Location / Building

CONTEXT

Bo Tree will be located in an pedestrian friendly, transit oriented, urban (or semi-urban) environment that appreciates local businesses, values the physical, mental, and emotional health of the community, and treasures creative industries.  We want to be somewhere “funky, but safe.”

Context will also determine the final, detailed business plan.   The specific products and services that we offer will be scaled to reflect what is missing (and what is needed) in the local community. 

BUILDING

The design will be critical in providing the services described above and to meeting our triple bottom line.  The design will also reflect the same commitment to sustainability that guides our operations, products, and services.

Whether it’s a new building, an adaptive re-use, or the use of multiple buildings spread out like a campus, similar requirements will apply for how to build it: 

Ø  Extensive use of green building techniques and furnishings, with a focus on passive strategies and durability (possibly culminating in LEED certification; criterion available from GreenMatrix.net or the U.S. Green Building Council's website: usgbc.org)

Ø  Landscaping to support our diverse users and environmental goals

Ø  Adaptable and deconstructable to allow future evolutions

Ø  Aesthetically pleasing, both for the promotional value but also as a requirement for sustainability

Ø  Human-scaled, Feng Shui interior design

Determining what to build is driven primarily by the products and services offered and secondly by the inclusion of other spaces (and their associated uses) that will maximize the use of our physical area to add value to the triple-bottom line.  As much as possible, we want the ability to utilize spaces for multiple uses in order to minimize our physical, energy, and financial footprints.

In general, we anticipate the following spaces (starting in order of most essential to least): 

1.  Retail Space
2. Mechanical Systems/Restrooms (possibly including male, female, family locker rooms)
3. Childcare Room
4. Office / Staff
5. Storage / Rental Storage
6. Kitchen
1. Café food preparation
2. Instructional areas / Meal prep areas
7. Theater / Classroom
1. Stadium seating with desks / trays
2. Movie projector
3. Stage / Backstage
8. Fitness Areas
1. Studio Fitness

                                    i.      Aerobics, Yoga, Meditation, Spinning

                                    ii.      Adjustable to be indoor ballroom/meeting area for small parties/meetings, classroom space, temporary art shows/auctions, swap meets, Eco-fashion show, parties, weddings, etc.

2. Gymnastics/Crossfit/Climbing Wall
3. Other Possibilities (Pool, Racquetball court, Spinning, Kinesis, etc.)
8. Eating Areas
1. First section integrated & open with rest of floor plan.  Include indoor stage/discussion area for poetry readings, Socrates’café, etc.
2. Second section able to be closed off either to have a quiet dining area/meeting space or conversely, a family eating area (i.e. noisy kids or view of childcare area).
9. Roof-Top Spaces
1. Observation Deck (exclusive dinner parties, star-gazing tour, etc.)
2. Greenhouse (providing fresh food for café, gardening class, hydroponics, children’s education garden, etc.)
10. Outdoor Spaces
1. Outside Patio/Deck (big screen movie projector for new and classic movies/televised special events/sports shows, eating area, fireplace, parties, concerts, local farmer’s/artist’s market, pet stations with temporary kennels/water)
2. Playground (dynamic Evos-like playground for children while parents/guardians eat or enjoy other outdoor services; covered to maximize year-round utility, possibly connected with interior child care area)
3. Gazebo/sanctuary (small scale religious service or wedding ceremonies)
11. Office/Residential Space (rental income, expansion opportunities, live-work areas, business incubator project, "coworking" space, urban “bed and breakfast”)
12. Small-Scale & Adjustable “Flex Spaces” (meditation rooms, massage/spa treatments, storage, nursing rooms)