boys and girls club

2012 - A.I.A. UnBuilt Design Honor Award - ‘Boys and Girls Club.

The design of the new facilities for the non-profit organization that provides services to the young is located in one of the most troubled zones in the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A tapestry of interior and exterior spaces aims to provide a new reality that will contrast with the hostile physical and social surroundings. The patios gain a central relevance as a place for gathering and play. Every major interior space is permeable to the exterior and opens up to at least one patio. This strategy works with the possibilities that the tropical climate of the island provides: a complete integration of interior and exterior realities.

A datum organizes the different program levels and creates a barrier to the very aggressive avenue that runs along the north side of the site. Responding to a long, narrow site, the datum acts as a central spine that contains circulation communicating with different areas as well as mediating between the 8’ elevation difference between one end of the building and the other. It is built of exposed concrete with light blue coloring (similar to the Boys and Girls Clubs institutional logo), the datum connects the children areas, the classrooms, the sports indoor court and the teen areas, using a continuous ramp. The two ends are flanked by control points, with reception on one end and administration on the other. The serviced areas are defined in white expressing a change in materiality (to M2 panels).