Kids understand neighborhoods – most often, it’s where they go to find other kids. What follows can only be described as play: pick up games of basketball, spontaneous water fights, and lemonade stands. In the 1950’s, Rochester was one of many cities that embraced the automobile by building a downtown freeway, dubbed the “Inner Loop”. The Inner Loop’s construction severed neighborhoods, created barriers, and drastically altered the scale and density of Rochester. The Strong

LaBella recently designed replacements for air handling systems to heat, cool and ventilate the 50,000 square foot indoor water park at the Massanutten Resort in Massanutten, Virginia. LaBella is uniquely qualified to carry out this work having prepared the original schematic design for the system in 2005. The park has numerous water features including slide tubes, a lazy river, a flo-rider (which simulates surfing) and a large central play tower. HVAC design for an indoor w

As schools, universities, and municipal parks become increasingly landlocked, our clients are constantly looking to balance the high demand of their sports programs with the maintenance and safety issues that come with overused fields. The National Federation of High School Sports (NFHS) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) estimate that in the 2015-2016 season over 8.3 million students across the country participated in high school and collegiate level spo

LaBella Associates is collaborating with the Boy Scouts of America - Mecklenburg County Council, to design a new dining facility at the Mecklenburg Scout Reservation, Camp Grimes. The camp is located on 1,115 acres in the foothills of the South Mountains near Marion, North Carolina. After the original structure, built in 1974, was lost to a fire in the fall of 2016, the council needed to rebuild this vital, iconic part of the Boy Scout Camp. The new 18,000 SF dining hall and

On Tuesday, November 17th, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to celebrate the start of the new picnic pavilion and farmer’s market at the ESC Park in Troutman, NC. Soliciting community invovement has been a key component of the design process. On October 30th, the LaBella team attended Troutman’s Trails & Treats event at the park. Over 1000 community members attended the trick or treat nature trail walk. At the LaBella booth, attendees cast their votes for their preferred

Here at LaBella, we have been designing athletic fields for over 15 years. When it comes to athletic fields, there are many surface options available to choose from. Every project has different needs and priorities to take into account when choosing your surface. Factors that will affect your surface preference can include cost, safety, maintenance requirements, playable hours per year, time until playable, and lifespan. We developed an in-depth report and infographic to give

We're proud to share these new photos of the Eastside YMCA expansion. As noted in our ribbon-cutting post in March, the Eastside YMCA is now one of the largest YMCA's in North America, following a 10 month, $7 million expansion led by LaBella. Want to give these facilities a spin? Head over to the YMCA of Greater Rochester! #artsandrec #cultural

LaBella Associates recently completed a design-build renovation and addition to the Genesee Valley Club with LeChase Construction. The Club is located on historic East Avenue in Rochester. Following extensive membership surveys and a conceptual master plan, the club identified priority areas, including the Armstrong Grille restaurant. The project included the Armstrong Grille's casual, sports-style pub, an expanded kitchen servicing the pub, new dining areas with an expande

The LaBella team joined the YMCA of Greater Rochester in celebration of the Eastside Family YMCA's 34,000 square foot expansion project. The $7 million project was completed in 10 months, and includes new parking, a sports performance center, a stadium-style spinning studio, a gymnasium and a stretching center. Of particular note is a health suite within the YMCA, which will be operated by UR Medicine. The medical spaces will open this summer. As detailed in several news

Early this year, LaBella’s plans for the Gateway Building Project at the Rochester Museum and Science Center were approved by Rochester’s Preservation Board. The Rochester Business Journal profiled the project and its unique history and preservation challenges in this week’s Architecturally Speaking column. LaBella Associates became involved with the project in 2012, as one of six local architecture firms invited to participate in a design competition. The RMSC requested co

This project renovated and expanded the former Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center located at Finger Lakes Community College. The design greatly increased the venues flexibility and ensured that this performing arts center will continue its proud tradition of being a cultural and civic resource to its surrounding communities. The project scope consisted of increasing the current covered seating capacity from 2,700 to 5,000. It created flanking balconies off of the stage tha