Design|Build - Scouts Camp Buck Toms Ecology Pavilion

In my final semester as an undergrad student at the University of Tennessee, we were given a variety of options for studios but a Design|Build studio sounded like an experience unlike any other. We were tasked with solving some big problems with the existing Camp Buck Toms Scouts Pavilion for Ecology and Conservation.

Built in the early 1900s, the almost 100-year-old pavilion was one of the oldest on the campgrounds but was not ADA accessible and the summer prior they had to carry a camper with mobility issues in and out of the pavilion. Our first task was creating an accessible entrance for the Ecology Pavilion. Another problem was that over time the space had become cluttered and with over a thousand campers coming into the camp in the summer prior, it was much too small especially when in use by multiple groups of campers.
When receiving the project, Professor Ted Shelton a professor and practicing architect with curb. Architects, gave us some preliminary sketches and images of the camp to get some ideas but made it very clear that the slate was blank and we were free to work as a group to come up with our own design as a group. Before we all began, we decided as a group that it would be best to lay down some ground rules for how we wanted to design and what we wanted to keep in mind throughout. Our list went as follows:

Design:
- for accessibility
- with sustainability in mind
- within the allotted budget of 30,000$
- for educational experience in a flexible space
- with summer temperatures in mind
- with multiple groups using in mind
- for dynamic experience/dynamic spatial arrangements

Ultimately, we decided to take out the existing enclosing wall and half-walls which made the space feel too cramped, and then expand the square footage with an addition on the side where the former wall had been which ran the length of the structure and a bit beyond it, and was little more than half the width.
The Ecology and Conservation Pavilion was used for many different merit badge
opportunities, and that requires both storage for the tools and objects required for that, and also paperwork from the counselor certifying that the Scout achieved the necessary skills to earn the merit badge. The existing space for storage lacked the space necessary for that, and the office for the counselor was little more than a janitor’s closet. This was one of our primary responsibilities to fix. Another important detail is that the Pavilion displays a lot of artifacts and objects. Some are permanent donations from various organizations, and some are objects campers find and bring to the pavilion. Our solution was to take out some of the existing walls
separating the storage and office and take out the existing display area which was large but not very usable. Instead replacing that with a display wall on the public side, and using the private side for a desk and workshop space for the counselor as well as storage for the various tools on the upper portion inside the office. This was a design effort largely from the creativity of Colin Aguilar. This re-design did a lot to open up the space and also allow for two-sided use and display.
A conversation we had as a group extensively was about the ADA path. The obvious answer was that we could pour a concrete slope from the existing road down to the pavilion, but we felt that wasn’t the best option, especially for an ecology and conservation pavilion. After a lot of ideation, we went with a tamped gravel path with a barrier on top to prevent plant growth but allow water through, and then a layer of fine crushed stone on top also tapped down, a design Neal Gardner had researched and come up with. This would allow wheelchair access, while still maintaining a permeable surface that water could drain out of.

The slope of the path was kept to match the edge of the road flush as well as the edge of the structure. We kept it at a very gradual and small incline and decline in order to keep it accessible while still being able to design without needing to follow the strict ADA requirements or use ADA-required railings, ramps, etc. We wanted this to be the main path of entry because we wanted to prevent mobility-impaired campers from feeling ostracized by having to take a different route into the pavilion.
We also decided to mirror the angle of the existing roof line to make almost an “M” shape in the section but with the right side of the addition being cut a bit shorter. Nestled in between the two slopes of the roof was a gutter that ran the length of the structure and protruded out to allow the rainwater to fall into a basin in which turtles would be kept during the weeks of camp. This decision to include a water feature and turtle pond stemmed from conversations with the camp workers, thoughts of conservation, dynamic experience, and wanting what would normally be a bad day at summer camp due to rain into a unique experience.

In talks with the workers at the camp, one thing mentioned was how the campers always seem to be collecting specimens to bring to the ecology pavilion. Sometimes snakes from the bold few, but mostly turtles. While the counselors try to dissuade this, ultimately the campers being young and with curious appetites, it happens anyway and we wanted to ensure the turtles had a comfortable and safe stay where the campers can take the opportunity to observe and learn about them until the session of camp ends and the counselors can safely release them back into the wild away from the immediate campgrounds.
In designing for flexibility, we realized that a hindrance to being able to use and move around the space was the large picnic tables. While a staple of summer camp, they’re rather large, taking up a lot of valuable space, heavy and hard to move, and because of the benches being set in place they are hard to get in and out of as well as add or subtract seating, so we also created modular tables and chairs which were durable but lightweight and could be stored very compactly. This was a design spearheaded by a very talented Master’s student Will Dallery. This design also helped open up the space and made it more usable overall. It also allowed for flexibility when using the space due to the lightweight tables and chairs being easy to move and configure as needed with what the counselors needed on a given day. These were CNC milled from a single sheet of plywood for the table and the chair design was able to be configured on a single sheet of plywood so that we could get two chairs per sheet.
The Design|Build experience was a very insightful final school semester, even though the square footage and size of the project aren’t massive in scale, to be able to design something, and then build it is not only a really unique experience but it helped me begin to learn how to do real-world talents. While academics have taught me so much over the years in the Architecture program, there are some things that aren’t really able to be focused on in school such as budgets, dealing with on-site delays due to weather or delays in material shipping, material orders, and working within a budget. Taking pen to paper to plywood in a Design|Build while also having a great team to work with and a very knowledgeable and talented professor who made us all feel comfortable and safe to take on this project was an amazing experience to end my undergraduate studies.