Fо̄r Community
Youth Camp
Year: 2020
Type: Community (Proposal)
Location: California
Our team created this conceptual design for a non-profit youth camp based in Northern California. The organization, founded in the 1960’s, holds an annual week-long summer camp that brings together families from all over the country to celebrate diversity through learning and inspirational experiences in nature. After 58 years of renting campsites, the group has plans to build their own permanent campsite in California. Based on a geometric shape – the hexagon – that is used as a motif as well as an organizational principal, our design concept was developed hand-in-hand with the camp’s founders, staff, and past attendees, ranging from kids to grandparents.
Through research and interviews with organizers and attendees (both past and present), we learned that the campsite had to be highly functional, culturally relevant, and a place where campers are encouraged to interact with nature while building human connections that last a lifetime. Additionally, the campsite required multi-functional and flexible spaces to allow for a variety of programming and opportunities for outside groups to rent the facilities when not in use. The resulting design incorporates a California vernacular style juxtaposed with far Eastern design elements including traditional building methods and materials from both cultures. The proposed structures are tied to the land, providing shelter from the elements when needed, yet always maintaining a connection to nature through generously sized windows and the melding of indoor-outdoor spaces. Consideration was also given to sustainability techniques including sloped roofs to harvest rainwater, courtyards to create passive air ventilation systems, and solar panels to reduce power consumption.
Image Credit: Studio For