Opening of an Innovative Community Center Transforming an Old Building into Family Housing and Educational Spaces
Upon entering the new community center in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, visitors immediately notice the transformation. The old building now hosts vibrant spaces for family activities and educational programs. Glass facades allow natural daylight to reach deep into the interior. Perforated white metal canopies provide shade and create a visual connection with the street. Inside, bright colors and geometric patterns stimulate children. Comfortable seating accommodates families. Every corner tells the story of converting unused areas into active, livable spaces. The design maintains energy efficiency and sustainability throughout the center.
Location and Design Concept
The center is located along Ventura Boulevard, a long street running through the San Fernando Valley filled with low-rise commercial buildings. The main design idea focused on converting old commercial buildings, such as a restaurant and an adjacent hotel, into transitional housing and multifunctional spaces. The architects applied adaptive reuse strategies to retain the structural core while introducing new interior divisions for residential and educational needs. The metal canopies provide 50% of the required shading, enhancing the building’s visual presence within the urban fabric.
Visitor Experience and Interior Flow
The visitor’s journey begins at the illuminated entrance, where the canopies interact with sunlight, creating a visual flow from the exterior to the interior. Families can move freely between the western multipurpose room, used for family activities and daily meals, and the eastern preschool classrooms, which open onto a secure outdoor space. Large windows allow natural light to flood the interiors and provide views of pathways and outdoor areas. Clear circulation paths connect entrances and exits seamlessly, ensuring smooth and safe movement for all age groups.
Architectural Details and Materials
The design emphasizes vivid and cheerful colors such as orange, green, and pink, with geometric patterns that flow from exterior to interior. Steel columns covered with gypsum panels and twisted axes reflect the interior color palette and highlight structural elements. All walls, windows, and concrete panels were replaced, and the former roof well was converted into skylights to illuminate the building’s inner core.
Summary of materials and construction techniques:
- Steel for columns and structural axes (100% of structural elements)
- Gypsum panels for covering columns and axes (over 80% of interior surfaces)
- New concrete panels for floors and walls (100%)
- Large glass windows providing 70% natural daylight penetration
- Water-based epoxy paint for floors and parking areas (100%)
- White metal canopies providing 50% of required shade
- LED lighting integrated into canopies and structural lines
Sustainability and Environmental Integration
The center incorporates fully clean energy systems:
- Heat pumps for hot water and heating
- Photovoltaic solar panels on the roof supplying basic energy needs
This approach minimizes reliance on fossil fuels and reduces annual operational costs. The metal canopies compensate for the lack of trees, providing 50% of shade coverage, while the open-plan interior promotes natural airflow and moderate indoor temperatures.
Final Project Vision
The community center provides a fully integrated environment balancing function, aesthetics, and community needs. The building offers transitional housing for 100 families and safe educational spaces for children, while ensuring energy efficiency and sustainability. Its design allows visitors to move through the center smoothly, with a visually engaging connection to the surrounding streetscape. The white metal canopies and colorful design elements establish a strong identity, linking the building’s former commercial use with its new community-oriented purpose.
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✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight
The community center features a visually striking design that integrates vibrant colors and geometric patterns flowing from the façade into the interior, with large windows allowing natural light to penetrate deeply. The arrangement of open spaces and fenced classrooms creates a sense of movement and fluidity while maintaining clear visitor circulation. Critically, relying on metal canopies to compensate for the lack of trees offers a practical solution but slightly reduces the perception of natural greenery. Nevertheless, the project successfully balances functional performance and visual engagement, providing tangible social value through transitional housing and safe educational spaces for families.
