Matt Keys with Hollis + Miller talks about the impact of COVID-19 on Sports Architecture
What’s waiting for sports venues and athletic facilities on the other side of this pandemic? There’s a lot of speculation and ideas gaining momentum as to where design could or should go once we’ve emerged from this complex crisis.
Matt Keys, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP is a Client Leader at Hollis + Miller Architects. Keys brings more than a decade of sports, recreation, and entertainment design experience to Hollis + Miller. Shield Lockers is looking forward to bringing acrylic solid surface lockers into the Hollis + Miller portfolio in the near future. Here’s what he has to say about it.
Health and wellness in athletic venues and facilities
“The subject of health and wellness for student-athletes has to be thought about outside the realm of physical achievement. Health and wellness for any individual encompasses a diverse world of needs for everyone,” said Keys during a conversation with Shield Lockers.
Those needs have become more apparent thanks to a recent survey from the LEAD1 Association and Teamworks, who recently polled athletic directors at 130-member schools of the Football Bowl Subdivision and compiled the results into their joint “State of Athletics in the Face of Coronavirus” report. The base of athletic directors were polled on current issues in collegiate athletics, including student wellness, financial security and sacrifices, and strategic planning.
The report indicates that athletic directors are seeing the strain on their student-athletes. The top three concerns among the base in order of majority are academic progress, mental health, and lack of resources while off campus—academic, athletic, and other. It’s reasonable to assume that these concerns are being exacerbated by the temporary absence of physical structure and control.
Academic institutions, and athletic facilities in particular, offer student-athletes a structured environment to create friendships, build teamwork, develop skills, recover from strenuous physical activity, and learn how to become young adults. The effects of removing that structure are apparent. This motivates architects and designers like Keys to spend sometimes half of their life improving these facilities and the overall student experience.
“A successful design needs to be approached holistically, addressing the physical, mental, and social aspects of each person. This includes such components as nutrition, academics, safety, living conditions, exercise (strength & conditioning), social interaction, and understanding the specific personality or psychological traits related to each student. The closer we design facilities to enhance these services, health and wellness will follow.”
The impact of COVID-19 on sports facilities design
Keys offers an interesting perspective on the impact of COVID-19 on sports facilities design, galvanizing our new virtual normal and taking it to the next level.
“I’m noticing a lot of design leaders mentioning moving towards the cleanability and maintenance of facilities to make fans feel safe when attending an event; however, I view the occurrence of COVID-19 as a wake up call for a digital revolution regarding facility design.” You can hear the excitement in Keys’ voice as his vision continues to unfold, “Imagine a world where crowds are simulated within a venue while fans “plug in” at home to view the big game virtually. Imagine if sound and intensity could be transferred from one’s home into the simulated crowd, making the players feel the organic nature that fans induce. Years ago this was being discussed as VR technology was being enhanced and conversations of subscriptions to sporting events could be made as a revenue opportunity.”
I mean, why not? If competitive video game playing, commonly known as esports, can become a high school varsity sport (that’s right, in at least 8 states now), then perhaps it’s only a matter of time before a virtual interactive online experience can literally amplify fan waves and transform the digital experience of competitive sporting events from your living room. Keys says, “I do not feel anything will top the in-person experience of seeing a sporting event; however, I believe COVID-19 just made the futuristic world of virtual environments not only a reality, but a necessity.”
Design trends to come
Keys offers some interesting thoughts on where design might go following the COVID-19 crisis. The thoughts range from connectivity, to player hygiene, to selecting materials.
Continuing on the theme of a virtual playbook, connectivity could be enhanced with “projection mapping, where coaches can draw up plays remotely and players can practice and perform those plays as they project on the playing surface,” says Keys. Which could help athletes at the collegiate level stay tuned in to practice and teammates virtually even through the off season. It could also help connect athletes to a global network of training staff anytime, anywhere.
Player hygiene could be enhanced by fundamentally changing the way players and their equipment are cleaned and disinfected after practice or games. “It’s like a player car wash,” says Keys. “A systematic ‘conveyor belt’ for players pre- and post-game or practice where they are cleaned and sanitized from all levels—body, uniform, equipment—before entering a community space.”
In terms of cleanability of surfaces, furniture, and the built environment, Keys supports the need for easy-to-clean and even self-cleaning materials. “We already have antimicrobial products, but taking this up a notch to include sterilizing surfaces that never require additional cleaning.”
Although these ideas aren’t necessarily a current reality, they may not be so far-fetched. One thing is certain though, that the COVID-19 crisis presents a new challenge for designers and pioneers of innovation in general to contend with as they continue to evolve the human experience in the built environment.
Have you seen the best practice recommendations from the American Society of Health Care Engineering (ASHE) for using the health care physical environment to prevent and control infection? Our healthcare segment talks about key recommendations from the guide on selecting and disinfecting surfaces and furniture, and how acrylic solid surface design supports cleanability in any setting.
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