Leimert Park-Community Center

In the U.S., many neighborhoods do not have a proper basketball court to practice this sport, forcing people to use streets, driveways, backyards, and any other outdoor space to play basketball. Leimert Park is a cultural rich neighborhood that embraces art and music, however, it does not have sports facilities for basketball culture. In an effort to embrace the U.S. street basketball culture, I placed the basketball courts on the ground level in my building, which allowed me to layout the rest of the program above the courts. This architectural gesture creates the illusion of having a floating program while the basketball courts appear to be outdoors. The structure system consists of a habitable Pratt truss system that extends down to the floor plate to function as one. The trusses are completely exposed throughout the building to be an expressive and ornamental element of the design. The ground level has concrete walls that also function as vertical support. Around the basketball courts, there is a glass facade that allows maximum visibility from the street into the building.