SITE: Intersection of Market St and 8th St, San Francisco
PROGRAM: Multi- use court, swimming pool, weight and exercise equipment area, stage, locker rooms, multi- use rooms, outdoor activity area, offices, retail space, parking
INSTRUCTOR: Rudabeh Pakravan (www.rudabehpakravan.com)
COURSE: ARCH 100B Fundamentals of Architectural Design / Spring 2011 University of California, Berkeley
The design for this urban activity centre is a hybrid of multiple and varied programs which are more traditionally treated as separate spaces. The productive merger and interaction of these spaces is achieved through the underlying formal system that governs the design. A set of striations break down the initial volume from an urban to human scale according to programmatic needs. The striations stagger in profile to provide maximum day lighting and ventilation. The project responds to the corner condition by opening up the ground floor to create a public plaza. The plaza is created by lifting these striations off the ground – activating the ground level which draws people from both 8th St and Market St. Within these striations, which create a strong ‘grain’ on the site, the two major volumes of the basketball court and swimming pool run against this grain to connect the set of spaces together effectively integrating the programme with each other as well as with the site.
Demusitecture 