Youthville Youth Center
Hamilton Anderson Associates

MISSION & VISION 
The Project is comprised of three early 20th century structures that were unified and 'reinvented' as a single two-story 85,000 square foot Youth Center - the largest of its kind in the Midwest, both in size and array of services. The client organization helps young people ages 11 to 19 navigate the sometimes turbulent pathway to adulthood.  The organization selected the site along the Detroit’s main avenue to boldly express its optimism, while celebrating the potential of young people.

The creative launch for the project was fueled by insight from focus groups who painted a picture of what was missing in local youth educational offerings. The curriculum that emerged was built upon a platform of mentorship and leadership development.  While working with the architect, the kids helped to select the furniture, the colors and the style, affirming their participation in the overall design process. The Center was envisioned as a microcosm of a world-model community for healthy neighborhoods where local citizens nurture their youth and prepare them to become tomorrow’s leaders.
 
The client organization formed partnerships with more than a dozen local community groups to maximize access to top quality social services that support children and foster positive youth development. The resulting curriculum warranted state-of-the-art program areas including a music production center, performing arts center, flexible instructional spaces, health / fitness development areas, and places for social interaction. While serving as many as 300 youths per day, the Center also features a cybercafé, art studios, tutoring services, and programs geared toward development of decision-making and entrepreneurial skills.

DESIGN         
The building is conceived around the dialogue between old and new to reflect the interaction between established members of the community and the youth of the future.  As it faces the neighborhood, the exterior façade respects the building's history by maintaining the patchwork quilt of original masonry, recasting it for today as a unified, yet beautifully textured orange brick wall.  Along the Avenue, oversized graphics bring a bold, contemporary presence to the street as translucent polycarbonate cladding and clear glazing expose the creative program spaces and seek to attract members of the iGeneration through its doors.

The interior began with an exercise in maximizing existing resources and continued as a dynamic interplay of original elements – walls, floors and openings, and new interventions – ramps, rails, stairs and overhead doors. Once again, the original building elements lend stability to the overall composition of spaces, while serving as a backdrop for the new programming.  The inspired playful contemporary architecture represents the unrefined, yet authentic spirit of the young people.

Large communal spaces such as the cybercafé, multi-purpose room and gymnasium enliven the Avenue façade, while more private, light / sound sensitive programming such as the production studio and digital media classrooms are reserved for the ‘core’ of interior spaces.  Anchored by a two-story Common Area that combines flexible and individual meeting rooms, the interior is a collection of lively, interwoven spaces that encourage collaboration, learning and recreation. New interior openings were introduced to create synergies between unrelated program areas, and a second level bridge connection through the Common Area encourages chance meetings and interactions among teachers and students.

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