Neighborhood Olympic Center
TEAM: Lane Raffaldini Rubin – United States of America – Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Neighborhood Olympic Center
Stair as Condenser of Athletic Publics
Sport is at times social / extroverted / noisy, at times quiet / introverted / meditative. How can we design a place for the practice of such states? For sports that require such different conditions and spaces? The Neighborhood Olympic Center brings together very serious athletes training for élite competition and recreational members from the surrounding Charlestown / Boston community. Perched on the edge of Bunker Hill, the Center enjoys an uninterrupted view of the Boston skyline and is situated beside a long public stair that descends the hill. The public path of this stair continues into the Center and extends the opportunity for visitors to look out over Boston. This new stair serves to partition the interior sports programs, allowing for a range of meditative and social atmospheres for the practice of swimming, diving, archery, table tennis, weightlifting, taekwondo, and handball.