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EAGLE ROCK CHILD CARE CENTER
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Photography: John Linden
Photography
CMACN 2005 Awards Edition, “CMU Profiles in Architecture”
Jury
Comments: Adopting a strategy of creating
programmatic volumes - in this case two concrete masonry bar
shapes, a loft-like shed and a playful ovoid utility volume
- then combining them in a casual assembly, brings life to
this simple structure. The steel framed multi-purpose space,
with its obvious debt to Eames, plays nicely against the
“thick” walls of the masonry bars. Its grid
becomes three dimensional by the addition of the columned
porches, providing shelter and sun control.
The Eagle Rock Child Care Center is a welcome addition
to Eagle Rock Community Park, a Los Angeles Department of
Recreation and Parks facility near Pasadena, California. The
local community lobbied actively for the facility due to the
convenience of its location and its family oriented
programs.
Located on a bend on Eagle Vista Drive, the 5,000 square-foot facility sits only 100 yards from a famous neighbor - a nationally registered gymnasium designed in 1953 by Richard Neutra.
The Center has two large classrooms and bathrooms, staff office/workroom, director’s office, conference room, isolation room, miscellaneous storage and mechanical space, as well as covered play areas and a fenced playground.
The placement of the child care center was carefully considered – close to a large existing parking lot and far enough away from the gym to give it a wide berth. Our project pays homage to the Neutra Building with a number of nods such as thin roofs, exposed steel detailing, industrial materials, and large operable glazed panels that open the classroom to the adjacent sheltered patios.
Our project is articulated into sculptural integrallycolored concrete masonry block forms that sit adjacent to the delicately detailed classroom wing. Color is used to heighten the playful quality of the structure as it is a building dedicated to children. Large graphic letters spelling “E-A-G-L-E-R-O-C-K” are spaced completely around the project, further evoking an image of oversized building blocks. Color is used to articulate details and heighten the playful quality of the Center.
Our goal for the project was to create an exceptionally functional and enjoyable environment for the local children, teachers and parents. The large volumes of the classrooms, the exposed white ducting set against the exposed blue painted ceiling, clerestory windows, and playful, colorful forms are meant to go beyond the program given to us – our hope is that the Eagle Rock Child Care Center will inspire.
ARCHITECT:
Kanner
Architects
1558 10th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Stephen
H. Kanner, FAIA
Principal
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER:
Warling and Associates
GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Povac Investment, Inc.
MASONRY CONTRACTOR:
Povac Investment, Inc.
BLOCK PRODUCERS:
Angelus Block Company, Inc.
OWNER:
City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks
