and recreation direc-tor, told The Columbus Dispatch. Rich Dolesh, vice president for strategic ini-tiatives at the NRPA, added in the same article that esports are a perfect way to bring young people and their “enthusi-asm and energy into the center, where they’ll be exposed to other things.”
In fact, NRPA predicts that several park and recreation agencies will sponsor esports tournaments in 2019, combin-ing digital gaming with supplemental events and physical activity challenges. You may also want to read this article on esports.
The following are more ways in which recreation centers and related organiza-tions are leveraging emerging technol-ogy to enhance not only their facilities, but also their programming and general operations.
Digital check-ins – Membership cards and key fobs are quickly becoming relics of the past. Smartphone apps that allow users to check themselves in via scan, or other digital platforms that automate guest registration, print user passes and notify employees of specific arrivals, are helping facilities free up front-desk space and increase productivity.
Tech education programs – RecTech, a leading community resources program that is part of a partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, offers “effec-tive technology-driven programs [that provide] education, recreation, and community development services for children, families and neighborhoods,” by providing technology access, train-
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ing and opportunities for personal and career development in under served neighborhoods. The program includes youth development services, work-force training and adult digital literacy training.
Similarly, public recreation centers are adding studios for digital recording and video editing, as well as allocating areas for “maker spaces” — teen tech centers, where young people can learn graphic design skills, 3D animation, robotics, video game development and music production. All are terrific ways to provide effective use of space while encouraging members of the communi-ty to engage with technology in produc-tive ways.
Interactive digital displays – Several companies offer opportunities to easily create and manage interactive gaming
and educational displays. They include Lumo Play, TouchMagix, FX Game Zone, BEAM and Exergame Fitness Solutions, and they each offer diverse options for providing creative, energetic and engaging physical activity — especially for kids.
People-counting technology – By combining powerful sensors with the latest depth data and computer vision, tech companies are developing new ways to accurately and anonymously count people in a variety of facility types. There are many benefits to measuring flow and density. Beacon counters are simple, relatively inexpensive, bluetooth-enabled
devices that can be mounted in a variety of locations — interior and exterior — that detect a person’s presence through their cell phone signal and relays that information to a central location.
While not endorsing or recommend-ing specific implementation of these emerging technologies, it’s important for facility operators to be aware of their options as they strive to maximize space, optimize programming and ex-pand their user base.
GreenPlay LLC Can Help.
The best way to determine what your community needs usually is to do a Needs Assessment and/or a Feasibility Study or some other form of custom-ized analysis.
From the — Spring 2019Email: [email protected]
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References:
BOOKS AND ARTICLES:Athletic Business Magazine: Architects Envision the Rec Center of the Future, by Paul Steinbach, September 2019https://www.athleticbusiness.com/rec-center/architects-envision-the-rec-center-of-the-future.html
Athletic Business Magazine: Emerging Rec Center Technology: What Should Be on Your Radar? by Stephen Springs, July 2019https://www.athleticbusiness.com/rec-center/emerging-rec-center-technology-what-should-be-on-your-radar.html
Ready Player One: A Novel, by Ernest Cline. ©2011
RECREATION CENTER DESIGN FIRMS REFERENCED IN THIS ARTICLE:http://www.sasaki.comhttps://www.cannondesign.comhttps://www.hastingschivetta.comhttps://rdgusa.comhttp://www.dewberry.comhttp://brsarch.com
ONLINE RESOURCES:https://greenplayllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AR-VR-Edited-F2.pdfhttps://greenplayllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Libraries-PR-Article-FINAL-1.pdfhttps://www.fitnessondemand247.com/studio/https://www.designboom.com/technology/led-illuminated-glass-sports-flooring-by-asb/https://asbsquash.com/products/glass-floor/https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/university/5-campuses-effective-school-security/https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2019/january/top-trends-inparks-and-recreation-for-2019/https://arcseattle.org/RecTechhttps://lumointeractive.com/http://www.touchmagix.com/interactive-floor-interactive-wall-playhttps://fxgamezone.com/https://joinbeam.com/https://www.exergamefitness.com/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xoYSLHe-Tghttps://www.density.io/