| Skatepark Providers |
| Written by Peter Whitley |
| Tuesday, 29 September 2009 00:00 |
Not all skatepark providers are created equal. Find out what makes them different in our new producer interviews!
Skaters for Public Skateparks is frequently asked "who is the best supplier of skateparks?" and"who should we hire for our skatepark project?" The answer is that the best skatepark designer (or construction company) is the one that delivers the skatepark that meets your community's need and budget. Although you can probably count all of the skatepark companies on your fingers and toes, they all have different qualities and capabilities. Some of them will work with you from the earliest design stages all the way to opening day and others just performing one of the phases of the skatepark development process. Our recommendation is that you should get to know the companies currently doing business and get a feel for the priorities and characteristics of each. These companies also have reputations among skaters that are deservedly earned and fiercely protected. Your local skatepark experts should be able to produce an enthusiastic “wish list” of designers and builders. Additionally, the communities these companies have worked with should be investigated; were they happy with the experience and did the skatepark achieve the desired results? To make this process more convenient for you, we've interviewed the nation's most well-known skatepark producers and will be publishing those interviews over the next few months. In this first installment we introduce a nice variety of professionals that you should find revealing and educational. The presence of absence of a company here is not meant to suggest an endorsement of that company's products or services. If a company's interview is absent and you'd like to see it included, we invite you to drop us a line at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . {mospagebreak title=East Coast Ramp Design} East Coast Ramp DesignChris “Merk” Mearkle (owner, designer, lead builder): Growing up in Simbury, Connecticut there was not much for me to skate. My friends and I began to build our own stuff with anything we could acquire. I further honed my skills when I began construction jobs and built ramps and bowls for my friends that we loved to skate. In 2000 I was contacted by someone from the recreation department in Wellfleet, Cape Cod about building a park. I came up with the name “East Coast Ramp Design” to reflect my pride in our east coast skate scene and I went ahead with the proper legal paper work. Since then we’ve maintained that skateboarder passion to build the best custom wood ramps/bowls that skater’s love to ride. What projects, one from each of the last three years, are your most notable creations? The ones that I get the most positive feedback from are:  a. The Blinde Optics Bowl. This bowl was designed and built in the SoHo area of Manhattan, New York. The owner was both a sunglass designer and skater who envisioned the bowl to be a unique show room during the day and a skate able pool by night. We built it with a removable door so the sunglass line could be displayed in the bowl. It featured pool coping and tiles, and Luv seat.
 b. The Blue Collar Bowl. This bowl was designed and built in Shirley, Massachusetts. The bowl was in the back room of the Blue Collar distribution warehouse. There was no flat wall at all in this bowl it was 100% round wall. Blue-Collar is a leading distributor for skate shops on the east coast.
 c. The “Chicken” Bowl. This bowl was designed and built for a private owner in Clinton, Ontario. The owner was a chicken farmer and he wanted his own private bowl to skate because there was nothing to offer in the area and he was too busy farming chickens to travel. All pool coping again in this one, along w/ tile, death bow and birch layer.
What unique quality does your company bring to the world of skateparks? Everything we design and build is totally custom to fit the owner’s needs. We work very closely with the client to find out what they want to skate. We make sure that as they progress, the terrain that we’ve built remains challenging and fun. I think that the sky is the limit when it comes to design. The only limits are imagination and funds. What its leaving behind is that most people are starting to realize that prefab parks are cancer to skateboarding and the prefab/playground skate park companies only care about profit. How are emerging trends like sustainability and park aesthetics influencing your work? Sustainability and aesthetics are not a new trend. These have always been important. We build our ramps and bowls to last. A bowl, for example, can last as long as a house if it is built correctly and maintained properly. Thing like a tight layer pattern is functional and eye pleasing. A well-built park is a work of art. What are the largest challenges facing skatepark construction today? One of the biggest construction challenges is keeping the material cost down. Prices for final layer products continue to rise and in turn, this costs more for the client. We do everything to keep our costs down though “sticker shock” can occur, as some people don’t realize what is involved in specialized construction. With the media attention and increased interest in skateboarding, however, people often realize what a positive investment a skatepark can be for its youth and old dogs alike. What is your approach to managing public input during the design process? The client and or communities input is hugely important. This gives us ideas to the desired terrain and age bracket. There is an old saying “Give the kids what they need, not what they want” There is a small amount of truth to this in you have to remember that the project can’t be to intimidating to beginners it also has to hold their interest as they progress. What misconceptions do you face from the public regarding your products or services? A big misconception that we face is that some people have no idea how big skateboarding has gotten. They believe it is a waste of taxpayer money. When a well-designed and built park is finished however, these nay-sayers are quickly proven wrong by the massive number of people that come from miles around to skate. What makes a community difficult or easy to work with is their trust in the builder’s ability. Some communities will micromanage everything. Other communities step back and let the builder work their area of expertise. East Coast Ramp Design LLC is a 100% skater-owned operation. We’ve been skating and building for 25 years. Custom design and construction is our master objective. East Coast Ramp Design is one of the world’s best builders of wooden skate parks. We travel anywhere that duty calls and work with the elements at hand, whether it’s limited space, desired terrain, skill level, budget or location. We combine all these factors to create the most fun and functional bowl, ramp, street course, or event as possible. Our finished products are a true work of art! We primarily deal with private clients and occasional events. We believe that all city or municipal skate parks should be built from concrete by a reputable SKATER-OWNED operation. It is very important for a town and its skaters to do their research to the best possible option that fits their needs. Having said this, we also understand that concrete is not always an option because of constraint on space, budget, or inability for permanence. We will work with a town to bring the best advice, design and/or park. Even if that means that East Coast Ramp Design is not the best option. After wall, we are skaters first! East Coast Ramp Design LLC {mospagebreak title=OC Ramps} Editor's Note: The OC Ramps response to our interview questions were received exactly as they appear below. OC RampsBrandon and Tyler Large (Owners of OC Ramps, Inc.) have been building Skate ramps in Orange County, California since 1997. Originally, the ramps were sold pre-built and hand delivered locally in Huntington Beach. After a couple of years Brandon and Tyler saw the LARGE demand for skate ramps and decided to jump into the broader market. Our vision is to design and offer high-quality wooden ramps in easy-to-assemble kits. Why wooden? Because they're stronger, more durable, and they're the riding choice of top "pros"! In each kit everything is included: Pre-drilled boards, screws and easy-to-follow instructions. Every ramp can be assembled in a couple of hours using a drill. At OC Ramps, we're committed to bringing you the thrill and adrenaline rush of skateboarding—right to your home! Enjoy riding and shredding your moves...on your own ramp! Thanks to our customized engineering, OC Ramps kits fit perfectly into boxes that can be shipped anywhere worldwide. Even better—shipping is FREE within the 48 Continental United States. (Up to a $450 value!) OC Ramps Inc. is a family-owned business that puts the consumer first. Our mission statement is simple: "Provide quality skating equipment at affordable prices". We want everyone that skates to be able to afford an OC Ramp no matter where they live or where they come from. Providing skaters with ramps that let them practice the sport that they love is what we love. {mospagebreak title=Pillar Design Studios} Pillar Design StudiosHow many skateparks has your company played a lead design or construction role in? Brad Siedlecki (Principal & Lead Designer): Forty-three in Pillar’s three-year existence. (Over 200 in my professional career.) Pillar was started in 2006 with the goal to create a safe and legal place to skate in every community. As a skater for over 15 years I understand the frustration and issues that skaters have to deal with on a daily basis. I took my passion for skating with me as I attended school for architecture and landscape architecture. This is where I began to push the idea of mixing landscape design and skateboarding. I realized this is what I wanted to do for my career and begun cultivating my skills. Within the past eight years I have been involved in more than 200 projects throughout the world! Over this time I have stayed true to my original goal. I am here for skateboarding and aim to educate and create one of kind: Unique skateparks. What projects, one from each of the last three years, are your most notable creations?  1. Raleigh, NC – The Marsh Creek Skate Park was designed to site restrictions while improving the water shed system. Add another green park to the PILLAR resume! The Marsh Creek Skate Park includes three separate Rain Gardens. Rain Gardens are designed to absorb storm water run-off from impervious surfaces thus reducing storm water pollution that runs into streams, lakes, etc.
 2. Durham, NC – The Durham Skate Park, a true urban design in a true urban downtown setting!
 3. Loganville, GA – The Bay Creek Skate Park is a well-rounded design for all types of skating and skill level.
What unique quality does your company bring to the world of skateparks? There are many aspects of Pillar Design Studios that sets us apart from the other skatepark designers and landscape architects but the three major items are: 1. Extensive knowledge of the design and construction process 2. Creating designs that not only improve the skate community but the community as a whole. We not only involve the community during the design phase we also work with your community through in-kind donations to create the best park for your dollar. Each and every park is important to us no matter the size or budget. I am personally involved in each and every project and ensure a custom, one of kind skatepark. 3. I am a skateboarder Where do you see skatepark design going? I see skatepark design moving towards well-rounded designs with a mix of both street and transitional elements. We have seen an increase in request for a park that delivers everything; a well-rounded park that allows for all types of skaters and terrain. What is it leaving behind? One-dimensional skate park designs. How are emerging trends like sustainability and park aesthetics influencing your work? As landscape architects and skaters our goal has always been to create parks you can skate…not “skateparks.” Skateboarding and skateboarders have come along way in the last 10 years and so should their facilities. When we think of green architecture, we go beyond recycled materials and include landscaping as well. Landscaping can have a large impact on green design. When we design a skatepark, it is imperative for us to reduce our environmental footprint. We have developed a holistic approach to “green” building by incorporating eco-friendly landscape. What are the largest challenges facing skatepark construction today? Our biggest challenge is working with inexperienced contractors. Pillar has developed a strategic partnership with a specialty skatepark builder to ensure that every skatepark is built the correct way the first time. We are onsite periodically to observe and participate in the construction process. What factors will improve your business growth within the next few years? The best way to improve any business is to have a clear approach and a great product…we let our parks speak for themselves. What is your approach to managing public input during the design process? It is always our objective to include the community from the very beginning. Our past experience has shown us that superior facility requires local users to give their input and ideas during the beginning design phase. It is NEVER our process to mandate elements of the design but instead we work with our client, the community as a whole and the end user to create and ensure their wishes are included into the skatepark. The design should reflect the client’s desires while considering budget, maintenance, environmental issues and aesthetics. We have developed many tools to ensure community involvement through open discussions, workshops and our website, which allows users to blog, post comments, and share ideas. When we design a skatepark the community becomes not only a user but a co-designer. What misconceptions do you face from the public regarding your products or services? Everyone has an opinion and we do the best we can to make the majority happy. But the bottom line is if we can’t deliver a quality end product, what are we doing here? As far as Pillar in general I don’t believe there are any misconceptions or none that I am aware of. We are a licensed landscape architecture firm that specializes in skatepark development. That being said, I would say the biggest misconception is the cost of concrete skateparks. Most communities believe that concrete is the most expensive approach to skatepark construction. This is not always true. Anyone interested in a skatepark for their community should do their due diligence and choose the right construction process for the location, size, budget and community. We have worked with numerous communities to create concrete parks with any budget. For more information check out our website at www.pillardesignstudios.com. What are some qualities that make a community easy or difficult to work with? Every community is easy to work with. The key is to ensure all team members are on the same page for the very beginning. Due to our experience in this field we have the expertise and knowledge to lead a team through his process efficiently and effectively. Brad Siedlecki {mospagebreak title=Placed To Ride} Placed To RideHow many skateparks has your company played a lead design or construction role in? Stefan Joseph Hauser (CEO, lead designer, and project manager): We have completed ten thus far. Placed To Ride was founded in 2002. Before that I had been working mainly as a city employee, going from town to town in Oregon, helping found both Dreamland and Grindline Skateparks along the way. In the end, I splintered from Dreamland. I wanted to be the captain of my own ship. I had my own ideas and my own destiny to follow. What projects, from each of the last three years, are your most notable creations?  Avesta Skatepark • Avesta, Sweden 2006-2007
 ActionPark • Gothenburg, Sweden 2005-2008
 Seaside Skate n’ Ride • Seaside, Oregon 2006-2007 What unique quality does your company bring to the world of skateparks? I design skateparks to fit the local community. I believe in destination parks, but I also believe the first priority is local population, especially the youth who will be the primary users and beneficiaries of the park. Placed To Ride has low overhead and can travel a broader distance than most companies, which opens up quality skatepark design and construction to new parts of the world. We offer diversity in design. I design parks to appeal to all levels of riders. I also designs parks with aesthetics in mind. Where do you see skatepark design going? Skatepark designs are going more into the realm of decorative concrete. What is it leaving behind? Some designs may be getting too esoteric and leaving behind the bread-and-butter flow of skateboarding. I think this may alienate a few local riders. How are emerging trends like sustainability and park aesthetics influencing your work? Not much has changed really. Both of these aspects have always been important at PTR. What are the largest challenges facing skatepark construction today? As a whole, the biggest challenge facing skatepark construction today could be the proliferating number of builders in a market that has been ballooning for the past ten years. For me, it's been changing locale and climatic conditions. Over the past few years, I have relocated to Puerto Rico. I am planning more projects here. The main construction issue here is the heat. The concrete sets up very fast. In the colder climates like Sweden, it is very important to take into consideration the freezing winter temperatures. Concrete construction requires more detail when working in these environments. What factors will improve your business growth within the next few years? Placed To Ride was founded as a small company. Growth comes with time. We are not in a hurry. Travel and relocation are a big factor. Skatepark builders generally like the traveling at first but can get burned out on it rather quickly. What is your approach to managing public input during the design process? The most important thing is to keep an open mind. The public process can bring new ideas to the table. It can also provide an opportunity for user groups a chance to voice their opinions and, most importantly, add a bit of personal ownership to the project. What misconceptions do you face from the public regarding your products or services? The biggest preconception is that you can have everything in a finite space. There has to be some choice. What are some qualities that make a community easy or difficult to work with? From my experience, I enjoy working with communities. Sometimes the public process can get overworked, though. A few meetings over a month or two is generally plenty. Any more than that and things can get muddied up. The public must understand that when they hire a skatepark design firm, they are hiring professional services. Thanks for checking out Placed To Ride! Placed To Ride, inc.
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{mospagebreak title=SITE Design Group} SITE Design GroupHow many skateparks has your company played a lead design or construction role in? Michael McIntyre, RLA (Registered Landscape Architect), (Founder): SITE Design Group, Inc. has played both a lead design and/or construction observation role in over 200 parks around the world. Growing up in the 80’s, I designed and built the largest vert ramp in Northern California called the Page Mill Ramp. When I was a sponsored skateboarder, I had the decision to pursue professional skateboarding, or attend Cal Poly for Landscape Architecture. In a way, I pursued both careers by obtaining my LA degree from Cal Poly and hosting annual events at the school called the “Thrash-a-thon” in conjunction with Thrasher Magazine. After I graduated I moved to Phoenix, AZ, and was hired by a large LA firm and moved my way up the ranks as the youngest staff member to achieve an Associate title. SITE Design Group, Inc. was formed in 1999 out of frustration while I was working for a LA firm in Phoenix. They had completed a first time skatepark project, that prompted requests from other municipalities, and I recognized the potential to combine my Landscape Architecture experience with my personal skating experience from years as a sponsored skateboarder. They did not understand or support what I was trying to achieve with taking on the skatepark projects. Given the chance to pursue my passion with both landscape architecture and skating, I branched off and started SITE Design Group, Inc. in Tempe, Arizona and continued to maintain the balance between the needs of park users with the surrounding aesthetics that please the community as a whole. What projects, of from each of the last three years, are your most notable creations?  DC Skate Plaza – Kettering, Ohio I worked with Rob Dyrdek on this project, it was the first true skate plaza. In 2002 a majority of the skateparks were transitioned-based – the skate plaza design pioneered a new style of skateparks that had never been seen and now in 2009 the street plaza style is still one of the number-one requests. As Rob and I started laying out our concepts together, my own staff questioned the concept saying how it wouldn’t work because in their minds a skatepark had to have a bowl, or flow course, to be a successful design. Little did they know that Rob and I revolutionized the first Urban Street Plaza that every skate designer has replicated and/or referenced since then.  Black Pearl Skate and Surf Park – Cayman Islands We were contacted by a private individual who wanted to create a family vacation destination place for kids and their parents. This park is adjacent to a large shopping plaza, allowing parents to relax and shop while the kids can ride the flow course equipped with cradles, capsules, and over-vertical walls, or surf the wave pool. At the time, the challenge was to create a unique design that would draw in vacationers worldwide. I felt my critics questioned my ability to create a unique design in complete contrast to the DC Skate Plaza. The end result was a 62,000 square foot never-ending flow course where today’s top Pro-Skateboarders have been riding for over five years and still haven’t found all the lines/paths in the park.  Wave House Skatepark – Durban, South Africa This project was a great opportunity to both work with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and utilize my Landscape Architecture background not only for the skatepark design but also for the grand entrance and surrounding amenities. We decided on a Hybrid Style of park that encompassed both wooden ramps and concrete bowls in the design. I was pretty stoked when Tony wanted to put a vert ramp in the design, especially knowing my vert-skating background, vert ramps are not typically found in skateparks. It was great to recently read how Tony went back to Durban this year to skate the park, and I felt personal satisfaction knowing that my designs are timeless and still enjoyed internationally. What unique quality does your company bring to the world of skateparks? I felt that I had combined my experience of being both a registered Landscape Architect and a former sponsored skateboarder to create a unique combination in our industry. Our current SITE staff includes team members new to the industry who bring a fresh view to the ever-evolving skatepark design, as well as team members with extensive experience dealing with both park users and the municipalities who have acknowledged that BMX/Skateparks are an important asset to their community. After spending six years in Tempe, I tried my hardest to keep a pulse on the skate industry, but I realized in 2005 that I needed to be in the heart and birthplace of the action sports industry – SoCal. Being based in SoCal allows us to consult with today’s top pros in the industry. Our office door consistently revolves with professional riders giving input toward our skatepark designs nationally and internationally. How are emerging trends like sustainability and park aesthetics influencing your work? Since day one I have had a “macro” level approach to skatepark design; not only thinking about what will be on the inside of the fence of the skatepark but also what will be on the outside as well. It is important to keep positive aesthetics for the community both inside and out of the park. This approach also deters riff-raff associated with skateparks including graffiti. When a skatepark becomes a part of a community recreational area, the community (including the skatepark users themselves) unite to keep the park looking as good as the day it opened. More than 90-percent of the parks I have designed remain graffiti free to this day. Sustainability has become an integral part of our skatepark design. We have a LEED Accredited designer on staff that is currently working on the first carbon-neutral skatepark. SITE is working with Sole Technology on the “Etnies Skatepark Expansion” for the City of Lake Forest, California. This is not the first project that SITE has worked on to incorporate sustainable features, in fact we try to always create “green” environments by cutting down costs through reuse of existing concrete and asphalt, and the concrete used actually reduces the heat island effect because of the light grey coloring. For the Lake Etnies project, we have incorporated many sustainable features as part of the carbon-neutral effort. We have implemented a waste diversion plan for construction that includes reusable form works, reuse of concrete/asphalt, 85 percent waste diversion to avoid excess construction waste in landfills, recycled rebar (75-100% post-consumer use), rails and coping with recycled content, maximum amount of fly-ash in concrete mix, and low VOC in the coatings, seals and paints used. We also try to promote park design near public transportation, as well as implementing bike racks into our designs to promote eco-friendly modes of transportation. Where do you see skatepark design going? What is it leaving behind? Today’s skatepark design is changing as top designers are trying to separate themselves within the industry. This actually reminds me of when I was previously working for a Landscape Architecture firm, which makes me realize how far this industry has come and how much competition now exists. This can be compared to baking a cake - most of the ingredients are the same with the variation of cake types, but it is the icing on top that separates the competition. The different types of “icing” in design are the textures, colors and construction methods that give skaters different “flavors” to choose from. What this does is help the industry leave behind stagnant designs that users become accustomed to, and opens the doors to an ever-evolving sport. What are the largest challenges facing skatepark construction today? Our biggest challenge is to convince municipalities that they must have a qualified specialty skatepark contractor to ensure that the park is constructed and poured correctly. Some municipalities still adhere to the low-bid process and often look at their budget then at the lowest bidder. A local low-bid contractor will often win strictly on their low bid and their lack of experience often results in poor concrete finishes and craftsmanship that will cost the city additional money for repairs down the road. Our job is to educate everyone from the parents, municipalities, parks and recreational members, to the skateboard shop owners and skaters on how to successfully process the design from concept to completion. A park may look good from the “outside” but it is important to remember that we are dealing with the public’s health, safety and welfare of the community-at-large, and that this should not be compromised through poorly constructed skateparks. The finish of concrete, placement of metals, thickness and placement of control joints, saw cuts, (etc.), are important details that need to be implemented by an experienced contractor to ensure that the park flows well, and the users do not hurt themselves from extensive cross-traffic or jagged metal edges. What is your approach to managing public input during the design process? Our role as the skatepark designer is to act as a liaison between the riders and the community. Quite often there is a need to help translate the needs and wants of the riders while keeping the park design within the allocated size and budget. The team members of SITE do this through translating the terminology of the skaters to the community to find a balance; keeping both parties involved and to help make the concept of the skatepark a reality while keeping the project within budget. SITE will hold public workshop sessions with community members and riders, afterwards the information gathered will go back to our office and our team members create design matrixes. The matrixes are created through a systematic dissection of the requests, which are broken down into percentages of each obstacle/feature. We also keep the communities up-to-date through user-friendly interactive features on our web site, and help municipal entities with promotions including workshop flyers and conceptual renderings encouraging public input. The end result is a balanced park that promotes community unison, and a fun riding place for users of all ages and skill levels. What misconceptions do you face from the public regarding your products or services? The most common misconception is that SITE only designs skateparks. We design all types of action sport facilities including BMX tracks and Moto-Cross. Our team members participate in all types of action sports. What are some qualities that make a community easy or difficult to work with? Many communities don’t understand the mutual benefits that skateparks bring into a city. Skateboarding has historically had a negative connotation but it is usually the result of misleading information. Skating can easily be compared to other sports such as baseball, soccer or tennis. Even though riders show up to skate individually, they are still a team entity where they enjoy friendly competition, compare moves and occasionally have a small crowd watching them perform. Educating a skeptical community on the benefits of creating a skatepark can often be an uphill battle. SITE Design Group, Inc. Toll Free: 877-734-7275 {mospagebreak title=Spectrum Skateparks} Spectrum SkateparksHow many skateparks has your company played a lead design or construction role in? I don't have the exact figure in front of me, but as far as built parks, we're right around 100, or should be there by the end of the 2009. If you count projects that are designed but not yet built, probably 130. Spectrum started in 1998 and was incorporated in 1999. The skatepark in my community at the time was so broken up and cracked that it was literally unskateable. The skim coat that had been used was popping off all over the park. That, coupled with the desire for some street style opportunities and a wider variety of terrain than that offered by the existing bowl, led a group of us to approach Town Council requesting a new skatepark. They basically said "Sure, sounds great! But we don't know what a skatepark is, so you better draw it." I took a lead role, designing the park under the tutelage of my dad, an architect. My role expanded into construction management and provided a nice change from washing dishes for a living. When the park was completed, my phone started ringing off the hook with requests to create something similar, so I quit washing dishes and started doing skateparks full-time. What unique quality does your company bring to the world of skateparks? 
Bonsor Metro Skatepark, Burnaby, BC, Canada
Spectrum parks are definitely their own breed and unique in the world of skateparks. Our company name in part reflects what has been our vision since day one: to design skateparks that are truly well-rounded and that offer terrain for all ability levels and riders with different tastes (street, tranny and all of their sub-categories). Part of our intention with this design approach is to allow and encourage skaters to learn to ride all types of terrain. To me, being open-minded and able to slay any terrain is part of being a truly great skater, and maybe even just a true skater period. A true skater—someone who isn't doing it for approval or to look cool and impress people—are willing to ride new terrain without fear of judgment of their abilities. They're so stoked on skating and the feeling of their board under the feet that they are hyped to ride it all. It's just more fun that way, and part of what is important to me as a skater. So it has always been important to us to provide all terrain types whenever possible. This can result in anything from a "traditional" or "hybrid" skatepark, (i.e., it includes tranny and street elements), to a park with a stand-alone, full-on plaza, a proper separate bowl, and a "flow" zone like our Bonsor Metro Skatepark in Burnaby, BC, Canada. So that's a big aspect of what makes our designs the way they are. The other major thing is innovation, new ideas. We have created countless new elements that have never been done, & we continue to do so; we try to do at least one new thing in every park we do. Where do you see skatepark design going? What is it leaving behind? 
Chingacousy Plaza, Brampton, ON, Canada
I see it coming back around full circle rather than leaving anything behind. It's picking up things that were forgotten. For example, we recently designed a park for the city that has very probably the best plaza facility in the world right now. When I met with the local skaters at the design workshop for this new park, they were begging for something that was just fun, somewhere they could go and cruise around, rip around, bounce over some hips, hit some ledges, carve around and have a fun mellow session with their crew. They found the plaza pretty intense because everything was pretty tech, a lot of it was too burly. Plazas are FULLY valid and they're actually my favorite thing to design right now due to the fact that they're where the most creativity and growth is currently happening in skatepark design. However, skating preferences have already swung back from the extreme pendulum shift that is the plaza to recognize that fun, fluid “all terrain vehicle” parks are also still valid. Skatepark design is going in all directions and it rules. Obviously aesthetic detailing is a big aspect that we're all looking at and enjoying playing with right now. Skatepark design is also definitely streamlining, so it's leaving behind parks that are jam-packed with too much stuff and too many elements. How are emerging trends like sustainability and park aesthetics influencing your work? To us those aren't trends; they're things we've been doing for a very long time now, including architectural reveals, stone detailing, sculptures and ecologically sensitive detailing in our parks since 2001. That said, we're LOVING the growth of the aesthetic aspect of design and it's resulting in parks that are gorgeous in many ways. I'm definitely influenced by architecture and high design now, thanks to an architect who worked in our office for a while. 
The Beaches / Ashbridges Skatepark, Toronto, ON, Canada
We've been practicing a sustainable approach since long before that buzzword was popularized. Our Eco-Smart concrete is the most easily identifiable aspect of our sustainability approach insofar as the eco end of what sustainability means. However sustainability means a lot more than just a sensitivity to our planet's heavily threatened ecosystem. It seems like most people think it refers only to our natural environment. It's a really broad term that can be harder to apply to projects that are as simple in scope as skateparks are. But I'll take a stab here at another aspect of it. So another way in which our parks are sustainable is in that we are remembering to keep the fun in our parks, like I just mentioned with respect to that plaza park that was kind of "too intense". By keeping the "fun factor" high in our parks, we ensure that they are well used, drawing in users for the long-term; and thus more sustainable. What are the largest challenges facing skatepark construction today? The first thing that pops to mind is concrete mix designs. Durability. Our mix design is incredible, designed by the only guy in Canada to have the equivalent of his PhD in concrete. From what I've seen, it's the most durable in the industry. It also isn't cheap, so it makes it harder for us to compete, price-wise, with companies who use lesser mixes. I believe that the engineering and concrete mix design are some of the most important aspects of what we do. Remember the skatepark boom of the 70's? I can't say I do, but I've read about it, and what I read was that all these killer parks were built and a bunch just fell apart because they were built with such poor materials. I believe that the parks Spectrum is building today should be standing and getting shredded 50 years from now. I'm not sure that all parks being built today are being built to stand that long. What is your approach to managing public input during the design process? Including the input of the skaters in the design, in a meaningful way, is central to the core belief system that has shaped our firm. I believe that by listening to the skaters and really implementing what they want in the park, they learn that they have a voice, that they have value as citizens, and that they are heard and feel empowered. I think that little is more important than empowering people to do more in their world, to give them the feeling that they CAN create positive change. Through the course of our unique workshop process we come to consensus about what MUST be included in the skatepark and we then ensure that this stuff is indeed in the skatepark. We also recognize that public input is the be-all end-all and that we have been employed as skatepark specialists to guide and filter that input to ensure that the park will really rip, that it will not get boring, that it will stand the test of time, and that it will be a truly great skatepark. We're not hired to simply carry out the wishes of often fairly young skaters who may not have been riding for a long time—and maybe who may have never have ridden a proper skatepark—and thus may not fully understand the dynamic of skating and skateparks as deeply as we do. They can't imagine how they would actually experience something that they have little experience with. Public input can sometimes be skewed or incomplete. For example, imagine if we held a workshop where the skaters only wanted really small elements because that's all they had in their town, that's all they knew, so that's all that came out of their minds to us. We know that they'd get bored if we designed exactly per what they had communicated to us. Rather than taking their input and designing exactly that and leaving the design workshop to design a park with all sizes of elements in it, we would actually communicate the need for larger elements to the skaters at the workshop so that they still have that sense of being heard and achieve a sense of ownership of the skatepark. This way we're not going over their heads and appearing to design whatever we feel like designing. We have a great rapport with the skaters and have always been able to achieve consensus. What misconceptions do you face from the public regarding your products or services? Some smaller communities think that concrete skateparks are out of their reach, budget-wise. That's totally a misconception. What are some qualities that make a community easy or difficult to work with? Communities that are, in general, in support of the skatepark are generally easier to work with. The energy flows better and the project can thus move more quickly. A positive attitude makes everything easier and more fun. Of course working in communities where there are people who have experience with executing projects of a similar scope, who know how to get things done and what to do, are easier to work with. That's not required but of course it makes it easier. Our process is so streamlined and organized that we can make it easy for anyone. It's a huge gift to be competing with all of the incredible skatepark firms that we are. We all push and inspire each other, and we're collectively creating a world full of freaking amazing skateparks. It's an amazing time to be a skater. 604-986-5683 Who? SkatesHow many skateparks has your company played a lead design or construction role in? Tom Noble (Owner, designer, truck driver): Umm, no idea. Lots. What projects, one from each of the last three years, are your most notable creations? My favorite park of all time was the 1989 creation of Ratz, my indoor park in Maine. Without a doubt the best time in my life and some of the best skating I ever did. Although controversial, Boston, Massachusetts, was one that sticks out in my mind. Built on a LOUSY parcel of land with a coal ash dump and other toxic deposits and solid granite only a few feet down. I believe it was one of the very first Plaza-style parks in the country. Built in 2000, its only drawback—and the one I get the most heat for—was the inability to blast out the bedrock for a pool, so a mini bowl was put in instead.  Next would be a little park in Acton, Massachusetts. Again, as a street park in the middle of the prefab heyday it stands out in its use of nationally recognized street obstacles and very good finish. The kids did a ton of homework on famous locations around the country—from San Francisco to Europe—and we incorporated many of those elements into this park.
 In recent months Hendersonville, North Carolina, was one of my favorites. Not only because Grindline did such a great job in the design but the whole scene and vibe was just awesome. Seriously, any park in a community surrounded by prefab is a great opportunity to give kids what they want.
What unique quality does your company bring to the world of skateparks? We are not afraid to build a street park and although I'm old and grew up skating pools and bowls I realize that 85% of skaters are street skaters and have no use for or interest in skating pools. Just letting a community have a street plaza is all right in my opinion. Also, as owner of three indoor skateparks over the last 22 years I have a unique insight as to what skaters want, not just what I want or think they should have. Too many designers are so hell-bent on creating their own park that they forget what's really important. Where do you see skatepark design going? What is it leaving behind? First, I hope that we are about to leave prefab-on-a-tennis-court skateparks behind. It only creates issues and leaves cities with unhappy skaters and a ton of expensive maintenance issues. Secondly, I hope the customer becomes more educated. Misleading sales tactics, fake warranties, and self-serving design tactics have to go. The cities need to become more aware of their options and not fall victim to these problems so easily. Designers need to serve the client and the skaters in that community, not just create a park that they think kids need to learn to skate...let's leave that behind. Skatepark design, I hope, is going toward creating parks that are affordable and more easily implemented in more communities across the country. Rather than treating every park as a last-effort we need to look at it as another opportunity to convince neighboring communities to do the same. Finally, we need to differentiate between “community” parks and “destination” parks. How are emerging trends like sustainability and park aesthetics influencing your work? This question I love. We work on this very problem every day and it influences a great deal of our designs. Admittedly, a community with only $50-75,000 can't really dedicate money to aesthetics but we work toward leaving out areas where sound-deadening plantings and green areas can be implemented in the future as well as areas where parents and spectators can feel comfortable. Additionally, we are moving away from gravel and dirt substrates and using recycled products to virtually eliminate the need for dozens and dozens of dump trucks and equipment to burden the roadways. We are also working harder at creating parks that last longer, and this includes the use of very detailed construction techniques that will result in parks with fewer cracks and problems. Concrete parks are falling apart before our eyes and the recent building boom has only exasperated that problem. Quality seems to have taken a back seat to "gnar" and the communities will pay the price just like they are with their prefab dinosaurs. What are the largest challenges facing skatepark construction today? From the standpoint of construction, there are no challenges. The concrete industry is centuries-old and every bit of technology is there for us to use. The problem comes in when we decide to not use the technology. That said, the biggest challenges to the world of skateparks are prefab builders convincing unsuspecting communities that their product is what they need. Skateparks should be concrete or in some cases wood but never steel. Shame on the prefab guys who have an opportunity to help a community get a real skatepark but instead, for reasons beyond me, continue to push dribble on them. The next challenge is the lack of standards under which we should build our concrete parks. There are some builders working hard at creating great parks that will last but many more are just in it to "blow-and-go", a term referring to blowing shotcrete into a hole and leaving town. It's easy to make a park LOOK great, although some can't seem to even manage that, but putting the time and money into properly building the park is even more important. What factors will improve your business growth within the next few years? My growth is directly tied to my ability to work with a client, warranty the park and implement design ideas that make sense. We are a 22-year-old company and have many, many tricks up our sleeves. We have been around long enough to see our product—as well as everyone else's—fail. Admitting that something has failed and remedying the problem is important but pretending that it didn't happen is wrong. Also, embracing the street plaza trend and realizing that the kids who live on Facebook and will text a friend who is standing right next to them have little in common with those of us in our 30's and 40's. They don't interact like us, don't work as hard as us, and certainly don't skate like us. They want the Internet, a cell phone, a hubba-ledge and a stair set. That said, I feel that archaic designs from skating's yesteryear and poor prefab designs are equally responsible for hindering the creation of skateparks today. We need to get our heads out of the sand and look around. What is your approach to managing public input during the design process? Public input is the cornerstone of design. Although kids, (for the most part), have no idea what they really want, they do tell you in general terms what they're looking for. The problem comes when the designer simply chooses to ignore the input, particularly as it pertains to street skating. We also run in to a tremendous number of older skaters with a MASSIVE sense of entitlement and think that the local skatepark should be designed for them. WRONG! I handle the adults the same as the kids and that rubs people the wrong way at times. Adults have driven many, many skateparks into the ditch with their crazy, old-school ideas. We stand up from the start and let the kids know they have a voice as well. Then we begin designing a park using ALL input, both from kids and adults, equally. What misconceptions do you face from the public regarding your products or services? Concrete = pools and prefab = cheap and quick. Obviously neither is true. We can build any prefab design, (not that we'd want to), for half the cost of prefab and in half the time. What are some qualities that make a community easy or difficult to work with? The easiest community is one where the parents leave the room. Parents speak for their children all too often and do not allow us to interact with the kids at a base level. Kids have a lot to say when allowed to say it. Tom Noble {mospagebreak title=Wormhoudt Skateparks} Wormhoudt SkateparksHow many skateparks has your company played a lead design or construction role in? Zach Wormhoudt, (Owner): 100 plus When and how was the company started? Company started by Ken Wormhoudt, 1964. What projects, of from each of the last three years, are your most notable creations? Designed Derby Skate Park in Santa Cruz 1973.  Lake Cunningham Skatepark, San Jose
 Venice Beach, CA - On the Beach with Jesse Martinez
 Santa Cruz, CA
What unique quality does your company bring to the world of skateparks? Our design team is made up of professionally trained and licensed designers that skate and are excited to work with communities to develop skate parks. Where do you see skatepark design going? What is it leaving behind? Skatepark developments are becoming more and more intergraded into municipal parks, brought front and center to be embraced by the entire community. Hopefully, gone are the days where skate parks are a band-aid solution to a perceived problem in the community. More and more communities recognize the value of building a skate park and locating it as prominently as possible. The benefits are broad reaching and certainly go way beyond just benefiting the skaters who use the park. How are emerging trends like sustainability and park aesthetics influencing your work? Parks have become more than just a bunch of concrete for the "skate kids" located behind the community landfill, and park construction and aesthetics have to be part of the evolution. Sustainable design, materials, and construction are not just an option for a better park; it is the requirement of modern design. Skatepark aesthetics are big right now and will play a bigger role in future parks. The coping line of an empty backyard pool is the ultimate aesthetic for many, so aesthetics will always be a relative thing. Yes, parks can look like the most well planned urban plazas with sculptural features that non-skaters can appreciate. In the end it is always a matter of form vs. function; with skateparks hopefully it will always be the case that function drives form and the form happens to look really good. What are the largest challenges facing skatepark construction today? Construction challenges are mostly limited to material and labor costs. When materials like cement and steel prices vary as much as 40% within a six-month period as a result of a dam project in China, it makes it hard for designers and communities to anticipate how much park they will be able to build with their budget. What factors will improve your business growth within the next few years? As a business we are incorporated but ultimately we are a small shop. Fortunately we don't spend our time trying to go after every skatepark project, so our business growth is not about doing more and more projects. We focus on a limited number of projects and getting them done right. Growth for us is improving the work we do, building lasting relationships with communities, and contributing to the sport of skating with successful skateparks. What is your approach to managing public input during the design process? Seems like every company does the community workshop process these days. I can remember my father, Ken Wormhoudt, doing workshops for Derby in 1973 and for parks like Greer and Santa Rosa in the 1980s. His concept was always the same: Different skaters have different needs, so what works in one town may not work in another. Regardless of the current trends in skate park design, we are committed to working with local skaters and tailoring the parks to their needs. What misconceptions do you face from the public regarding your products or services? Sometimes we get credit for the build portion of the projects we work on. We do a limited amount of design-build projects but most projects we do design and construction support work only. We collaborate with various builders but most often we are not building parks, we are just part of the team. Wormhoudt incorporated
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 April 2010 21:26 |