Architects selected to compete in the Lake Sammamish Design Competition, pictured from left: Terry Reckord and Stan Lokting of ARC Architects; Chris Patano and Laura Hafermann of Patano+Hafermann Architects; and Jim Kalvelage and Allan Johnson of Opsis Architecture.
Finding the Balance
Washington State Parks is considering extensive re-development of Lake Sammamish State Park to improve recreational opportunities, restore and safeguard important natural features and functions, and develop new revenue sources to help support this and other state parks. The park’s largely urbanized surroundings make balancing its recreation, conservation, and financial needs especially challenging. The essential task of this project is to create a plan that finds a balance among these important public benefits.
To assist in this effort, State Parks recently formed a park advisory committee made up of local and regional elected officials, a newspaper publisher and individuals representing tribal, environmental, business, conservation and youth interests and two members representing the public at large.
Lake Sammamish Design Competition
The Lake Sammamish Park Advisory Committee is currently evaluating a wide variety of facility proposals before recommending a “short list” to the Commission for more thorough analysis during the next round of planning and environmental review.
To help the evaluation process, the committee is conducting an architectural design competition to produce realistic examples of how several of the proposed facilities might look in the park. The committee selected five ideas to explore through the design competition:
- Indoor Soccer Arena
- Rustic Retreat Center
- Sunset Beach Bathhouse/Boardwalk
- Waterfront Activity Center - Restaurant and Family Center
- Waterfront Activity Center - Rowing/Kayaking Boathouse
The committee selected these five – from a larger list of proposals – because members either found the appearance of these facilities difficult to visualize or their imagined appearance varied widely among committee members.
The three downloadable documents below show conceptual designs for each of the five facilities as interpreted by three highly-regarded Pacific Northwest architectural firms:
Each award-winning firm submitted designs in hopes of winning a $15,000 cash prize and a potential contract for additional architectural services during the next phase of park planning.
Design Character
A fundamental purpose of this competition involves establishing an overarching architectural character for all park facilities. This character, or design standard, should capture the essence of the Issaquah Community and the broader Pacific Northwest region while embracing and celebrating the park’s natural landscape and features.
As you look at the design concepts, which of the three firms do you think most succeeded in this regard? What particularly influenced your choice?
Potential Park Facilities and Uses
A necessary goal for park redevelopment is to find ways of generating new revenue to support Lake Sammamish and potentially other state parks. One way to generate revenue involves constructing unique recreational facilities and providing enhanced amenities that park visitors will pay to use. Essentially, this amounts to providing value-added public services for a fee, just like a business. Earned revenue goes first to pay for construction and operation of the facility with the balance going to support operation of the rest of the park and perhaps even other parks.
State Parks consultants, non-profit partners, and private investors proposed nine facility ideas (see below),
that according to preliminary market analysis should at least break even or generate net revenue beyond their
development and operation costs. Financial and practical limitations only allowed us to explore conceptual designs
for five of the nine proposals through the design competition. However, we are equally interested in your views
on the remaining four ideas. Please read the narrative descriptions of all facilities and give us your feedback
on all the current proposals (see Submit Your Comments, below).
Potential recreational facilities that generate revenue:
- Indoor Water Park
- Boating Center (view example graphic)
- Urban RV Campground
- Indoor Soccer Arena
- Rustic Retreat Center
- Sunset Beach Bathhouse/Boardwalk
- Waterfront Activity Center, Restaurant and Family Center
- Waterfront Activity Center, Rowing/Kayaking Boathouse
- Large-scale Area Rentals
During the month of July 2004, the park advisory committee conducted a non-scientific park survey. One question asked respondents to suggest facilities not currently offered at the park that they would like to see included. These facilities are not expected to generate revenue, however their costs could be offset by the facilities that do. Please give us your reaction to these suggestions as well.
Additional Facilities Suggested by Park Survey Respondents
- Regional Trailhead
- Interpretive Center
- Large-scale Playground Structures
- Outdoor Performance Space
- Off-leash Dog Area
- Fishing Pier
- Climbing Wall
- Skate Park
Existing Park Facilities and Uses
Another goal of park redevelopment is to retain the recreational opportunities currently found at the park. Of the park’s approximately 512 acres, about 380 acres (75%) remain in an undeveloped, largely pastoral state including an extensive 320-acre wetland/riparian system. The remaining 130 acres (25%) include developed lawn areas, ornamental trees, sports fields, parking lots and park facilities. We’ve listed significant park facilities and uses below to provide a reference for your input on new facility proposals above.
Existing Facilities and Uses:
- Formal swimming areas
- Bathhouse/concession stand
- Picnic areas
- Group picnic shelters
- Restrooms
- Parking (1,800 stalls)
- Walking, jogging and cycling trails (throughout park)
- Interpretive trails and signs
- Fishing areas
- Playground equipment
- Boat launch
- Canoe/Kayak rentals
- Large-scale special events and festivals
- Youth oriented group camp/day camp area
- Soccer fields
- Baseball fields
- Sand volleyball courts
- Horseshoe pits
- RV dump station
- Park office and maintenance shop
- Statewide equipment maintenance and product shop
- Park staff residences (4)
Submit Your Comments
Your input is very important to us. Please send your comments to:
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Planning and Research Program
1111 Israel Road S.W.
P.O. Box 42650
Olympia, WA 98504-2650
Or E-mail: Peter.Herzog@parks.wa.gov
If you have other comments or questions about this project, please contact: Peter Herzog, parks planner, at (360) 902-8652.
