Make It Real Student Design Challenge: Gym Construction

Hello everyone!

Today we are looking at the construction of my gym for the Make It Real Student Design challenge part 3. I would like to say a big thank you to Autodesk, Instructables, James Devlin, and CDW for making this possible.

For the 3rd Challenge, I have constructed and designed a gym that will suit a wide variety of people and made sure to make it as eco-friendly and accessible for people with disabilities as possible. Through the construction, design, and practicality; you will find how amazing this gym really is.

I will say that I have barely put my foot in the water as to how to plan and construct something of this magnitude and want to keep studying these topics to get a better understanding of construction and design.

Thank you and enjoy this instructable!

Supplies

I CADed all the parts for the gym through Fusion 360. Other tools that you can use are tinker cad, Revit, and etc... I chose to make design the gym through fusion 360 because it very easy to make complex models and I have already used it extensively, making it the perfect tool for the job.

Step 1: Finding a Location to Build

In California, where I currently live, there are so many good places to choose for a location. I selected 556 East Campbell Avenue, Campbell CA 95008 to be the perfect location for a gym. It is an abandoned building right outside Campbell Down Town and is right next to a park, making it accessible for everyone. It also has a location in the back to put construction material.

This will cost about 3.7 million dollars to buy the land for the gym due to the fact that California has a very pricy real estate market.

But with a prime location and growing city, this would be a great spot to have a gym.

Step 2: Construction Layout

First, due to the fact that there is an abandoned building at the location that we desire, we will first need to demolish what is already on the land that we bought.

In the diagram above, the green is where we will be constructing the gym, the grey is where we will be storing materials, the blue is where we will be keeping construction tools and vehicles, and the orange is where a break room and muster point will be.

Step 3: Safety

This is one of the most important steps while building a Gym.

Public Saftey While in Construction

First, we want to protect the pedestrians and the general public while we are constructing the gym.

We will first make sure to have the area that we have bought fenced off and have a security team there to ensure the safety of the construction workers, engineers, architects, and the general public.

In addition to this, we will have traffic cones, hazard lights, and caution tape around the construction site to ensure that people are aware of the construction that is going on.

Making sure that the construction workers have radios, hard hats, and proper work attire while at the site will ensure that everyone stays safe.

Also, having proper amenities for our workers like water, an area to eat and cool off, and restrooms will be provided.

Lastly, due to the pandemic, we want to ensure that we take the proper safety measures to ensure that no one gets COVID-19 at our work sight. Since Califonia has removed many restrictions on COVID-19, people who are not vaccinated will be required to wear a mask while working and people who are fully vaccinated do not have to wear a mask.

Voltage Load Calculation

Because this is a large gym, I have calculated that we will be needing about 120 kWh every day. This includes lighting, AC, computers, exercise machines, and other amenities.

Environmental Impact

Since we are taking down an existing building and using a weeded yard as our work site, we will not be affecting the environment very much. In fact, the roof of our gym will include 299 solar panels, which will power 50 percent of our gym every year, ensuring that we use the sun as energy for our gym than fossil fuels.

We will also be having a community garden to ensure that any of the plants that were removed from the premises will not have a negative carbon impact by planting new plants.

Building Codes and Standards

To ensure safety, we will make sure to follow these guidelines in addition to what we have already talked about.

Disability Safety: https://www.wbdg.org/ffc/usab/guidelines-standards/ada-aba-guidelines-standards

Fitness Center Guide: https://www.wbdg.org/ffc/af-afcec/design-guides-standards/fitness-center

Public Building Standards: https://www.wbdg.org/ffc/gsa/criteria/pbs-p100

Step 4: A Solid Foundation

The foundation is the most important part of any building. Making sure that it is strong leads to a safe building.

If the foundation is not level, this would implicate serious damage to the gym if left unchecked.

We will also be having a pool in the facility, and we will need a solid foundation to ensure that there will be no leaks in the pool.

Step 5: Frame

The next thing that we will need would be to create a frame for our gym. This will be the support structure for our building and is essentially the bones that keep the flesh together metaphorically. This structure takes into account the live load with conditional loads such as weather.

Step 6: Wood Frame and Insolation

The wood frame allows us to route plumbing and electricity through the walls.

Above is a basic diagram of how the wood frame will work.

As we can see we start with the brick exterior and then the wood frame.

We then install the insulation and then put up the drywall which will attach to the wood frame and sandwich the insulation.

Due to the fact that it would be very time-consuming to CAD individual wood structure and insulation, I have created this diagram which would be applied to the CADed gym.

Step 7: Windows, Doors, Roofs, Solar, Lighting, and AC

While designing the CAD, I have designed these windows to match the modern design that I wanted the gym to have.

As you can see the windows have a metal/wood frame, a metal rim that has a slot to put the glass, and the window itself.

For the door, we have a metal frame and then a glass panel as the actual door. The doorknob is a screw-in through a hole in the door.

The roof is flat, so there will not be a build-up of water anywhere on the roof. The solar panels are designed for water to fall off and onto the roof.

The solar panels will produce about 21,600 kWh of electricity each year which will power the building for half of the year.

This building will use 200 incandescent light bulbs.

Lastly, we have 7 air conditioning units for the building to be sufficiently cooled or heated depending on the scenario.

Step 8: Plumbing and Electricity

Due to the fact that there was already a building there before we demolished it, the plumbing and electricity from the city to the area will still work. We may have to upgrade the electricity and plumbing but it is much less costly than installing new plumbing and electricity.

Step 9: Parking

Because the previous building that we have already has a parking lot, all we will have to do is repave it: which is much cheaper than creating our own.

As you can see from the diagram above parking will be on the front of the gym and on the left and right sides, giving easy access to people coming on the main street or inner streets to the gym.

Step 10: Estimated Price and Construction Time

Let's summarize the total cost of our gym.

First, we will need to buy land = $3,700,000

Deconstruction = $ 100,000

Construction cost( Materials, Foundation, Windows, etc..) = $1,000,000

Gym equipment = $80,000

Plumbing and electrical = $30,000

Solar pannels = $90,000

Service cost (enginners archetect, construction workers) = $500,000

Pool = $30,000

Elavators and Stairs = $110,000

Parking lot (renovation of the old one) = $10,000

Insurance = $500,000

Total Cost = $6,150,000

This total price includes design, architecture, materials, furnishing, employment, and etc...

Also, there will be a $ 60,000 cost for maintenance for the whole entire gym.

To construct this gym, it will take approximately 1year and a half to complete.

Step 11: Room for the Disabled to Work Out

These are special rooms that I designed specifically for people with disabilities.

The first picture is a group workout room, and the second and third are private rooms for one to work with a physical therapist.

Some of the equipment includes:

A specialized tread mill for better grip.

Medicine balls

Weights

Yoga mats

and a balance rail

These rooms are on the second floor so I have installed an elevator for easy access.

Step 12: Pool and Locker Room

This is a pool and locker room that will be in the gym.

As you can see, there will be a locker room for men and woman (There are two separate rooms in the cad model)

The pool will have a maximum depth of 7 feet and is an outdoor pool.

Step 13: The Garden

The Garden has three greenhouses and six flower beds for the general public to plant what they want. This would be a fun way to include the community at this gym. The glass for the greenhouse is a special glass that allows us to keep in heat over the winter but has a routed HVAC to cool over the summer. Plumming will be routed to the buildings for water.

Step 14: Basketball Court

This Basketball Court is outdoor and it has a metal fence to prevent the ball from falling out of the gym.

I wanted to make this gym as inclusive as possible so I included numerous activities for people to participate in.

Step 15: Gym Equipment

This gym has lots of equipment to work out in, this is some of the many pieces of equipment that are in the gym.

Step 16: Miscellaneous

I also made two rooms of the gym that hang over the top to give a sleek modern vibe. They are office rooms and can be used for staff meetings or events.

I also have bench tables for people to sit on outside. I wanted this gym to really feel like a community and made sure to include things that would interest everyone.

Step 17: Summary:

In summary:

This is a gym that I wanted to really feel like a community. By including a disability workout area, basketball court, garden, and pool; it really creates a sense of friendship to others.

The location of this gym allows it to be known by others and is easily accessible.

In addition to this, it is eco-friendly: 50 percent of the electricity can be provided by solar panels.

Once again, I would like to say a big thank you to Autodesk, Instructables, James Devlin, and CDW for making this possible.

Thank you so much for reading!