Phone Interview with Pavilion of the Two Sisters architect, Peter Trapolin

“The year 1991 was when the Botanical Gardens were built. There was a movement in the mid 1980’s where people became environmentally conscious due to the price of oil. At that time, you had to wait in long lines to get gas and because of this, there was a spark in interest in the use of solar energy, so the Conservatory was built. The original name for the Pavilion of the Two Sisters was City Park Educational Pavilion. It was meant to be multi-purposeful for horticulture and fundraising activities. Originally, it was designed to accommodate educational functions. It’s well insulated, but there is no real sustainability features. As of right now, the facility completely supports itself by the rent they get when they lease it out for weddings. City Park does not receive funds from the city or state. They have to raise funds for themselves. Botanical Gardens would be a huge money making facility for City Park, however City Park needs help”.

Precedent 5- ARF Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation

Location: Walnut Creek, California

Architect: The 1%: Strengthening Nonprofits through Design

Principal in Charge: Tony La Russa

Overall square footage: 37, 700 sq. ft.

Physical Parameters:
Context: ARF opened in June 2003 and has become a community center where ARF is able to rescue, treat, and adopt more animals who would otherwise be put to death. “The catalyst for ARF came in May of 1990 during a baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees when a stray cat wandered onto the playing field. Terrified by the roar of the crowd, the frightened feline dashed about, eluding umpires and players. Tony, then the Manager of the Oakland A's, coaxed the cat into the dugout, secured its safety for the remainder of the game, then took responsibility for placing it with a local shelter. To his dismay, Tony discovered there was not a single No-Kill facility in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. When Tony learned the cat would be euthanized, he and his wife, Elaine, named her "Evie" and found a home for her. His experience with this cat was the genesis for the founding of ARF, a No-Kill organization dedicated to bringing people and animals together to enrich each other's lives.” (www.arf.net)

Site Location: It is situated on a prominent corner in Walnut Creek, California at 2890 Mitchell Drive. The ARF campus is bringing people and animals together in a family oriented park like setting. The facility consists of two buildings, totaling 37,700 sq. ft.


Concept For Project: ARF saves dogs and cats who have fun out of time at public shelters and brings people and animals together to enrich each other’s lives. ARF strives to create a world where every loving dog and cat has a home, where every lonely person has a companion animal, and where children learn to care.

Special Factors or challenges: When circumstances arise that leave an adopter unable to keep their animal; ARF will assist the owner in finding a new home. Because ARF is a no kill organization and is fully supported by donations (because they are non-profit), they can only accept a limited amount of animals to the shelter based on their financial capabilities at that time.


List of all the spaces:

Entry: ARF’s facility serves as a community center, as well as a national model, providing a resource for people of all ages to enjoy positive interactions with animals. In addition, the donor wall prominently lists and honors leading contributors to ARF’s capital campaign. To the left is the Virginia Pitchford Main Entry which leads to the Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation Multi use hall, a community gathering spot for adoption fairs, educational exhibits, social events, and school tours.




Dog and Cat Condos: ARF’s animals relax in a homelike setting, making them more adoptable and able to thrive in their new homes.
Lynn and Dolores McCoskey Spay/Newter clinic: With the capacity to alter thousands of animals a year, ART’s state of the art clinic helps break the cycle of companion animal overpopulation in the community.
Learning Center: The learning center at ARG is the first interactive museum connected to a private adoption center designed to educate children about animal companions. This guided experience brings children through a pint sized veterinary office, an age appropriate pet supply shop and to “Walk in My Pays” a creative play stage where children experience what it’s like to be a dog or a cat in a human world.
Summary: I came across this organization because ARF is not only a nonprofit, but is one that deals with animals. The floorplan of the facility has helped me in designing my space that is allocated for the rescued dogs at Spirit Gardens along with the spaces used for the interaction with humans.

Precedent 4- Arizona Cancer Center

The Peter and Paula Fasseas Cancer Clinic
Location: Tucson, Arizona

Architect: Co Architects (Dennis McFadden

Principal in Charge: James Simeo

Overall square footage: 82,000 sq. ft.

Total Construction Cost: $21,435,000



Environmental Influences: The rugged natural beauty of Tucson, Arizona has driven this design. The science and art of healing have converged; medicine and technology are integrated with a healing environment closely linked to nature.

Physical Parameters:
Context: Initially founded in 1976 as a Division of the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine, the Arizona Cancer Center currently stands as Center of Excellence in the Arizona Health Sciences Center. It provides outpatient exam and infusion treatment services to patients in a convenient accessible facility. The cancer center is the first phase o a 17 acre site that will be developed in increments to house other services of the medical center.

Special Factors or Challenges: By providing access to gardens, trees, and mountain views, the design is deinstitutionalized and removed from an acute care hospital setting.

List of all spaces and design: “The healing gardens are an integral part of the new center and provide an atmosphere that’s conductive to an outstanding quality of life-a setting in which cancer patients can feel they have a great chance of being cured,” says Cancer Center Director David Alperts. The healing gardens replicate elements of the native landscape and are organized around a creek bed that runs through the site-a desert “wash” which supply the garden’s native trees, plants and flowers with water. All of the exam and infusion treatment spaces are provided with a window that looks out to the gardens. All elements of the building’s design relate to the natural landscape. Exterior and interior finishes are natural materials made from natural products, such as stone and wood. Trellises and covered entries provide shade. The color palate is neutral earth tones. Interior spaces are washed with soft, indirect light.




Summary: I love the way that Arizona Cancer Center shares some of the same goals as Spirit Gardens hopes to achieve; healing through nature and raising the quality of life of the patients staying there.

Precedent 3- Green Chimneys

Location: 400 Doansburg Road, Box 719 Brewster, NY 10509-0719

Architect: Perkins Eastman Architects PC

Principal in Charge: Aaron B. Schwarz

Interior Designer: Perkins Eastman Architects PC

Engineer: Severud Associates, Insite Engineering, and Gerard Associates

Overall square footage: 27,500 square feet

Total Construction Cost: $6.1 million

Environmental Influences: Green Chimney’s residential treatment center is located on a 150 acre farm in Putnam County, New York providing an ideal environment for a nature based therapeutic and educational program.

Physical Parameters:
Context: With the financial backing of S. Bernard Ross, M.D., a 75 acre dairy farm in the Town of Patterson, Putnam County, New York, was purchased by a widow of the New York State Senator Ward Tolbert on October 27, 1947. The farm, in the Town of Patterson, Putnam County, NY was to operate as a boarding and day school and summer camp for children between the ages of 3-6 where children could interact with farm animals. The property has since expanded to nearly 200 acres with an additional 350 acres at Clearpool Education Center. The name Green


Chimneys Farm for Little Folk was changed to Green Chimneys School for Little Folk to better describe the program.
Concept for Project: Green Chimneys is the nationally renowned, nonprofit organization with a mission of restoring possibilities and creating futures for children with emotional, behavioral, social and learning challenges through educational, therapeutic and outreach services, while providing care for animals and nature, thereby promoting a philosophy of dignity and worth for all living things.

Special Factors or Challenges: As new programs were being offered in the 80’s, the school and agency experienced four years of deficits, the result of program expenses and delay in funding for new programs. A lesson learned was that it is difficult to add new programs without start-up money and reserves.




List of all Spaces:
Green Chimneys School: The administrative building is centrally located, with classroom buildings on either side. A covered walkway connects the three buildings, creating a "front porch" for a central green. The buildings are solidly built, a necessary requirement for the education and care of 150 middle-school-aged, high energy children. Two classroom buildings are housed under the two-story barrel roof portions of the building, flanking shared resources including library, science rooms, and flexible project rooms.
Green Chimneys School provides residential, social, and educational services for emotionally disturbed children on a 150-acre farm. Its philosophy is predicated on the belief that given the responsibilities of caring for animals, troubled children can regain self-respect, and learn to trust and love.
The architect designed three new academic structures for the school, and made renovations to existing buildings on the rural residential campus. The scale and massing of the buildings fit within the context of the surrounding farm, which is composed of small residential and barn buildings.
-Woodshop, Classrooms, library, pool, kitchen, playground, lab rooms, outdoor gardens, farm, kenneling, gym, etc.
Residential Treatment Facility: David Hall, the Green Chimneys is a 14 bed psychiatric residential treatment facility on the grounds of the Green Chimneys Brewster Campus.
-Bedrooms, Game Room, Kitchen, Living room, Dining room

Summary: The aspects that I have drawn from this organization was not so much the interior design part of it, but the information gathered in regards to the animal assisted therapy activities and the fact that they are a non-profit organization. The main difference between Spirit Gardens and Green Chimneys is that they focus on children with disabilities and Spirit Gardens focuses on adults with Cancer, but both are intended to heal in other ways rather than medically. The residential treatment facility has helped me with square footage amounts and the design for my residential space.

Precedent 2- Wellington Ronald McDonald House

1. Reception
A light, bright reception area will provide a warm and secure welcome for new families. It will include a separate area for new families to check in, and a waiting area for guests.

2. Donor wall
A large feature of the reception area will be a donor wall to recognize major donors and key supporters. The wall is being created by Weta Workshop.

3. Administration offices and staff apartment
Our administration offices and an apartment for staff or volunteers will be located behind the main reception area. We operate a 24-hour service to ensure staff or volunteers are always available.

4. Underground parking, storage and utilities
The basement will provide 17 car parks and a large storage area for the generous donations of food, cleaning and other general household products we receive. A walk-in chiller and freezer will be housed here, as will a rubbish and plant room.



1. Communal and commercial kitchen and dining room
A large, communal self-catering kitchen with 8 workstations so that families have the room to cook their meals – providing them with some normality. The kitchen will include personal pantry, fridge and freezer space for each family to store their food. A communal pantry and fridge will give families access to donated food. Volunteers will use a small commercial kitchen to prepare shared family meals.

2. Five lounges
Two family lounges on the first floor, the largest just under 80 sqm, will let families relax and be together with a TV area on one side and lounges on the other. Another family lounge will be on the third floor. A childfree parents’ lounge provides a quiet sanctuary for parents, and a ‘kids only’ games lounge offers a distraction for sick children and their siblings.

3. Outdoor and Children’s play area
Families will be able to relax, dine and barbeque while children play in a private outdoor area.



1. Gym
A gym is the most requested new facility. Parents spend many hours beside their
child’s hospital bed and would like the opportunity to exercise. It’s also a great way to relieve stress and contribute to the wellbeing of worried parents. A small gym will be located on the second floor.

2. Four self-contained apartments
The apartments have been designed to meet the extra special needs of some families. For example:
- Families of children with compromised immune systems. These children can leave the hospital environment but can’t mix with other people.
- Families facing the imminent death of their child. These families need space and privacy to allow them to come to terms with their situation and grieve.
- Parents facing a lengthy stay in the House. These families need a change of environment to boost their spirits.

3. Thirty ensuite bedrooms
These homely rooms will be of varying sizes to cater for different sized families. Rooms will sleep single parents, three to four people or large families of up to five.

Precedent 1-The House That Love Built, New Orleans Ronald McDonald House

Overall square footage: approximately 6,000 square feet

When families have traveled many miles to receive specialized medical care, looking for temporary accommodations in an unfamiliar place only adds to their stress and anxiety. The Ronald McDonald House not only offers them a place to stay, but a built-in support system where families help each other. Together, they face and overcome some of the most trying times in their lives.
The Ronald McDonald House provides a "home-away-from-home" for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at area hospitals. On average, 85 families stay at the house each month. The New Orleans, Ronald McDonald House opened in December 1983 with the help of the New Orleans Saints. Originally built at the turn of the last century, the New Orleans Ronald McDonald House is located in historic Mid City. The new Orleans McDonald House has 8 staff members: a full time Executive Director, Administrative assistant, Administrative Manager, Housekeeper, two part managers to cover nights, weekends, and holidays, two part time van drivers and a volunteer coordinator. The staff also relies heavily on assistance from volunteers. Guests at the house are asked to donate 10 dollars per night, but the actual cost is about 60 per family, per night. More than 18,000 families have been served since the house opened in 1983.



Location: 4403 Canal Street New Orleans, Louisiana 70119-5946



List of all spaces:

1. 15 bedrooms
2. Large kitchen
3. Dining Room
4. Two Laundry areas
5. Toy Room
6. Two Dens
7. Outside Patio area


Summary: I am attracted to this organization because of its homey quality and that it has a lot about it that I will incorporate in my organization such as how it is run, the fact that there is one isolation room for sick children, how it stands tall in the non-profit world, and typical room sizes.

Opinions on City Park

“What do you think City Park’s strength are?”

• Beautiful open green space, live oaks, garden, WPA historical works
• Greenery, stadium 2 golf courses, stables, Christmas lights, art
• original design (esp. both south side) lush, centrally located
• The variety of offerings! Plus the potential for more activities
• Green space, museum, sculpture garden, amusements, diversity!
• Green space, trees, open space, space away from noise
• It’s history, natural beauty, size, location, open space
• The location of the park is its biggest strength
• Variety of spaces and ease of access from various parts of the city
• The physical size in an urban area
• The beauty of nature, trees, bayou
• Accessibility to people
“What are City Park’s weaknesses?”

• LACK OF PUBLIC FUNDING!! As a result, there is poor maintenance, understaffed, unqualified workers, neglected trees, lagoons and gardens.
• Lack of maintenance and grooming
• Litter, lack of financial support
• Most people do not know that City Park receives no funds from the city
“What are City Park’s opportunities?”

• With funding and good leadership, we could become one of the best urban parks
• To be a showcase facility to New Orleans and surrounding area
• Biking, jogging trails, dog park facility, increase public donations
• Access to city, skate park/dog park/adoption facility
• Create more specialized activity that generates money to fund free areas
• A chance to open up to all regardless of economic affluence
• Partnership with SPCA, regional cooperation with surrounding parishes


“Threats for City Park?”

• Apathy, lack of funding, no future plans- plan and JUST DO IT!
• Lack of maintenance causing less usage, crime, etc.
• Perception that City Park is used only by N.O residents, poor economy, crime in city
• Crime and neglect

“Concerns?”

• I am concerned that without public funding the park will deteriorate beyond repair
• Park currently serves as a marginal attraction and needs to be resource for all users and attraction to more
• Politics
• Appearance, mowing, safety
• I’m concerned you will lose your autonomy by seeking tax dollars
• We need more physical activity for aggregate numbers of people
• Lack of security and overall supervision
• Vandalism and people who do not appreciate the value and beauty of the park
•