This project provided a new 12,100 sf addition to the existing 10,900 sq. ft. Hamilton Street Boys and Girls Club on the west side of Syracuse. The addition provides a “School Age Child Care Center” including the gymnasium, locker rooms, community/project room for 25 people, staff office and a new main entrance and lobby. The renovation of areas in the existing facility has created a “Teens Supreme Center” with new and brighter meeting and game areas.
From the onset of the project, it was clear that this addition would provide a dynamic new look for the neighborhood. The original building was an uninteresting brick and concrete box that did not open itself visually to the surrounding community. The design solution uses bright colors and many
windows and translucent panels to let the light of the day into the activities of the building. A transparent lobby provides views of the youthful activities to motorists passing by. The gym interior is bright in all kinds of weather, providing diffused natural light and direct views of clouds and sun through blue and green tinted vision glass. Interior materials are colorful and integrally woven into the spatial architecture of the new and renovated spaces.
We are pleased with the excitement and complements being offered from the youth, staff and administrators of a rejuvenated Boys and Girls Club.
This project received the 2003 Excellence in Masonry Design and Installation Gold Award from the CNY Chapter American Concrete Institute and the 2003 ASID Best of Competition Award for Special Projects from the NY Upstate-Canada East Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.
Photos by John Griebsch Photography