Skate Square

Organization: Themed Entertainment Design Certificate Program
Role: Concept Developer / Designer
Completed: 2022
Status: Academic / Conceptual

The Opportunity

The idea for Skate Square began when my brother-in-law, an avid skateboarder visiting from California, struggled to find appealing places in Indiana where he was allowed to skate. Many of the features that make public spaces interesting to street skaters, including stairs, curbs, rails, ledges, and benches, are found in places where skateboarding is discouraged or prohibited.

For my senior capstone project in themed entertainment design, I explored what might happen if that relationship were reversed. Rather than designing a traditional skatepark separated from the surrounding environment, I developed a concept for an urban district where skateboarding was intentionally integrated into the architecture and public spaces.

My Role & Approach

I developed Skate Square from the initial idea through the final concept, imagining it as more than a traditional skatepark. The goal was to create a complete destination built around skateboarding, with retail, dining, entertainment, and public spaces all contributing to the experience.

Rather than concentrating the skating into a single designated area, I designed the environment so that skateable features were integrated throughout the district. Stairs, rails, ledges, ramps, and changes in elevation became both architectural elements and opportunities for skating, allowing the activity to shape how guests moved through and experienced the space.

I developed the site plan, individual venues, architecture, branding, and guest experience, then used 3D modeling and renderings to explore the concept and communicate how the different pieces would work together.

The Experience

Skate Square was envisioned as a walkable urban district where skateboarding was part of the environment rather than an activity confined to a designated course. Guests could skate between venues, explore different terrain and obstacles throughout the property, or simply experience the district as a place to shop, eat, stay, and spend time.

Each area was designed with its own purpose and identity while contributing to the larger concept. Traditional streetscape elements became skateable features, and dedicated venues provided additional opportunities for recreation, entertainment, and competition.

Project Fly Through

The Courthouse

The Courthouse serves as both the entrance to Skate Square and its main operational hub, with guest services, equipment rentals, private party rooms, restrooms, and staff offices. The building was elevated to make it a visual landmark while creating several large stair sets for skating.

Guests enter at parking-lot level and move upstairs before emerging into the park with an elevated view of the district. A coffee shop and balcony overlook the Square, while additional stairs, rails, benches, and planters make the building itself part of the skating environment.

The Square

The Square is the central hub connecting the different areas of the district. Its terraced design creates multiple stair sets and changes in elevation, while curbs, rails, ramps, and planters provide additional skating opportunities throughout the surrounding streetscape.

The buildings around the Square contain skate retailers, a virtual reality skating experience, an art gallery focused on skate culture, and dining options ranging from rotating food trucks to a rooftop restaurant overlooking the district.

The Underpass

The Underpass provides a sheltered skating environment that could remain usable during inclement weather. Quarter pipes, ledges, stairs, ramps, a loading dock, and movable objects are incorporated into an environment themed as the service area behind the main retail corridor.

Above it, an elevated walkway connects the Courthouse with shopping and dining. This provides an alternate route for guests who are not skating, allowing them to move through part of the district without crossing the active skating areas below.

The Warehouse District

Converted warehouses provide traditional indoor skateparks and additional all-weather skating. Outside, an alley contains movable ramps, boards, pallets, barrels, and other objects that skaters can rearrange to create their own runs.

A nearby construction zone turns the appearance of a torn-up street into another skating environment, with ramps disguised as rubble and construction equipment, barriers, and other elements incorporated as obstacles.

The Pool

The Pool was designed to look like a former municipal swimming pool that had been drained and repurposed for skating. The pool bowl, kiddie pool, stairs, rails, and surrounding deck all become part of the skating environment while retaining the appearance of a public pool.

Even the smaller details were designed with skating in mind. Lounge chairs and benches include reinforced edges for jumps and grinds, while sections of the checkered pool deck rise into platforms of varying heights. The former pool house provides restrooms for this part of the district and nearby Amphitheater.

The Oasis

The Oasis provides a place to rest and recharge between skating sessions. Palm trees provide shade over seating areas adjacent to the food trucks in the Square, while a small splash pad gives guests a place to cool down.

Even here, the skating theme carries into the design, with planters shaped to resemble the cross-section of a half pipe.

The Amphitheater

The terraced Amphitheater provides another skating environment during normal operating hours, with ledges and changes in elevation incorporated into the seating area.

The space was also designed as a working outdoor performance venue. Smaller acts could perform while Skate Square was open, while concerts and other ticketed events could take place after hours, giving the same space a different use beyond daily skating.

Beyond the Skatepark

Skate Square was designed as more than a collection of places to skate. The concept also considered how the destination could operate, generate revenue, host different types of events, and serve guests who were not there to skateboard.

Admission to Skate Square would be free, with revenue generated through retail leases, equipment rentals, lessons, private parties, memberships, the virtual reality experience, venue rentals, and ticketed events. The Amphitheater and other flexible spaces also created opportunities for concerts and seasonal events outside of normal operations.

The layout was designed with non-skaters in mind as well. An elevated route connected the Courthouse with the retail and dining areas, allowing guests to move through much of the district without crossing the active skating areas at street level.

Recognition

Skate Square was developed as my senior capstone project in the Themed Entertainment Design program. After completing the project, I entered it into the ThemedAttraction.com Student Showcase, where it was evaluated by a panel of themed entertainment industry professionals and received the following awards:

Best in Class – Placemaking
Honorable Mention – Blue Sky/Concept and Sustainability/Resiliency
Special Achievement – Feasibility
Futurist Award for Trend
Special Mention: Quality of Presentation/Presentation Art

Click here to view feedback from showcase judges.

Explore the Full Concept

The original Skate Square pitch book provides a more detailed look at the individual areas, operations, accessibility, and branding developed for the concept.

Best viewed in full screen mode.