Designing Facilities for K12 Health, Physical Education, and Driver Education

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Designing Facilities for K-12 Health, Physical
Education, and Driver Education
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Planning Considerations

• Common planning considerations
• surface materials (i.e., ceilings, floors, and
  walls),
• sound control and acoustics,
• electrical systems and service,
• climate control,
• security,
• climbing walls,
• ropes and cargo nets,
• storage,
• shower and dressing rooms,
• folding partitions or curtains, and
• office space for physical education teachers.

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Surface Materials

• Must meet minimum standards
• Acoustical and lighting properties
• Consider geographic location and availability of
  certain surface materials

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Flow Surfaces

• Three distinct types of floor surfacing
• hardwood, resilient synthetic, or common surfaces
  such as tile, ceramic tile, or rug
• Floors in service areas such as locker rooms,
  shower rooms, toweling rooms, and toilet rooms
  require a surface impervious to moisture
• (e.g., concrete or ceramic tile)
• Classroom, corridor, and office areas may be
  grouped together for common surfacing
• (e.g., tile or rug).
• Special activity areas require different
  treatments.

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Walls

• Serves as barriers to sound, light, heat, and
  moisture
• Recommended moisture resistant with good
  acoustical properties
• Modern gyms have smooth surfaces on lower portion
  of walls for rebound surfaces

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Ceilings

• Construction determined by
• Roof design
• Type of activity
• Local building codes
• Insulated to prevent condensation, painted to
  provide pleasing aesthetics, and enhance light
  reflection

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Sound Control and Acoustics

• Give attention to reverberation time
• Hard surfaces reflect sound
• Soft or absorbable surfaces turn sound into
  another form of energy, dead areas
• Sound transmits thru walls, floors, and ceilings
  and may be reduced through the proper structural
  design
• Acoustical treatment oil paint or water-based
  paint

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Electrical Systems and Service

• Basic construction
• motors to operate folding partitions, blowers for
  heaters and ventilating ducts, exhaust fans in
  gymnasium ceilings or walls.
• Custodial and maintenance services
• receptacles for floor-cleaning equipment and
  power tools.
• Dressing locker rooms
• wiring for hair and hand dryers and electric
  shavers.
• Lounges, kitchenettes, snack bars, and
  concessions
• outlets for refrigerators, water or soft drink
  coolers, electric stoves, blenders, mixers,
  coffee urns, and hot plates.
• Office suites
• wiring for individual air-conditioners, business
  machines, floor fans, and other mechanical and
  electrical equipment.
• Laundry rooms
• wiring for washers, dryers, and irons.
• Pools
• provision for underwater vacuum cleaners, pumps,
  and special lighting.
• Gymnasiums
• provisions for special lighting effects, spot
  lights, and rheostats or controls to lower the
  illumination for certain activities.
• Health suites
• receptacles and provision for audiometers,
  vision-testing equipment, floor fans, and
  air-conditioning units.

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Lighting

• Factors to consider when selecting illumination
  systems
• maintenance
• repair
• replacement
• cleaning
• Night lights, (safety lights), recommended for
• gymnasiums, swimming pools, handball courts,
  squash courts, and other indoor activity areas
  such as lobbies, corridors, and some classrooms

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Systems

• Fire-alarm
• Separate and distinct from all other systems
• Designed to permit operation from convenient
  locations
• Meet specifications
• Program-Signal
• Independent of fire-alarm system
• Include the following buzzers, bells, large
  gongs, electric clocks

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Security

• Accomplished in two ways
• Constructing the facilities according to a plan
  that allows for maximum security
• Adopting an administrative plan for the direction
  and control of all persons using the building
• Features
• A building master plan including a lock-and-key
  system.
• The use of electronic locks with cards
• Lock-tumbler adjustments
• Area division (vertical division) by
  responsibility or usage for key assignment
• A policy of not lending keys is recommended
• Mark keys for identification
• An enunciator system

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Climbing Walls, Ropes, and Cargo Nets

• Develops upper-body strength
• Safety Issues
• 1) the rope is fixed to the ceiling
• 2) the rope is stored when not in use
• 3) the landing base is established under the rope

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Storage

• Two main types of storage
• For large pieces of equipment needed in gym, such
  as
• volleyball standards and official stands,
  gymnastic equipment, chairs, mats, and score
  tables
• For the storage and repair of small equipment and
  supplies, such as
• Special bins, racks, hooks and nets, and a work
  bench

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Shower and Dressing Rooms

• Essential if facility will be used for intramural
  or interscholastic competition or even community
  usage
• Size, number of lockers, showers, and toilets
  depends on the extent of usage

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Folding Partitions and Curtains

• Allow for two or more teaching stations in the
  gym
• Power-operated
• Insulated against sound transmission
• Key-operated control
• Partitions extend from floor to ceiling

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Office Space Physical Ed. Teachers

• In close proximity to gym and locker rooms
• Range from 105-250 square feet and include
• Attached bathroom and shower facility
• Office should have observation window and be
  close to storage space for gym
• Designed to include accessibility to a computer
  and telephone

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Elementary School

• Physical Education Program
• fundamental movement patterns
• rhythmic or dance
• fitness activities
• games and sports
• gymnastic activities
• combative, self-testing activities
• aquatics
• Location more compact, accessibility

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Teaching Stations for Physical Education

• Classroom may be organized by a number of
  different methods
• Depends on class size
• Usually one instructor is available
• A gym is typically the only facility available
• Playroom, auxiliary teaching station

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Multipurpose, Cafeteria-Gymnasium, and
Self-Contained Classrooms

• Found to be most impractical for physical
  education, especially from the standpoint of
  scheduling
• Restrictions as to the type of activities that
  can be offered occur
• Storage space should be separate for all physical
  education equipment

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The Gymnasium

• Minimum of 110-150 square feet per pupil and a
  total of at least 4,860 square feet is
  recommended
• Allow for spectator seating and storage rooms
  with adequate space and roll-up doors
• Space should include dimensions of a basketball
  court (42 ft x 74 ft) with 6 ft safety area
  around the perimeter
• Ceiling should be at least 22 feet high

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Special Floor Markings

• Markings other than those of a basketball court
  should be limited to reduce confusion
• Dominant lines should intersect the non-dominant
  lines
• Non-dominant lines should be broken (two inches)
  prior to intersecting the dominant line
• Lines should be in different colors

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Buffer/Safety Zones

• Zones that separate them from walls, bleachers,
  and adjacent playing areas
• Distance should be at least 10 ft from the
  sideline and nearest obstruction
• NFHS rules
• Facilities without expose players and spectators
  to serious injury

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Auxiliary Teaching Stations

• If second indoor physical education teaching area
  is built it should consist of a swimming pool or
  an auxiliary instruction room, playroom
• Most practical when the main gym cannot fulfill
  all of the schools needs for teaching stations

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Playroom

• Area should be suitable for preschool and grades
  K-2 or K-3 for fundamental movement
• Size rectangle approximately 50ft x 40ft
  providing 2,000 square feet of space
• Ceiling acoustically treated, 18-22 feet high
• Walls 10 feet from obstruction
• Floors hardwood maple or synthetic surfaces
• Lighting fluorescent lighting should supply
  35-50 foot-candles on the floor and an installed
  switch
• Windows placed only on one side of the room
• Electrical Outlets double-service outlets on
  each wall
• Equipment Storage Area 400-600 square feet with
  cabinets and shelves
• Mirrors three full-length mirrors should be
  placed at one end of a wall, side by side
• Bulletin Boards corkboard hung on the wall near
  entrance for postings
• Chalkboard may be wall-mounted to facilitate
  teaching
• Drinking Fountain placed on a wall in the
  corridor just outside the door

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Teaching Stations

• Number depends on the number of students and the
  specific program of physical education
• Gymnasium is required in all situations
• Meet specific needs for voluntary recreation,
  extramural and intramural activities, and
  interscholastic athletics, and possibly the
  community
• Variety of teaching stations, depends on the
  number of different activities provided in the
  program

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Free-Standing Gymnastics

• Should include
• Entrance area
• Lobby space
• Small proshop
• Concessions
• Public restrooms
• Day care area
• Balcony for spectator seating for 300
• Competition/practice
• Trampoline area with trampoline flush with floor
• Office space
• A large storage area at least 600 square feet
  with a ceiling height of 10 feet and a roll-up
  door