Camp Harlam – Master Plan and Architecture

Located in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, Camp Harlam has provided an impressive camping experience for generations to enjoy. Once a state-of-the-art camping facility in the 1960s, and accommodating 550 campers and 200 camp staff at any one time, Camp Harlam had begun to feel its age. The Union for Reform Judaism approached us to help revive the camp’s ‘wow’ factor, restore its competitiveness with other camps and, most importantly, make it more attractive to future generations.

We assessed the existing site and facilities, and produced a Master Plan to ensure a sustainable future for the camp. Working closely with the Camp’s Site and Facilities Committee, the Camp Council, and the Camp’s Professional Staff, we held a series of workshops and sessions designed to develop, evaluate, and review the program requirements, the existing conditions, the site opportunities, and the financial planning for the proposed improvements.

We identified areas of the camp that were performing well and areas that weren’t reaching their full potential. Our in-depth research and interactive stakeholder workshops identified that maintaining and improving camp activities were crucial. An expansion of group rental opportunities was identified as a key goal to achieve greater occupancy rates and attract more revenue. To do this, the camp’s general architectural aesthetic, lack of covered outdoor space, and layout of its staff housing needed attention and thought. Listening to and applying the Camp’s feedback, we helped develop a Master Plan that responded to and addressed these areas. The Plan integrates new staff housing at the camp’s entrance, a renovation to the centrally located Dining Hall and Creative Arts Complex, a new layout of the staff housing throughout the camp, and extensive renovations to the existing camper cabins.

Camp Harlam began to execute the Master Plan by inviting Domokur & Associates to deliver architectural services for the first phase of the renovation of 12 of the existing camper cabins. The Master Plan specified creating a visual contrast between the cabins and other structures in the camp by using materials and colors. We used prefinished fiber cement siding in two complementary soft tones unused in other areas of camp to highlight the cabins and give them a fresh appearance. We also improved the cabin layout, and designed new shared decks, stairs, and ramps to achieve better ADA accessibility, as well as integrated new restroom additions to each cabin.

We are looking forward to continuing to work with Camp Harlam on the next stage of the Master Plan.