Philadelphia Youth Centre

Being that the Norris Square Neighborhood project has its roots in the city of Philadelphia, it has the goal of bringing arts, media, and entrepreneurial programs to the community and the youth of Kensington. Getting these programs to everyone in the area became the major focus of my center. The Norris Square site is adjacent to a busy street and a park. But being that it is also below an elevated train, almost all of the establishments near the site have left the area. With only residential buildings surrounding the site, the area is left as a poorly lite landscape in a less than safe area.

To combat these issues while bringing the community together I propose a Youth center that is a guiding light to the community. From a distance, a passerby could see the center and be drawn out of the unsafe areas. Upon entering the building this light would be hidden, so as to draw them to the creative spaces in the building. These creative spaces that would give light out to the community would also be enclosed in glass.

The entrance path would be unbroken from entering the buildings to exiting them, and each space would break off from the straight path.

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This guiding light in the community would not only be working throughout the night, but it would also work as daylight for the building. The series of light wells in the buildings would also guide in the daytime.