PROJECT Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark

LOCATION  York, Pennsylvania, US

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  12/1/2015

ARCHITECT Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects

ASSOCIATED ARCHITECT  

OWNER/CLIENT  York City Recreation Corporation (YCRC)

CONTRACTOR / CONSTRUCTION MANAGER  Arment Concrete

PHOTOGRAPHER  Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects / Patrick Ness

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM  Frank E. Dittenhafer II, FAIA, LEED AP, Bruce R. Johnson, AIA, LEED AP, Patrick Ness, Associate AIA

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

A skatepark originally built as a living memorial after the tragic accidental death of a teenager who was street luging was expanded and enhanced. The Architect designed a 13,000 square foot expansion which provides new areas for "beginner" skating, stabilizes all existing park perimeter edge conditions with skateable/non-eroding surfaces - and provides lighting at all areas of the existing and new skatepark for safe nighttime use. The skatepark site area is within a County park- in a very oddly configured unusable trapezoidal zone between the outfield fences of two softball fields and a municipal recycling center. Skatepark usage is very high 365 days a year and increasing - as the park has become a regional destination. There were not enough obstacles, ramps and areas for skaters of all ages and skill levels to safely coexist. Lighting of the skatepark has been requested by skaters for years so that available skate hours can be extended. Heavy usage, rain, snow and harsh climactic conditions have eroded/damaged the park perimeter - requiring repairs and "design resolution". Current "seating options" at the park are limited - with continued requests for new enhancements to provide additional (skateable) seating. Working directly with local skaters, a skatepark committee, community leaders and municipal officials – the Architect provided pro-bono services to design the skatepark expansion/ enhancement. The final project scope addressed all of the expressed skater needs - in a very creative and engaging layout – and within a modest budget from private fundraising. The recently completed expansion incorporates large and small concrete rollers, 4' quarter-pipes and mini-ramps, bank ramps, concrete box platforms, steel rails, gaps, pockets, and a prominently featured concrete pyramid for use by younger or beginner skaters. Edges have been "cleaned up" via the installation of "found objects" such as granite curbing, concrete slabs and brick pavers from municipal scrap piles and manufacturer's overstock. One sixty-foot central light pole with ten fixtures now provides lighting for 90% of the skatepark with supplemental LED light standards at only a few locations to provide full coverage. Anchoring the expansion design is a twelve-foot diameter twenty-one-foot-long section of a (cleaned) oil storage tank for skaters to "flow through" – reinforcing the "reuse of found objects" theme. Local graffiti artists will eventually contribute their talents at the park by painting thesteel surfaces of both the 60' light pole and oil storage tank – rebranding one of the best places to skate on the east coast – as one of the coolest as well.

MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project PDF

IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS

IMAGE 1  File Name: 01_Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark_thumbnail, Caption: Skatepark Expansion – Transition from Existing Skatepark, Photographer Credit: Not Applicable

IMAGE 2  File Name: 02_Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark_high res ext, Caption: Skatepark Expansion – Transition from Existing Skatepark,Photographer Credit: Not Applicable

IMAGE 3  File Name: 03_Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark_high res int, Caption: Night View of Completed Skatepark Expansion at Oil Tank Full Pipe, Photographer Credit: Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects

IMAGE 4  File Name: 04_Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark, Caption: Oil Storage Tank for Skaters to “Flow Through”, Photographer Credit: Not Applicable

IMAGE 5  File Name: 05_Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark, Caption: Skatepark Expansion at Night, Photographer Credit: Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects

IMAGE 6  File Name: 06_Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark, Caption: View at Large Concrete Rollers with Box, Photographer Credit: Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects

IMAGE 7  File Name: 07_Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark, Caption: Small Concrete Rollers, Photographer Credit: Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects

IMAGE 8  File Name: 08_Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark, Caption: Skatepark Expansion Plan, Photographer Credit: Not Applicable