Atmospheric: Programming a Community

By Dempson Haney



The benefit of a community center for Vincennes establishes the need for such a facility. The new community center would also become the first community center for the city of Vincennes. The next question was what kind of community center would be best utilized. Would the center be recreational, having weight rooms and various sport facilities? Or a multi-purpose program which would allow the community to dictate the use of its space? The decision became quickly clear.
A multi-purpose community center could form to the needs of Vincennes. Its spaces could be rented out for business meeting and parties, a place for weeding receptions, conventions, arts and crafts, dance classes, place to hold extracurricular activities for local schools. The center would become the central location for community information. The program is as follow:

Private
Coordinator Office: 150sq. ft.
Storage: 300sq. ft.
Kitchen: 200sq. ft.

Public
Lobby: 200-300sq. ft.
Multi Purpose Room one: 1500-1800sq. ft.
Conference Room: 400sq. ft.
Multi Purpose Room two: 600-800sq. ft.
Café: 150-200sq. ft.
Restrooms: 400sq. ft.
Mechanical: 2500sq. ft. total: 7050sq. ft.

The program doesn’t include any exterior spaces. The multi-purpose rooms are to be able to open up out into the site to expand the programs possibilities and integration with the landscaping. A second part of the programming (which is not included) is the expansion of the current visitor’s center which was built in the 1970’s. The expansion and make over would integrate the existing visitor’s center with the new community center, and acting as a whole on the site. The expansions include additional gallery/museum and storage space.