Client Woodbury University
Instructor Ciro Dimson
Partner David Juarez
Location Watts, Los Angeles, CA
Program Sports & Recreation
Size 46,000 ft²
The roots of this project came from the junction of the two sports that make it: Inline roller skating, and Taekwondo. These were chosen because my partner and I both had a relationship to the ones we chose, and sought a way to join them together despite them seemingly being unrelated.
Through talking about our sports and programs that came with them, we decided on mass timber to articulate the swings and flows of our two leg-heavy sports through curved glulams. Colonnades of catenary curves careen around the corners of the inline track, evoking and reinforcing the sensation of the skates as they go up and down rhythmically across the asphalt. As you go up, the curves become longer and less drastic in their movement, to show the more methodical and long lunges of the taekwondo.
The experience of the user was a fundamental consideration throughout the project, and with trying to unify this unlikely duo that also included the visual connection to the two - even as a player! We designed a perforated aluminum skin with different size perforations to allow for a gradient of vision and shade. From the taekwondo floor you can see down to the track, but not hindered by the glare or undiffuse sunlight as the perforations gradually become smaller.
The inline track was a major programmatic restraint due to its size, so we lifted it to provide a park space and more public uses to people that might be passing by. This became a roller skating park with a rental so the community can easily take part, along with a dedicated learning area that connects to the Watts Tower Park.
All shown works are my creations for the partner project.
