Project Description
The new REACH Ashland Youth Center houses a rich array of youth-centered services within a singular and iconic building identity. The 31,500 SF LEED Platinum, sustainably designed two-story structure includes: a full dental and medical clinic; a library; a public cafe; media production, dance and fitness rooms; classrooms; a computer lab; a visual arts room; a childcare center; a career center; a courtyard; and, behavioral health counseling and administrative spaces. The building design emphasizes transparency, openness and flexibility between the different functions to promote exploration, social connectivity and programming flexibility. The Youth Center is located in a neighborhood park adjacent to a middle school. RDC developed the design through an extensive community design workshop process in close collaboration with a local youth group “steering committee”.
Participatory Design – Youth Engagement Process. A core value of the project is that it emerged out of a collaborative visioning process with a focus group of local youth. This innovative participatory design process occurred bi-weekly over a three-month period, and involved paralleling the design process, step by step, with an equivalent process engaging the youth. It was highly generative in nature, and established key approaches and design ambitions for the project, with many of the youths’ ideas implemented directly into the design.
Awards:
CCAEA 2014 Award for Best Large County Capital Project
CCAEA 2014 Grand Award for Overall Best Project
Merit Award 2013 AIA East Bay Design Awards
Citation 2010 AIA Redwood Empire Design Awards, “Unbuilt” Category