Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/11/2018

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Scope of Work Statement of Intent: To unify the city of Ramsey by designing an attractive, "self -promoting" community center We hope to create a concept that first draws people in, using contextually -informed circulation and an elegant but unpretentious/inviting aesthetic, and then allow them to mold their own ideal community center expenence usmg flexible, `Ramsey -specific" prograssung and fundamentally pleasant interior spaces. Our goal is to build a community center in Ramsey, creating a centralized land- mark that unites the community and filters into flexible program -driven spaces Our goal is to build a landmark community center that facilitates To unify the COR through a visually inviting community center that facilitates intersection To create a community center concept that is attractive and visually inviting. To unify the city of Ramsey by creating an attractive, inviting building that utihzes flexible progra sung and caters specifically to Ramsey's citizens and the community at large Introduction: The city of Ramsey is located about 25 mules NNW of Minneapolis. It is a part of Anoka County, and borders the Mississippi River on its Southern edge. The city had a population of 23,688 m the 2010 Census. It occupies roughly 30 square stiles. This project's arm is to design a centralized community center for Ramsey m a part of the Resilient Communities Project. In doing this, our group's specific focus will be to build community via the use of flexible, sense-ble programming While it is currently a small, senu-suburban town, Ramsey is growing steadily, and in budding tins community center, the city hopes to become actively involved in that growth, rather than trying to accommodate it after the fact. Objectives: Context "Utilize input from multiple stakeholders to create a composite vision for the future of Ramsey and the community center" While civil servants can defimtely provide valuable feedback, it's important to rounder that m the same way our vision as designers may not always align with the vision of the chest, the vision of one chest may not necessarily align with the vision of the stakeholders as a whole To address tins, we'd like to be certain that we get input from as many stakeholders as possible Create activity -based programming that caters specifically to Ramsey's citizens - both current and future Recent demographic data shows that nearly 50% of Ramsey's current popula- tion will be over the age of 45 m 10 years As such, it right be wise to develop programming for elderly people, or those in retirement. Alternatively, perhaps Ramsey's residents would like the City to reinvent itself as a desirable place to raise a family, or a nesting area for young professionals. With both in mmd, it will be important to design amenities that are attractive to Ramsey's current and possible future residents. Prioritize physical access to the community center using public transit and the emerging COR greemvay A major part of modernizing the City of Ramsey and preparing for future growth will be integrating public transit into the infrastructure planned for the city. Making the community center more accessible for people who don't want to or are unable to drive (tins sector may be larger due to the growing population of elderly) is sure to increase traffic to the community center in the long run. Develop an aesthetic that fasters a sense of community identi- ty through a focus on features that are "native" to the City of Ramsey Rapid growth can transform the "identity" of a city in positive or negative ways Tins project will focus on emphasizing sources of community pnde, such as utilizing work from local artists Also, using the communication with stakeholders mentioned above, other ideas will be identified and incorporated where possible Constraints: Striking a balance between our - as designers - for the community center and the vision(s) of Ramsey 'stakeholders The first half of the semester presented a major challenge in terms of interpret- ing the feedback we got from Mark (who was the only stakeholder we communicated with) into something that respects his concerns but also incor- porates the elements that we, as designers, trunk are essential for the communi-ty center. Working within the physical and financial confines of a publicly funded project Financial limitations are especially important to consider in a community-fund- proh ect The extent to which the center benefits the community could be hrut- ed by overuse or misuse of funds which (presumably) come from taxpayers in that community. Additionally, there may be issues regarding the expectations of the city m terms of the community center's designated site, physical size/square footage, and aesthetics. Co flicts resulting from working in close collaboration with outside entities Tins constraint refers specifically to the possibthty that a partnership with a pnvate entity, such as a gym, will occur, which would provide more potential for contention 38