The Hero’s Launch (2016)
Photos Courtesy of Henry McCoy
MedCamps Executive Director Caleb Seney:
With the design and construction of The Hero’s Launch, Arch335 took on the task of making canoeing a safe, accessible activity for our campers. Much like Chiasmus, the students were inspired to take a standard camp activity and make it accessible, safe and fun. The students designed and built a structure that provided a way for MedCamps staff to transfer campers in wheelchairs from stable surface to stable surface.
The functionality of the project changed canoeing from a camp-wide, all-hands-on-deck activity to one where one or two cabin groups could go and enjoy the activity. The project provided a level of independence to our campers that provided a sense of normalcy by making the activity less of a spectacle and more of a personal experience.
Tech Professor Brad Deal
: This was our first project on the water and it gave us a new level of confidence in taking on challenges outside of Robert’s and my professional experience. It also happens to offer one of the most striking silhouettes on the property, especially when framed by a Camp Alabama sunset.
Program Summary:
An ADA Accessible Canoe And Paddleboat launch designed specifically for a summer camp for children with various special needs and disabilities.
Program Statement:
This project was designed to replace an existing floating dock structure at a summer camp for children with special needs. The existing facility was not suited for the loading and unloading of campers from their wheelchairs and lacked any storage space or protection from the sun and rain. The design draws inspiration from the epic novel structure of the hero’s journey. The camper’s journey begins on the “known” side of the camp where all other activities occur. But the act of crossing the bright red threshold, leaving the land and exploring the lake brings them into the “unknown” or wilderness side of the camp where they can explore the unfamiliar and begin to understand it. After their adventure, they return to the “known” side having gained new knowledge and confidence, a central goal of the camp experience for this population that is often withdrawn and isolated. This facility features a CNC fabricated louver wall that reveals the gateway to the “unknown” through concentric ripples like those made by a drop in the waters surface. It also includes a custom paddleboat lift and swiveling transfer bench for simple and safe loading of the boats by the camp staff. It also accommodates the storage of four canoes, two paddleboats as well as life jackets, paddles and other safety gear. With its prominent position of the water, this project is the beacon that calls the campers to begin their adventure, and the threshold they cross as they return as fearless heroes.
Project Team:
Professors
: Robert Brooks, Brad Deal
Students
: Delaney Baker, Hunter Bradshaw, Daniel Campbell, Sam Crossland, Michael Davis, Daniel Dumas, Emily Greene, David Hoover, Chase Johnson, Tim Mathews, Ethan Robison, Ashton Russel, Rosa Schellinger, Keirilyn Smith, Jed Walpole, Lane Walters, Sulaiman Yousef
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