Position Paper v.1.2

Scale is one of the most crucial elements when designing truly engaging Architecture:  Not only is the scale of the human body relative to its surroundings important, but equally important is the scale of the built environment adjusting to growing  occupancy and needs.

Architecture alone cannot cure all the inadequacies, shortcomings and woes of the world on its lonesome.  It can, however, act alongside forces outside (or also encompassed by?) the realms of Architecture to act as a conduit to allow for such changes to occur.  Architecture's most basic function is, after all, to serve human function and needs, whether those needs are for survival, amusement, or otherwise.

As the sport of Rugby continues to grow in the United States, a similar growth pattern can be traced to other countries where the sport has absolutely exploded in popularity.  In 1995, the International Rugby Board declared the game open and removed all restrictions on payment to players, essentially turning the sport professional.  Though the United States lacks enough interest or fan base to fund any sort of professional league, the game is teetering on the brink of such an advancement in the near future.  Any Rugby fixture built specifically for the game in the United States, and particularly Pittsburgh, could not be one of grandeur and magnificence at its inception because there is currently a lack of interest, and by simply placing it there and hoping the fans will come would be foolish, especially in Pittsburgh where football and hockey rule the local sports world.  Acting as a comparatively small scale venue with seating starting at 5,000 maximum, the human scale will be addressed throughout.  As the popularity of Rugby grows on its own, and the human scale (occupancy within the building) grows with it, so too shall the building, because a sure way to deter crowds is to sit in an overscaled and empty space.  Through the research and incorporation of 'temporarily unfinished' or open-ended building techniques, structural systems, parking, infrastructure and programmatic elements, the building can literally grow, open up, and be amended to meet the needs of a vastly growing sport.  The building houses the needs for the development at both the professional level as well as the youth level, and itself can become a representational icon for what the sport is and will be in the future while providing fans with as little disconnect and maximum overlap between the players, the game, and the Rugby culture as possible.  The proposed site to be (re?)used is the Civic Arena given the flexibility of the space with regards to land, parking, infrastructure and so forth.