The Five Keys

"Camp Design: Master Planning Basics" Series

In our previous entry, we discussed the importance of a master plan and how it can provide an anchored structure of a clear path forward for your camp’s future.  If you’ve decided to develop a master plan, you'll need to consider the Five Keys of your camp:

1. Market: the characteristics and preferences of each user group – campers, employees, visitors, etc.  Who does your camp serve, and what are their needs?  What is your camp’s mission?  Thoroughly understanding your target market is essential in order to craft a unique camp experience.
2. Program: the big picture operational modes for a camp.  Who uses your camp, for what activities, and when?  Is your camp year-round, a day-camp, or a retreat center?  The various program modes of your camp will define capacity, scheduling, staffing, and more.
3. Operation: the day-to-day infrastructure of how a camp is supported and maintained.  What are the logistical requirements for your camp to run efficiently?  Gaining insight into supportive infrastructure for maintenance, housekeeping, and staffing is essential.
4. Sites & Facilities: how the first three keys are physically expressed on camp property.  This is the tangible development of your camp’s program goals – for example, planning seasonal housing for your summer campers, or a large lodge for your weekend retreat visitors.  What resources do you already have to work with?  Will you aim for new construction or renovation? 
5. Finance & Funding: absolutely required for the practical execution of your plan.  This is where your plan goes from dream to reality – and also where reality hits home, potentially prompting revisions to the master plan.  What kind of funding and support might be necessary?  What phasing requirements does your camp have financially?

The master planning process involves four major steps.  It begins with two concurrent preparatory phases to study Programming and complete a Baseline Evaluation, followed by the Master Plan decision-making phase, and finally Implementation.  Throughout this process, it's essential to keep the Five Keys in mind, and it's also helpful to work through the following questions.

• What is your camp's purpose?
• What are the existing components of your camp?
• What will your camp do?
• How will your camp do it?
• What would your camp do differently next time?

The diagram below illustrates how the above questions relate to the phases of a master planning cycle.

Our planning team recently traveled to Camp Sequoia Lake in Miramonte, CA, to help the camp begin the initial Programming and Baseline Evaluation phases.  Over a week-long visit, we conducted a Master Plan charrette to gain insight into Camp Sequoia Lake.  The beautiful site is located between King's Canyon & Sequoia National Forest, with several camps surrounding the large Sequoia Lake.  Our team met with key staff members and talked with campers to understand what the Camp Sequoia Lake culture is all about.  They also shared some of the camp’s current challenges, which helped us to identify future operational goals and facility needs.  We documented existing conditions to maximize the efficiency of future plans.  Overall, everyone contributed some great ideas for the proposed master plan, and lots of refreshing ideas and inspiring concepts were generated while on-site.  We’re very excited to be assisting Sequoia Lake with their future goals for the property.

Just like we're doing at Camp Sequoia Lake, you can get your camp on the right track for a master plan by thinking through the Five Keys and phases listed above.  Stay tuned for the next post in our Master Planning series, which will focus in-depth on the Programming phase.

Note: This series is based on Greg Copeland’s book “Camp Design: Master Planning Basics”, which is available for purchase here.  Greg leads Domokur Architects’ Planning and Landscape Architecture team with over 40 years of professional and planning experience.