Guidelines for Designing and Understanding a Skateboard Facility
December 22, 2014
Presented by: David M. Williamson
Length: 1:17
Skateboarders are often frowned upon for practicing their activity on urban furniture and city property. It seems that they need a proper facility – a place to practice without hazards or harassment. Skateboarding shifts, changes, and morphs so much, it can seem nearly impossible to design a perfect facility at any given time. Rather than offering guidelines for a model facility, this webinar focuses on what designs make or break a skatepark, why we need them, and what they have to do with landscape architecture.
(Note: The following catalog of content covered in this webinar is time stamped to allow you to follow along or skip to sections of the video that are relevant to your questions, You can also search for content on this page using the FIND command in your browser (CTRL + F in Windows, Command + F in Mac OS.)
- Part One: Brief History: Skateboarding, Skateparks, and Terrain
- Part Two: Design Considerations: Things to Include and Consider When Designing a Skatepark
- Part Three: Case studies and Thesis: 4 Case Studies and Final Design Project
- Part Four: Skatepark Theory: “What Good Are They?” and Other Questions
Do’s and Don’t’s of Skateparks (13:52)
Don’t’s
- Cracks just before or after ledges
- Cracks on ramps
- Cracks at top or bottom of stairset
- Cracks at beginning or end of rail
- Fence next to ledge
- Round coping on ledges
- Stair rails that are different heights at the top and bottom
- Excessively steep or short embankments
- Don’t let the features/obstacles dictate the direction in which skaters can travel throughout the park
Do’s
- Cornered angle at the top of embankment (rather than rounded)
- Small concrete fence (2.5 to 3 feet tall) instead of a conventional fence
- Even, flat steel coping on ledges (creates flush surface)
- Varying levels (similar features for more- and less-experienced skateboarders) meshed together for continuity (e.g., smaller and larger embankments and rails)
- Darker colors (helps prevent sun prevention)
- Maintaining the same height at top and bottom of stair rails
- Medium-grade embankment angles
- Variety! (Different objects, sizes, shapes)
- Space and visibility
- Flow and movement
- Include lots of flat open space
- Consider where the sun is at all times
A few examples of David’s creations: Real-world objects adapted for skating purposes (23:19)
Accessibility and Location Factors (29:36)
- Multiple modes of transportation to park are always a good idea
- Bike racks
- Availability at night/stadium lighting
A Few Things to ALWAYS Add to a Skatepark if possible (31:20)
- Restrooms
- Drinking fountains
- Seating just outside the park
- Bike racks
- Recycling
- Accessibility to food (e.g.: food trucks)
- Transportation
- Emergency phone and charging station
Important Design Considerations:
- Shade
- Places for people (BBQ pits, grassy areas, etc.)
- Planting and vegetation
- Water cisterns beneath any bowls or swales (collect rainwater)
Design Considerations: Things Often Overlooked When Designing a Skatepark (review) (34:48)
- No modular parks
- Accessibility/location
- Availability (open day/night)
- Size
- Shade/sun
- Restrooms
- Drinking fountains
- Seating outside of skatepark
- Bike racks
- Nearby food
- Transportation to/from park
- Emergency phones
- Background of city/town (identify park with locality)
- Everything is skateable!
David's Case studies:
- Saint Helena Skatepark
- Napa Skatepark
- Vallejo Skatepark
- Fairfield Skatepark
- Rancho Cordova Skatepark
- Davis Skatepark
- Benicia Skatepark
- Berkeley Skatepark
Reflection Mappings of the 8 Parks (42:30)
(David brought 11”-by-17” maps of parks to the parks themselves and had skaters circle the features they liked and draw out the lines they generally take when skating. He then transcribed these renderings to Illustrator and used them in the design of a park.)
Exemplary skateparks (44:30)
- St. Cloud, MN: CA/ASD
- Corning, CA: Dreamland (Note: This skatepark was designed by ASD/Stantec and built by Dreamland.)
- Houston, TX: Grindline
- Brandon, FL: Team Pain
- Provo, UT: Spohn Ranch
- W. Dundee, IL: Skate Plaza
Skateparks:
- Add to the community (beneficial)
- Are a good outlet for kids and adults and bring them together (youthfulness)
- Introduce skaters to one another; common meeting ground (camaraderie)
- Teach skateboarders tolerance and patience (lessons)
- Bring skaters from all around (tourism)
- Deter other inappropriate behavior
- Keep skateboarders in a controlled environment (safety)
- Offer a place to learn, grow, feel appreciated, progress, and interact and reflect
- Provide other users (multi-purpose)
Development and Resources (51:17)
- Always hire a skatepark design/build specialist
- Never let a modular company sell you on a completely metal/wood skatepark
- Every city or town can afford and deserves a skatepark (consider fundraising)
- It takes a skateboarder’s eye to design a proper skatepark
Questions:
How would you recommend deterring graffiti? (54:40)
Provide an area in the park that is specifically for graffiti (such as a wall)
Any comments on safety zones and BMX/scooter areas? (57:17)
Safety: Include flatter space and/or smaller objects that allow less-experienced skaters to try new tricks
BMX/Scooters/Inline Skates: Many parks have designated hours for one activity or the other (David thinks this doesn’t work, since people want to do their activity when they want to.)
It’s up to the people using the park to work out rights-of-way among themselves
Where to put expansion joints, place drainage? (1:01)
Expansion joints/cracks:
Try to keep them away from the beginning and end of objects in the park. Try to place them in spots where skateboards aren’t likely to hit.
Grading of park often will determine placement of expansion joints.
Extra rebar at heavy impact zones, as well as thicker concrete throughout the park, may help minimize the number of necessary expansion joints.
Drainage location:
Place drainage swales in areas where skateboarders won’t travel, in flatter areas, or at the edge of the concrete where it meets dirt or other materials.
Use thicker concrete above swales in concrete, or even make swales skateable objects.
Comments on concrete materials? (1:08:20)
- Don’t put permeable or porous materials in high-impact zones.
- Consider making objects hollow, which uses less concrete.
- The smoother, the better.
- Always consider the location of the material (sun exposure, water exposure, accessibility to pedestrians or bikes/roller skates)
Commentary on eclecticism of skatepark design (1:10)
Studies on noise levels and head injuries at skateparks (skateparks are relatively quiet, and skaters tend to sustain relatively few head injuries in comparison with other sports such as football and basketball) (1:14:30)
Final word: Skateparks are awesome!
Skatepark-Related References
Contact
- Land F/X
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