Boyle Heights Civic Center
Located east of Los Angeles, Boyle Heights is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. With a large immigrant and Latino population, the site is extremely culturally and historically diverse. The hybrid Collaborative Learning Center program of this Community Center links its programs to the existing library and expansions upon the Adult Literacy programs and Youth mentoring that are still developing and evolving with the community. The punctuation of striation through the exploration of paneling and a “slipping and sliding” shear wall system also creates a variation of different circulatory conditions. Horizontal and vertical planar intersections then informed an investigation of undulating roof system (allows for natural light/ ventilation)—play of skylights + clerestories. Through the exploration of programmatic banding, shifting sectional relationships, and a striated shear wall system, this project ultimately aimed to weave civic presence with the culturally evolving community.
