Presentation Information
[O18-03]Renovate, Rejuvenate, Restore … your Old Planetarium, and Replace, Repair, Renew, Recycle, and Relearn … especially if your Budget is limited !!!
*Kevin Barry1 (1. IPS Design and Operations Committee (USA))
Keywords:
Planetarium renovation,Construction,Architecture
Aim / Objective
New technology? New programs? New people? Old building? No money?
When your dome has to change and adapt, with a limited budget for building, renovation may be your best solution. At Santa Fe Community College, in New Mexico, we are renovating our old building and upgrading our planetarium. This case study will describe our current project, process, budget, and schedule, and provide checklists, diagrams and tools for you to use back in your own dome.
Renovate your Old Planetarium
So you want to build a NEW Planetarium?
New buildings: simple, blank-sheet, leave the old systems and problems behind. Nice idea. Costs a lot. Order of magnitude more than your annual operating budget. Takes a long time. Years. Three at least. Maybe five.
Ah, then, too slow? Too expensive?
So you want to Renovate your OLD Planetarium?
Faster, right? Only cost is that new light projection system? And lots more moveable chairs. Easy, right? Maybe ….. if your building is less than a decade old ..…
Renovations may be more complex than new, but should cost less and finish faster than a brand-new building. But, Renovations must start with existing conditions: diameter/capacity, spring line, orientation, floor/dome tilt, seating types? And operations: audience, hours, staffing? Will they change? What if you shift from directional to concentric? Will acoustics change? Will programs change?
Then ask, what’s the impact on your existing building? New technology, more seats, means More customers. More restrooms? More AC capacity for comfort? Post-Covid, More AC filtration for health? More entry doors, circulation? More emergency exits, fire sprinklers and lights? Most importantly, More accessibility to include all people? More than wheelchairs, we must include sight and sound improvements, signage, pathways, and emergency exits, and consider our elders and children.
New technology? New programs? New people? Old building? No money?
When your dome has to change and adapt, with a limited budget for building, renovation may be your best solution. At Santa Fe Community College, in New Mexico, we are renovating our old building and upgrading our planetarium. This case study will describe our current project, process, budget, and schedule, and provide checklists, diagrams and tools for you to use back in your own dome.
Renovate your Old Planetarium
So you want to build a NEW Planetarium?
New buildings: simple, blank-sheet, leave the old systems and problems behind. Nice idea. Costs a lot. Order of magnitude more than your annual operating budget. Takes a long time. Years. Three at least. Maybe five.
Ah, then, too slow? Too expensive?
So you want to Renovate your OLD Planetarium?
Faster, right? Only cost is that new light projection system? And lots more moveable chairs. Easy, right? Maybe ….. if your building is less than a decade old ..…
Renovations may be more complex than new, but should cost less and finish faster than a brand-new building. But, Renovations must start with existing conditions: diameter/capacity, spring line, orientation, floor/dome tilt, seating types? And operations: audience, hours, staffing? Will they change? What if you shift from directional to concentric? Will acoustics change? Will programs change?
Then ask, what’s the impact on your existing building? New technology, more seats, means More customers. More restrooms? More AC capacity for comfort? Post-Covid, More AC filtration for health? More entry doors, circulation? More emergency exits, fire sprinklers and lights? Most importantly, More accessibility to include all people? More than wheelchairs, we must include sight and sound improvements, signage, pathways, and emergency exits, and consider our elders and children.