Project Description
The pragmatic program of concessions and restrooms belies the significance of community pride embodied in youth sports facilities. The facility reflects a community’s values and investments and the position of the structure represents the entry portal to this community showcase.
The structure, using an agrarian dialect, is an assemblage based on three guiding principles: Marker, Shelter and Portal.
Marker – The structure guides visitors to a point of entry in a collection of open fields. The use of a mono-pitch roof accentuates height and serves as the park’s campanile.
Shelter – The roof image is intended to convey shelter. The major roof plane is accentuated by scale. The message is reinforced with the ”float” of the plane through pronounced edges and lighting that disengages the roof from supporting walls.
Portal – The simple axial relationship from the parking to centerline of the championship field is framed by buildings and free-standing walls composed to make the path obvious. The resulting processional reinforces the sense of arrival through spatial drama. Compressed in width and height – a Venturi effect is imposed on visitors as they are released by the soar of the roof and the splay of building forms opening toward the fields.