Grace Spondike

The Soo Hall

Architecture [BS]

In this interpretation of the Soo Hall, the project is located on the Water Street site due to its urban condition which allowed these conditions to be brought within walking distance to the community. These urban conditions create a scenario where the pedestrian is prioritized while still understanding most of the visitors are still driving. This change between the priorities, the people, and the drivers, is formalized by rotating the mass of the building slightly off the site normals so to create a dynamic, welcoming plaza at the urban most corner. Through the building's other formal decisions, the urban forecourt is supplemented by an internal courtyard enclosed on three sides with the fourth side open to the Soo locks and a large recreational area. The project is separated into two halves with the southeastern wing housing the large program elements of pool, locker rooms, basketball courts, and running track above. While the northwestern wing houses more community-based programs including a cafe, administrative suite, classrooms, and care suite. To create an implicit way of finding the different programs that have facade correlations that are different with the athletic wing receiving a knife edge that accepts a saw tooth roof above by also facilitating ambient light by allowing me to place windows on the northwest facing jog, reducing glare on the courts. The northwestern wing takes on a more normalized bump out and bumps in to create variation along an otherwise monotonous walk. The roof forms also help to articulate the wayfinding with the community wing receiving a single sloped roof for water collection in the courtyard. All of these decisions create a community center that through its organization and design prioritizes sustainability, building practices, and an urban condition that fosters predestination of downtown while recognizing the car-central culture through its placement on the site.

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