Ember: Wellness & Recreation Center

Rachel Schofield

Interior Design, 2024

Ember Wellness & Recreation Center is located in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus, OH aiming to help residents strengthen mind, body, spirit, and community. Using pieces from sports around the world, community building advocacy, and motivation styles, the proposed recreation center brings a different energy to the neighborhood, adding a spark of vibrancy.

Movement and sport have a unique psychological way of bringing people together and convening people for one common goal. Dissecting the current state of the community through the history, infrastructure, politics, and their current impact creates a better understanding of the lifestyle of residents in the area. The neighborhood suffers from high crime rate and housing costs paired with below average income rates, education, and life expectancy, causing quality of life and community morale to intensely suffer. Grocery stores are nowhere to be found with 52% of the population living in poverty and 65% of the larger Franklin County population falls under overweight or obese.

Located on Broad Street in the old Engine House 10, the design utilizes adaptive reuse to revitalize a building and practice environmental consciousness while promoting movement within recreational sports leagues for all ages, open gym space, and numerous exercise classes. Additionally, the center provides an in-house refuel station, providing healthy ready-to-eat meals and snacks alongside health supplements for easy access to residents. Integrating ideas of somatic therapy, the recreation center takes on strengthening minds and spirit alongside the body, with mindful and meditative offerings throughout the week. The recreation center intends to take care of the residents in hopes that healthy residents create a thriving community.

Holistic wellness becomes the primary motivator, with every resource serving a direct purpose for the community as a whole.

Multipurpose layout with divider curtain and exercise class happening on blue basketball court with folding garage door on back wall. — Multipurpose – The basketball court has adaptable features that allow the room to adapt to multiple programmatic needs

Green tiled kitchenette with open shelving and self-serve refrigerator serving pre-made healthy meals with neon lights above. Cardio gym equipment is present in the background within a corner. — Refueling Station – Serving healthy premade meals and supplements to residents to aid in fueling moving bodies and growing minds

Curved restroom walls that sport a bold graphic with blues, green, and oranges among pictures of people being active divided into a grid like pattern with overlaid graphic expressions. Interweaving colorful neon jogs on the ceiling above. — Lobby – Creating a moment of pause, the lobby sports large graphics that portray the heritage of Franklinton with a modern, bold twist. The neon above carries energy throughout the space

Small room with exposed brick and acoustic panels on the walls, along with acoustic baffles above and yoga mats on the floor. — Meditation Space – Equipped with multiple acoustic materials, the meditation room creates a quiet, serene space to unwind and reconnect with oneself

Large open gym with a skylight above and tiny built-in rooms that support different lifting functions. Weight machines and dumbbells surround the space and support the user. — Open Gym – Made to support beginner gym goers, the gym is equipped with numerous options for movement, while also creating privacy and prospect for those new to working out

A comprehensive site plan of the building in front with a basketball court, playground, futsal field, social gathering space, gazebos, pickleball courts, sand volleyball, ping-pong, four square, and equipment trucks from south to north. — Site & Floor Plans – The programming was vital to the project, with the exterior being no exception. The site itself unfolds with all the necessary facilities to really enrich the community through sport. Between both floors, the spatial relationship reinforces the mission as it extends to the outdoors

View Thesis Documentation.pdf (opens in a new window)73.03 MB

Rachel Schofield is a graduating senior from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design with Research Distinction. Her interests in community-centered, hospitality, and sports design flourished during her time at Ohio State through internships and studio classes alike. Interior Design allows her to create a lasting impact with thoughtful, intentional, and functional designs catered to produce memorable experiences for the user. With a strong passion and connection to health and wellness, her capstone project encompasses all that she loves about interior design into one comprehensive design proposal.

See Rachel’s other work here!

Filters: 2024, Undergraduate Studies, Interior Design, Undergraduate Capstone Project