History and Development of Youth Centers: A Typology Study

Assignment 2 Typology – History & Precedent Studies Victoria Heredia | Project Programming

“In 1989, it was discovered that 6,185 adolescents in the United States (15-24 years of age), had been homicide victims that year alone.” (Fleming). • High-risk behaviors that lead to a rise in Youth Centers: • 77% of 8th graders were consuming alcohol • 30% of youth were having unprotected sex by 15 • Youth development programs have since then become popular because studies show that supervised and semi-structured activities in a community-based setting can reduce high risk behavior and promote positive behavior and social development. History of Drop-In Youth Centers

What adolescent focus groups expect from a Youth Center: • staff that will listen and respect them • a safe environment to socialize and be themselves • a wide variety of programs including sports, and specialized classes Figure1. Community Youth Center History of Drop-In Youth Centers

The Organization of American States defines youth gangs: • an effort by adolescents to find a place in society that fits their needs, in response to having their rights violated by communities and governments. • “Arising out of extreme poverty, exclusion, and a lack of opportunities, gangs try to gain their rights and meet their needs by organizing themselves without supervision and developing their own rules…” Presence of Youth Gangs in Mexico

Youth Advocate Non-governmental Organizations from Mexico: • Youth Work: Mexico • CircoVolador • CauceCiudadano • What this means for my typology: • An effective youth center in Mexico would respond to the violated rights of local youth gangs, and appeal to them in a way that would give them a chance to belong to a place of their own, where they have a say in decisions and have the support of the surrounding community, while keeping them away from drug distribution and violence. Presence of Youth Gangs in Mexico

Program: • Regulation Basketball Court • Gym and Fitness Room • Project & Computer Rooms • Arts & Crafts Room • Teaching Kitchen • Community Function/Meeting Rooms • VFW Banquet Rooms • Offices West Cambridge Youth & Community Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. Precedent Studies #1 Figure2. West Cambridge Youth Center

Figure3. Rotating Wall Panels Figure4. Open Lounge Area • West Cambridge Youth Center gives its youth a place to head to after school, with ample opportunity for recreation, socialization and education • The wide variety of activities encourage a flexibility with the use of space • Rotating wall panels provide the directness of open communal space, and a sense of privacy between programs West Cambridge Youth Center

Figure5. Homework Room The open lounge areas, scattered among the structured program such as homework and computer rooms, are what bring the space together, and give the children the opportunity to socialize and engage, away from structured activity. West Cambridge Youth Center

Morphological Analysis • Starting at the entrance of the Youth Center, there is an importance to it because of the glass façade which brings in a lot of natural light and beautiful views to the exterior; and then transitions into a light wood paneling on the walls where the light reflects nicely. • The architectural features of the interiors are inviting and engaging for the children as they are spacious with both fixed program rooms and open lounge areas, in a warm but vibrant color palette of tangerines and rustic reds, which encourage activity and movement. • Most of the important program spaces are set against windows for optimal, but appropriately screened, natural light; and yet the informal lounge spaces are also set near windows, creating equity among formal and informal activity spaces. • Private, semi-private, and public spaces are often well defined because of separating wall panels but, a sort of organized chaos is also possible when certain rotating wall panels are configured to create a more open layout. • The structure of the space is mostly revealed in open ceilings, but the height of the spaces justifies it, as well as the very structurally revealing exterior façade. • Circulation is a little difficult to comprehend because of a lack of floor plans, but the spaces seem cohesive and easy to circulate in paying attention to exterior views. • The scale and materiality of the furniture seem appropriate and well laid out for the children, mostly supporting the act of socializing, as well as using a combination of structured and non-structured program spaces to support education and recreation. West Cambridge Youth Center

Program: • Adaptable Gym • Recording Studio • Costume Design Shop • Cafeteria • Arts & Crafts Room • Teaching Kitchen • Dance Rooms • Computer Labs • Tutoring & Study Spaces • Classrooms • Exhibition Space • Offices • Rooftop Garden Figure6. Gary Comer Youth Center Precedent Studies #2 Gary Comer Youth Center, Chicago, Illinois: John Ronan Architects

Figure7. 600-seat Performance Space Figure8. Deployed Performance Stage • Home to the South Shore Drill Team & Performing Arts Ensemble • 300 members, 8 to 18 years of age, with as many as 50 performances a year • The adaptable gym, has the ability to transform into a 600 seat performance space, with an 80 by 30 foot deployable stage Gary Comer Youth Center

Use of Natural Daylight: • Lots of glass partitions to spread natural light throughout the space • Promotes a sense of community among different programs • Creates a sense of visual security and safety for the children • Use of sky lights along the center of the rooftop garden, brings daylight into the central gym and cafeteria spaces Gary Comer Youth Center Figure9. Rooftop Garden

First Floor Plan, Showing Adaptable Performance Space Gary Comer Youth Center Figure10.First Floor Plan showing the Adaptable Performance Space

Diagrammatic Analysis of Private Space and Circulation Gary Comer Youth Center

Morphological Analysis • The entrance is emphasized through the change in materiality from the colored cement cladding to a translucent glass façade. The connection between the exterior and the interior at the entrance is unclear, except that you enter opposite the security office. Though this promotes a safe atmosphere for the children it doesn’t make any impression about the space as a whole. • The architectural features of the interior vary depending on the program, from wood floors in recreational and performance spaces, and carpeting in quiet rec spaces and study halls. Similar features include high ceilings and a combination of floor length windows or, slot windows which bring in natural light without denying privacy, and removing unnecessary distraction when the program calls for it. • As you will notice in the diagrammatic analysis, the public and private spaces are well defined, but don’t leave much room for flexibility in program, with the exception of the adaptable gym. • The circulation throughout the three floors is fairly consistent in that the means of egress between floors is well defined and even highlighted. It’s also consistent in that each floor has a main focus such as the gym and the roof garden, that the circulation radiates, as well as the rest of the program along the perimeter. • The furnishings seem appropriate for each space, but are not necessarily cohesive as a whole, but rather correspond to the kind of program they belong to, which makes understanding the purpose of each space easier. Gary Comer Youth Center

Program: • Sports Hall • Activities Hall • Sound Studio • Kitchen • Restroom • Sports Equipment Storage • Offices Figure11. Renovated Exterior Gables Precedent Studies #3 Sjakket Youth Club, Copenhagen, Denmark: PLOT

Special place off the streets, for the kids of Copenhagen • Located in an industrialized, outer lying neighborhood mainly of immigrant families • Created a raised terrace that becomes a half-pipe sun deck between the two vaults • ‘Ghetto Noise’ sound studio, made of a large shipping container to merge the original buildings of the city with the newer industrial structures. • 22,000 sqft as a set of two open halls to support all activities, divided by the kitchen and storage space Figure12. Dividing Kitchen Sjakket Youth Club

This youth club is meant to serve children of all ages, and support any and all activities they have in mind • This space for the kids means integration • Not only integration into the surrounding industrial landscape, but also into society • Giving these immigrant children a place to feel they belong Sjakket Youth Club Figure13. Sports Hall

Diagrammatic Analysis of Private Space and Circulation Sjakket Youth Club

Morphological Analysis • This building has no main entrance and instead has multiple entrances to access the three main spaces: the sports hall, the recreational hall and the exterior sound booth. The exterior is a combination of brick and sheet metal, and the interior successfully responds to that, using similar metal claddings on the walls and on the barrel vaulted ceiling. • The architectural features are a response to the industrialized surrounding neighborhood, and include massive garage sized doors that open the space up to the outside, and dividing wall panels, that can separate or connect the two halls. There is a cool toned color palette of blues and grays that play off the color of the natural daylight that comes in through the spherical window openings and exterior garage doors. • There is not much separation of program, because the space is an open plan meant for any activities the children see fit. The only private program is the offices, separate on the second floor, and the sports equipment storage, wedged in between the two halls, alongside the restrooms. • The circulation is very simple, and often times involving visibility of the entire floor. • The furniture and fixtures are poorly defined, most likely as a response to the incredible flexibility of the program, but unfortunately leaves too much a lot to the imagination. Sjakket Youth Club

City of Cambridge, MA, (2011). West cambridge youth and community center earns prestigious LEED green building certification. Retrieved from website: http://www.cambridgema.gov/citynewsandpublications/news/2011/03/ westcambridgeyouthandcommunitycenterearnsprestigiousleedgreenbuil dingcertification.aspx Fleming, M.A., M. (n.d.). Youth centers: Operation and development issues. CYFERnet, Retrieved from http://www1.cyfernet.org/prog/teen/94-youthfut6.html Gary comer youth center. John Ronan Architects. Retrieved from http://www.jrarch.com/#/projects/institutional/gary_comer_youth_center Jones, N. P. (2013). Undertsanding and addressing youth in "gangs" in mexico. Informally published manuscript, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, Retrieved from http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/jones_youth_gangs.pdf Reaching across generations: West cambridge youth center. Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc., Retrieved from http://www.c7a.com/work/west-cambridge-youth-center Sjakket youth club / plot. (2009, February 25). Arch Daily, Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/13373/sjakket-youth-club-plot/ References

Figure1. Community youth center [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.c7a.com/work/west-cambridge- youth-center Figure2. West cambridge youth center [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.c7a.com/work/west- cambridge-youth-center Figure3. Rotating wall panels [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.c7a.com/work/west-cambridge-youth- center Figure4. Open lounge area [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.c7a.com/work/west-cambridge- youth-center Figure5. Homework room [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.c7a.com/work/west-cambridge- youth-center Figure6. Hall, S. (Photographer). (2011, 09). Gary comer youth center [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/189411/the-gary-comer-youth-center-john-ronan-architects/ Figure7. 600-seat performance space [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.jrarch.com/#/projects/institutional/gary_comer_youth_center/auditorium Figure8. Deployed performance stage [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.jrarch.com/#/projects/institutional/gary_comer_youth_center/auditorium Figure9. Hall, S. (Photographer). (2011, 09). Rooftop garden [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/189411/the-gary-comer-youth-center-john-ronan-architects/ Figure10. Hall, S. (Photographer). (2011, 09). First floor plan showing the adaptable performance space [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/189411/the-gary-comer-youth- center-john-ronan-architects/ Figure11. Moen, V. (Photographer). (2009, 02).Renovated exterior gables [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/13373/sjakket-youth-club-plot/ Figure12. Moen, V. (Photographer). (2009, 02). Dividing kitchen [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/13373/sjakket-youth-club-plot/ Figure13.Moen, V. (Photographer). (2009, 02). Sports hall [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/13373/sjakket-youth-club-plot/ Image References

History and Development of Youth Centers: A Typology Study