Spring 2022: Black rock Youth and Community Center

During the initial stages of this semester, our studio performed a thorough analysis of the Black Rock community to evaluate social infrastructure present. From this research, there were two areas of need that stood out to me the most: 

The first of these was community support. Specifically, I felt there was a lack of spaces for children and young adults to spend time after school or on weekends to socialize and continue learning. This is especially true for children whose parents or guardians are at work and cannot supervise them. And as you can see, there is virtually no access to after school services in the area, especially for older children.

The second of these areas of need for me was Information Access. Within close proximity to the site, only 50% of residents have broadband internet at home, which is necessary for high-speed applications (such as Zoom). In addition, the site’s surrounding context is severely lacking free public infrastructure to compensate for this.

To address these needs, I am proposing a (dual-program) Youth and Community Center, which is free and open to the public. The three words I would use to describe the project are shelter, elevate, and sustain. This refers to the design of the project, as the standout elements are a large canopy roof which provides sheltered outdoor space below it, and an observation tower which is elevated above. In addition, it was a goal of mine to make the project as environmentally friendly as possible, using recycled materials and a unique passive systems strategy to limit mechanical HVAC loads. 

This design splits the proposal into 4 fundamental zones:

1. On the ground floor of the building is the public information access center.

2. The upper floors of the building are devoted to the Youth center, with recreational and educational services.

3. Above these is the elevated observation tower and community garden, which are accessible to the public.

4. Lastly, the outdoor space underneath the canopy roof provides shelter for outdoor activities