Illustrative Designs
There are generally no families at these installations
The Community Activity Center should integrate the full
range of functions that comprise community activities and
for the CAC to accommodate.
services for the installation. All nonmission activities are
No morale support activities staff are available, typi-
eligible for accommodation in the facility, morale support
cally, to operate the remote-site CAC and its programs.
activities, post-exchange outlets, chapel, all grades club,
They are run by military personnel on detail, or on a part-
and any other morale, welfare and recreation activity
time basis, with little or no specialized training. Thus the
which exists on the installation. This integration may
center must be designed for easy operation and primarily
involve sharing of the same space, such as having
self-directed activities.
chapel services and US0 shows in a gymnasium, or
designing well related spaces for the different functions
(4) Additional Emphases for Continental U.S. There
within the same building.
are many small installations within the U.S. which need
CAC's. The designs presented here should be modified
(2) Responsive to Local Factors. The Community
to reflect those factors which make this context different
Activity Center designed for each installation should
for each post and its population. Such modifications
respond to the needs of the site. Only those functions
should depend on local decisions as to what is appropri-
which are locally appropriate, and not accommodated
ate. Significant differentiating factors include:
elsewhere, should be included. The basic programs and
Some community services may be available off-post,
plans presented in this section may be modified (added
and the context is culturally familiar. Therefore, the CAC
to or subtracted from) depending on the local needs.
may not need to provide as comprehensive and self-con-
The architectural design of the CAC should be developed
tained a community program.
to suit local climatic, site conditions and construction
Families with children will normally be found at these
methods.
installations. Since they will use the facilities, the
designs must accommodate their different program
(3) Issues of Remote Sites. Certain key factors per-
demands.
tain to small remote overseas sites which directly affect
Civilian employee populations often work at these
CAC planning:
installations, sometimes outnumbering the military. If
they are eligible to use the Community Activity Center, it
Isolation, often in foreign environments, makes it nec-
must be designed to meet their needs as well.
essary for the post community services to be self-
sufficient.
Criteria for handicapped accessibility must be met in
CAC design, for the possible use of civilian and family
Extremely limited land availability and difficult terrain,
populations.
as is common at many of these sites, require facilities to
be designed compactly to meet unusual site conditions.
Little space may be available for construction, or for out-
door activities.
In some areas, inclement weather forces the troops
indoors much of the time for their leisure activities.
The missions of these installations vary widely, includ-
ing intelligence, weather, signal, tactical, missile sites,
etc. The confinement and pressure that results from
many of these mission activities intensifies the need for a
leisure time release.
The foreign environment, and rapid troop rotation in
and out of many of these stations, prevents building of
local roots. This places demands on the community
activities for programs which new-comers can easily join
and participate in, and which quickly provide a supportive
sense of community.
DG 1110-3-142 Page 6-51
Previous Page
