Youth Community Center Golden Gate Park, San Francisco California

My masters thesis in architecture.



The Youth Community Center in Golden Gate Park will motivate and educate the communities to include nature in their cultural heritage.

It seeks to connect the people to park activities that might currently be disjointed. It sacrifices this notion of a pristine natural world apart from the noise and hustle of the modern city, because the park is artificial nature after all. My proposed community centers will transform the park into a permanent place for social concerns and collaboration, an institution that serves the needs of the people. Every group has something to bring.




This Community Center will add something modern to the Alvord Lake entrance into the park, to revitalize the area and to excite community involvement in the park. This softens to transition between park and nature and gives the people control over this important public resource.



The building architecture takes on a natural character and gestures the visitor under the Alvord Bridge and on to Sharon meadow and Sharon studio. Topography change opens up views to the Lake and surrounding foliage.




The framed view opens up a formal garden where youth gather for nature interaction and group events. Building activities transition through obstructive concrete and open glazing to this point of convergence. The gallery is a special space with a flowing form that tilts the axis toward the Alvord Bridge. The organic form celebrates Youth achievement in art and cultural creation.




The street level ramps down to the Alvord Lake level to gesture the youth into the park. As the visitors return from the park into the city, The structure prepares them for that city condition.

The Perforated Aluminum Skin is etched to take on the character of the foliage, to reflect and cloak itself in the nature. A heavier core structure contains private spaces and obstructs views. A variety of perforated metal skins provide daylight according to the program needs of each space.

The Fate of Animals by Franz Marc describes humankind destroying the diversity of nature. This Community center transversely celebrates nature through diversity. The art gallery is a climax of organic modern creation.



Presentation Boards: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 All images © Copyright Benjamin Blankenhehler

See also in Golden Gate Park: California Academy of Sciences, De Young Museum.