Data

Collection
On Community Center and Library

Introduction:
With the decline of the influence of the church and the movement of
people from small isolated communities into urban centres, facilities for the
local community were initially provided by philanthropists, and were intended
as centres for education and public lectures. After World War I a number of
different organizations were set up to provide community facilities, such as the
Village Clubs Association, which were designed to be the centre of communal
life and activity. It was seen as important that the foundation of all schemes
should be the reliance upon the communal spirit, so that everything which is
attempted would not be imposed from the top, but built up from the bottom.
This led to the building of a great variety of village clubs responding to local
requirements. Generally, they had a multifunctional main hall, and small
meeting room or rooms, but could also include separate boys and girls rooms,
library, or reading rooms. These clubs were mainly self-supporting, with
funding for construction of the building supported by the Urban or Rural
District Council. In areas of industrial development, where the majority of the
community was directly or indirectly involved in particular activities, resources
were provided by employers or unions.

Approach To The Design:

The most important way to approach the design is to have all the
possible key consultations with the local community. Some of the important
things to be taken care of are as follows:
Key stages in community consultation are working with community
organisation or organisations to consult the local population as to
perceived needs and requirements.
Identifying other local provision to avoid duplication of facilities.

Developing a design brief and accommodation requirements from the

consultations.
Consulting with the Local Authority on funding potential, planning and
highways issues.

Local Issues:
If the proposed centre is to satisfy local needs and satisfy funders that it is
viable, early community consultation and data collection is essential to develop
the community profile and identify community needs. The community profile
will typically consist of:
Demographics.
Employment statistics.
Existing facilities.
Population changes.
Geography.
Transport infrastructure.
Identification of community needs requires in-depth consultation with
existing groups and ocieties, and broader based dialogue with the wider
community. Consultation can be carried out using range of methods,
questionnaires, open days, exhibitions, public meetings, focus groups, themed
workshops and similar activities to give the chance for individuals of all ages to
express their opinions and concerns.

SUSTAINABILITY:
SUSTAINABILITY:
The idea of community provision, and the encouragement of the
community to use local facilities, is very much in the spirit. There is the
opportunity to use the centre to encourage approaches to sustainability, by

designing for minimum energy use and water use, choosing locally sourced, or
other low environmental impact materials, and involving the community in its
construction.

Design
Design Issues:
For community centers to be viable, they must be seen to provide for and
be welcoming to the community; they are often a key factor in an area
regeneration strategy.

Image:
The centre must be welcoming to all ages, and have a positive impact in
the community. Although security is a major consideration, it must not be at the
expense of making the building welcoming, and well-lit entrance areas can
provide an appropriate atmosphere. New buildings often have a more noticeable
impact but the refurbishment of existing facilities is often more economically
viable. If existing facilities are to be retained it is important that the exterior of
the building reflects the changes inside the centre, as it is the outside appearance
which advertises the improvements within.

View of a social welfare community center

Site and Location:

Ideally, the centre should be as close to the heart of the community as
possible, near other facilities shops, school, library, and accessible by public
transport. A flat site is preferable because the construction costs are lower than
with sloping plots and it allows for easier access. It should have adequate space
for parking cars and bicycles, and may need additional external space for
facilities such as play areas, gardens, and sports provision. The profile of the
local residents is an important consideration.

Circulation:
Circulation:
Economical planning is necessary to keep costs down, so all opportunities
should be taken to minimize corridors, and make spaces useable for more than
one function. Central circulation space doubling up as a caf/informal meeting
area is a typical solution. Circulation space must be easily monitored and have
robust and hard-wearing surface finishes. Vertical circulation in multi-storey
buildings must be visible from a central control point or management office to
avoid potential misuse of lifts etc.

Accessibility:
Accessibility:
The building will need to cater for all age ranges, from children in prams
and push chairs to ambulant disabled adults and wheelchair users. Location of
bus stops, walking distances from residential areas, provision of disabled
parking all need to be considered, as should colour and contrast in the interior
design scheme. The implications of sloping sites, changes of level and designs
with more than one floor level need careful consideration at the outset. Lifts and
chair lifts are expensive to install and maintain, and prone to abuse.
Opening hours and management policies of the building also need to be
considered from the earliest stage and can often be subject to planning
restrictions to avoid disruption of immediate neighbours.

Maintenance:
There should be careful consideration of maintenance implications of all
specifications to help to minimize running costs and ensure long-term viability
of the centre. Specify robust high- quality materials and products wherever
possible and avoid unusual fixtures and fittings such as taps, toilets, boilers and
shutters that may cause maintenance difficulties for the management group
through cost, availability of spares etc. Limit external maintenance liabilities by
minimizing the use of render and other painted surfaces. Consider also
vulnerable surfaces; avoid materials and accessible roofs that may be subject to
vandalism. It is important, however, to avoid designing a fortress.

Security:
Consider physical measures to protect the building but, to preserve a
welcoming image, ensure they are discreet and not overly visible when the
building is open. A central, open location for the building encourages selfpolicing by the local community, and good external and internal lighting is also
useful as a deterrent. Planning and internal arrangement should limit access
points and allow good overall supervision. If security shutters are needed,
consider installing electrically operated units as they are easier for the
management group to operate and avoid the building remaining shuttered
even when it is open, which often happens with manually operated shutters.
However, maintenance issues also need to be weighed up. Early consultation
with the local police and potential insurance companies will ensure that all
aspects of building security are considered and that specifications are to an
appropriate standard.

Environment and Services:

The building should be designed for low energy and water use. under
are likely to look for evidence of design for high levels of energy
efficiency to reduce running costs. Consideration should be given to
alternative Sources of energy as appropriate: for example, novel forms of
energy supply such as solar water heating may be economical, and may be
supported by national or local grant aid. Innovative and experimental
technology should be avoided, as systems are often expensive to install and
need sophisticated controls and specialist maintenance.

Heating, lighting and security systems should be zoned with simple, robust,
tamper-proof controls to allow ease of use. Low temperature radiators must be
used where elderly people and children are the main users of the space and all
supply pipe work should be covered or concealed. Consider provision for
computers and the future expansion of computer table-based information
systems. Consider the maintenance requirements of all systems including
boilers, ventilation and extraction systems and alarms. Avoid inaccessible light
fittings and unusual bulbs that would be difficult to replace.

Typical Elements
Elements:
lements:
All community centers will be different, as they are designed to meet the
needs of specific local needs but there will be common elements in every
building. Halls, often the main space, the size and shape will be determined by
identified activities and uses. Typically the main issue in the design of a hall is
whether or not a permanent stage is needed and also the associated changing
rooms and storage for chairs and equipment. Floor type is important - if dancing
or activities such as aerobics are likely to be popular, hardwearing sprung
flooring, although costly, is essential.

Day Lighting:
Specific goals related to daylighting of buildings may be stated in simple
terms:

Design to achieve daylight in all feasible areas in significant, useful

quantities,
Distribute daylight reasonably uniformly, with no significant dark spots,
(although variation within the visible range is acceptable and can provide
desirable relief).
Avoid allowing direct sunshine into the building interior in such a way
that it may cause visual discomfort (excessive brightness differences) or
visual disability (glare). Assess the design for all possible sun penetration
angles.
Provide daylight sensitive controls for the electric lighting so that it will
be dimmed or turned off when not needed.

Example Of A Daylight Method

Ventillation:
Natural ventilation in buildings is intended to cool the body directly
by convection cross the skin and body, and absorption of perspiration. The
air flow must be directed towards the living or occupied zones of a
building. Air exchange may be done with some in velocity, but generally,
low-velocity mechanical system designs have little direct effect on the
human physiological cooling system to transpperspiration). Openings in a
building can be manipulated to increase or decrease the speed of the air
movement.

A ventilation diagram intended to cool people, by direct exposure to increased

air flow, created by the Venturi
Venturi effect.
effect.

Varying the height of a corridor wall significantly

alters the wind cooling effect.
effect.

Acoustics:
Architectural surfaces need to be designed to either reflect sound, absorb
sound, r diffuse sound. Each type of surface has its own specific criteria and
applications for being incorporated into a space.
Reflective surfaces are considered to be essentially flat or slightly shaped
planes of hard building materials including gypsum board, wood,
plywood, plaster, heavy metal, glass, masonry, and concrete.
Should be of sufficient mass, thickness, and stiffness to avoid becoming
absorbers of low-frequency sound energy where this is not desired.
Should be of sufficient dimension to reflect all frequencies of interest. n
8-foot (2.4-m) surface width will reflect energy above500 Hz, which is
sufficient for most speech and music applications since frequencies below
500 Hz are more omnidirectional in nature and not easily directed
towards a specific location.

Can create problems by being located and oriented such that sound
generated a certain distance away can reflect back to its point of origin
delayed in time and thus cause a discernible and troublesome echo.
Absorptive surfaces are primarily used for the following applications:
Reverberation Control: reduction of reverberant sound energy to improve
speech intelligibility and source localization.
Sound Level Control: reduction of sound or noise buildup in a room to
maintain appropriate listening levels and improve sound isolation to
nearby spaces.
Echo and Reflection Control: elimination of perceived single echoes,
multiple flutter echoes, or unwanted sound reflections from room
surfaces.
Diffusion Enhancement: mixing of sound in a room by alternating sound
absorptive and sound reflective materials.
Absorptive surfaces be any of three basic types of materials:
Porous materials include fibrous materials, foam, and carpet, acoustic
Ceiling tile, and draperies that convert sound energy into heat by friction.
Example: fabric-covered 1 in. (2.5 cm) thick fiberglass insulation panels
mounted on a wall or ceiling.
Vibrating panels thin sound-reflective materials rigidly or resiliently
mounted over an airspace that dissipates sound energy by converting it
first to vibrational energy. Example: a 1/4 in. (6 mm). Plywood sheet over
airspace (with or without fibrous materials in the airspace).
Volume resonators - materials containing openings leading to a hollow
cavity in which sound energy is dissipated. Example: slotted concrete
blocks (with or without fibrous materials in the cores).

Halls:
Often the main space, the size and shape will be determined by identified
activities and uses. Typically the main issue in the design of a hall is whether or
not a permanent stage is needed and also the associated changing rooms and
storage for chairs and equipment. Floor type is important if dancing or activities
such as aerobics are likely to be popular, hardwearing sprung flooring, although
costly, is essential.

View Showing The Section Of a Hall with Acoustics

Stage and its possible Dimensions

Types Of Seating Layouts

Stage layout with green rooms

Roofing:
Roofing must withstand the extremes of climate but also the subtle nature
of moisture, materials and movement of a building over time. This chapter
provides an introduction to roofing and technical references for design of
roofing systems.

Flooring:
Flooring selection is an important design decision, aesthetically and
technically. People will look down at the floor and to where it may lead the eye
for a sense of sure-footedness, direction and mobility. Flooring is the single
most exposed element of a building interior because of constant and often heavy
use. Flooring must therefore provide:
Durability and endurance given the type of foot (and wheel) traffic and
intensity of use.
Resistance to abrasion from use and abuse of dirt or sand particles and
spills of chemicals and other liquids.
Resistance or permeability to moisture intrusion (from the substrate if on
or below grade) or other moisture vapor migration.
Resistance to impact generated damage, including change of dimension
of substrate and other construction elements.
Ability to be cleaned maintained and replaced in whole or part.
Resistance to insect infestation.
As a result, the performance criteria for flooring selection can be listed as the
following:
Durable to resist abrasion, indentation, compression, accidental impacts,
and dust and dirt.
Chemically inert to resist cleaning compounds, disinfectants, solvents,
lubricants and other substances that may be spilled.
Comfortable to reduce fatigue of walking, standing and/or running.
Safe, non-slippery, non-tripping, non flammable and also non-conductive
or non-static.

Toilets:
Auditorium toilets may be stand alone buildings or installations, or be
contained within buildings
It must be at a fairer distance from other service areas of the building.
Should have significant number of facilities to accommodate people with
disabilities or elderly persons who may require assistance.

Fixtures Of a Toilet:
Toilet:
A public flush toilet, with a black toilet seat.
Toilets located within stalls wit locking doors
Bidets (rare in the US)
Urinals (men's rooms only)
Hand wash faucets (i.e., taps) - some lowered for children and
handicapped .
Soap dispensers.
Hand dryer - manual or auto sensors.
Paper towels - often when hand dryers are not available; sometimes with
auto-sensors for touch less dispensing.
Sometimes showers are also present, often with soap, shampoo, or similar
dispensers.
Antiseptic handwash - pump bottle or auto dispenser.
Garbage can.

Mirrors.
Infant changing tables, often fold-down (more often in women's rooms)
Toiletry vending machines (more often in women's rooms) dispensing
tampons, sanitary napkins, condoms, painkillers, diapers and perfume.
Air fresheners or odour control systems.