FIRST OF TWO PARTS
The Douglass School renovations are going forward, but changes are afoot, according to architect and designer Dineen West of Cain, Rash and West Architects of Kingsport.
CALVIN SNEED AND ARCHITECT DINEEN WEST OF CAIN, RASH AND WEST ARCHITECTS
I sat down with Mrs. West for an exclusive, in-depth look at the changes, which are mandated by the City of Kingsport's goal of putting all of its non-profit agencies under one roof, yet preserve the historical significance of the largest African-American school in upper East Tennessee.
The renovations are still projected to cost around $7 million dollars, "and those are very fluid dollars," Mrs. West says. "Ultimately, there may be more or less dollars allocated to any one item we want to do. Don't get attached to any one idea, because it may change," she warns.
JUST INSIDE THE DOUGLASS FRONT DOOR, AND TO THE RIGHT TOWARDS THE AUDITORIUM.. THE WALL ON THE LEFT WOULD BE GONE, OPENED UP INTO AN ATRIUM THAT WOULD STRETCH TO THE SECOND FLOOR, DOWN TO THE AUDITORIUM
The first big change would be right at the entrance to the school building from the Louis Street side. "Whenever you come into the front door right now, it's claustrophobic," she says. "I want to try and punch out the walls to the right of the entrance, lose the four headstart classrooms between the old school office and the auditorium, and make that one big open lobby area. That would create a big, grand effect once you enter the building. That was an unusual design for a school building anyway, based on where the auditorium was located, and it never provided for much people flow. We would like to make it more people-friendly."
DOUGLASS TROPHY DISPLAYS WILL BE THE FOCAL POINT OF THE OPEN LOBBY
"Once the open-ness is created there," Mrs. West says, "it creates more of a community-oriented theme. The first person you will meet will be the receptionist for the Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency. That agency insisted on having its receptionist at the entrance, because of security concerns. Once you go past her, there will be some Riverview Community displays, church items from the neighborhood, and also the Carver Resource Center, which will have computers, dividers and some out-sourcing space.
THE DOUGLASS TROPHIES WOULD BE DISPLAYED IN MODERN, LIGHTED, CUSTOM-MADE CASES, SIMILIAR TO THESE DOBYNS-BENNETT TROPHY CASES, BUT UPDATED
"We have big plans for the Douglass High School trophies.. they will be displayed prominently in several see-through glass cases in the open lobby, similar to the way the trophies at Dobyns-Bennett are displayed right now," she says. One of the entrances that will open up into the lobby will be the offices for the Douglass Alumni Association.
With the loss of the historic Carver Library, plans are to have an area called the Carver Resource Center within the open lobby area, with computers, books, magazines, and lots of self-help facilities for people looking to find a job, access a city or community program, in a comfortable, quiet environment.
"We're also looking at building a small addition to the back of the school, to make up for the classrooms that we would lose on the front side of the building," says Mrs. West. That will make that whole wing, including the cafeteria, just for Headstart. We thought about a separate entrance for parent drop-offs, but the agency felt another entrance would require a second staff member to man it, and Headstart-UETHDA wanted to have control of parent drop-offs for security reasons. The entrance for Headstart will continue to be at the front of the building where it is now."
NEW GYMNASIUM WILL BE IN NEW LOCATION
The Headstart classroom addition in the rear, will also require another change. The new gymnasium planned for the back side of the school where the tennis courts are now, will have to be moved.
THE PARKING LOT BETWEEN THE OLD DOUGLASS GYM AND LOUIS STREET. NEW RENOVATION PLANS CALL FOR THE NEW GYM TO BE BUILT HERE BETWEEN THE STREET AND THE OLD GYM
"With the new design, it doesn't make sense to keep it where we'd planned. We are kind of land-locked right now, with the baseball field coming right up to the building on that side. After talking to Parks and Recreation, it didn't seem wise to separate the old gymnasium from the planned new one, so the feeling is now, the new one needs to adjoin the old one. Because of the land-lock, the new gym would have to be build in the parking lot, between the old building and Louis Street. It just makes more sense to build them side by side. We could punch through, interconnect the two for tournaments, without having spectators walking from one side of the building to the other."
THE STAIRWELL LEADING DOWN TO THE OLD HALF-LEVEL DOUGLASS GYM LOCKERS UNDER THE BLEACHERS
"We are still struggling with locker room space, but one thing that will be the first to go, will be that half-level locker space underneath the bleachers in the old gym. It has always smelled bad, there are leaks down there, and it's always had a moisture problem. The only solution after the interconnect, would be to concrete that in, make it one level, and put in a small locker room area down along the wall between the inter-connected gyms. It doesn't need to be big like high school lockers, but just enough for tournaments."
IN WEDNESDAY'S REPORT.. WHERE WILL THE NON-PROFITS GO IN THE DOUGLASS RENOVATION? AND WHAT IS TO BECOME OF THE DOUGLASS AUDITORIUM, ONCE ONE OF THE MOST ACCOUSTICALLY PERFECT AUDITORIUMS OF ANY SCHOOL IN UPPER EAST TENNESSEE. THE ANSWER MAY SURPRISE YOU!
