My form is starting to take shape in CAD. Here are my preliminary building sections. Both are cut thru the center of my building, top one looking at the seating area, bottom one looking toward the main entrance (lobby area). I have changed up my structure a bit, instead of being all concrete I left the top portion and outer edge concrete and switched to space frame the for the portion on the interior of my building. I think it will be more pleasing to the eye and seem less bulky. These sections also help show how the roof is going to be accessible for mountain bikes and such. The thick black areas are where I actually cut the building, lighter lines are beyond and really light line are far beyond. If you have any other questions leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.
Second floor is pretty basic. It consists of box seating above stadium seating and a walkway going around the curved sections of the track with leasable space in the 4 corners. I am planning on putting the fitness center in the North East corner of building and the rest of the spaces are available for other businesses. This will also provide a steady income for the facility to be able to better manage it and not rely solely on events and volunteers. The businesses would be self suffeciant with main entrances from the exterior walkway thus allowing it to be open to public during events. Also being apart of the building these businesses will gain exposure from spectators coming to the facility to train, for various types of events & to the cafe/restaurant on the lower level. The businesses will also help the facility gain exposure to those people coming to the businesses who know nothing about cycling. The businesses will also have views onto the track from within their space.
Overall First Floor Plan 85% complete. Areas I am still working on are Bike shop (which I am talking to some local shops to help write my space program and how much storage is needed.) and Daycare facility (I want to be able to use this space like a fitness center and it would be ideal to have a small facility for those coming to train to be able to bring their kids as well. Much like that of the YMCA facilities in the area.
The North West corner of my facility:
Main Office:
Accessible from the main lobby prior to security check
4 different sized meeting rooms (2 looking into the track, 2 looking outside) allow for all types of meeting to take place.
Interior glass walls from meeting rooms allow you to view current events that are going on and help show perspective clients what features the facility has without having to take on a walking tour.
Gift Shop:
Accessible from outside velodrome so accessible to general public when all type of events are going on.
Interior glass walls allow people to see the tracks from outside the facility peaking their interest and possibly exposing them to the sport of indoor track cycling or indoor inline speed skating.
Gift Shop main bulk storage will be in basement to help open up views to the track and create less hidden space.
The South West corner of my facility:
Bike Shop:
Not yet designed, getting valuable information from local bike shop to help create final space program for this area.
Showroom space for 4 cycling disciplines (track, road, cyclocross & mountain bike)
mechanics area
small storage area in back
Larger bulk storage area in basement to keep 1st floor more transparent to track area.
Interior glass walls allow people to see the tracks from outside the facility peaking their interest and possibly exposing them to the sport of indoor track cycling or indoor inline speed skating.
Coffee/Cafe:
Main entrance is from the exterior so space could still be used by the general public when events are going on.
For those early morning rides, coffee shops are a frequent stop for cyclist so I would want one within my facility.
It also attracts many other types of people on their morning commute which would help expose them to this area and the events going on inside.
The South East corner of my facility:
Restaurant:
Main entrance is from exterior so space could still be used by the general public when events are going on.
For those evening rides, bars (beer) is a common "recovery" drink for cyclists after a long ride. This allows space for those cyclist to get in out of the weather and recover. Or they can enjoy a sit down meal while watching an event going on in the velodrome.
It also attracts many other types of people on their evening commute which would help expose them to this area and the events going on inside.
Kitchen to be in basement area and food brought up via dumbwaiter, this helps open up the space for seating and glass walls to have view to the exterior as well as views to the cycling track. This also keeps all deliveries in the lower area away from the public eye.
The Concession Stand areas are under both ends of stadium seating, thus providing everything that end of spectators need. It also have emergency exits directly across from it so in case of evacuation there is a straight shot out of the facility
Main Entrances are at both the East and West End of the building. The West entrance is the primary entrance in that it is closest to the parking lot. Both entrances will have key card access for those training in the facility as well as security stations to help answer questions. Revolving doors also eliminate the need for vestibules in these areas.
Here is the main entrance to the facility off the parking lot. The revolving doors make it to where I don't need a vestibule with double sets of doors entering into the main facility. The main offices for the facility are directly off the lobby so there is no need for a vestibule there as well. The doors exiting the offices to the exterior are fire exits only. The offices consist of 2 main offices and 4 meeting/conference rooms various sized. Break room and men/women rest room also accompany the office area so they have everything the need close at hand and have no need to enter the facility for such things.
The gift shop's main entrance is from the exterior in case you don't have permission to enter the facility you can still visit the gift shop and look around. In doing so the gift shop required a vestibule to keep hot air out and cold air in.
The main lobby has a ticket counter/barrier bar system to keep track of who is using/entering the facility. The security desk will also be maned all day every day in case something is needed with this being not only an event center but also a training facility as well. This will be the main entrance the athletes will use during the day to use the facility, they can then use the stairs/elevator near gift shop to access the locker rooms in the basement.
On both sides under the seating area There are the main spectator restrooms and well as a large concession stand to serve the needs of that end (roughly 1,000 seats per side). I positioned the concession stand in the center and the restrooms on either side. Also the main entrances into the restrooms are on the far side, this way the concession line and the restroom line will not interfere with each other or the ramps going up to the seating area. In case of fire I have also located emergency exits directly off the seating so that it will be quicker to get people out of the building and to a safe area.
My name is Andrew Stevens and I am a Graduate Student at the University of Oklahoma School of Architecture. This blog is for me to share with you my thought process and design images for a Net-Zero Velodrome in the Oklahoma City, OK area.