12,000 persons -- Expansion key issue -- Steep site -- Parking must be provided -- Laundromat and news stand on site to be saved.
A
The community has acquired a corner lot, 12,000 square feet, as a major intersection (Pattern 2 Location (1968)). In anticipation of expansion, the community has purchased the lot in back (6: Expansion (1968)).
B
The most natural shortcut across the building (Pattern 9 Arena Thoroughfare (1968)) cuts across the corner of the lower lot; another shortcut goes from the NE corner of the upper lot to the SW corner of the lower lot (in this first stage, this would be through the parking lot, into the building, down some stairs, through the first arena, out the main corner door).
C
The change of level from the NE corner of the upper lot to the SW corner of the lower lot, is approximately 40 feet. This suggests that the building when fully developed, should be stepped down four stories: the lower lot having two stories and the upper lot one story, with a basement for parking, and a core of four stories. In order to keep the shortcut through the two lots, the stairs connecting the two arenas will have to be very direct, with no backtracking. Thus, the stairs are in one long line.
D
Working toward the center, from the two extreme entrances, first comes community projects, then the two arenas, and then the services; all functions which have both arenas -- the stair and elevator (44 Elevator-Ramp (1968)), core services (19 Core Service Adjacencies (1968)), Director's Overview (37 Director's Overview (1968), and Self Service (20 Self-Service (1968)) -- are at the junction of the two arenas.
E
In order to keep the MSC as open to the street as possible (10 Open to Street (1968)), and still protect it from New York Weather (11: Arena Enclosure (1968)), the necklace of community projects (16 Necklace of Community Projects (1968)) is broken at intervals with glass doors which can be demounted during the summer. An existing laundromat and newspaper stand are left intact on the site, but made "two-sided" (17 Community Projects Two-Sided (1968)). In addition, some of the "store-front" spaces are services, some are community projects (5 Small Services without Red Tape (1968)). Finally, block workers (28 The Intake Process (1968) and 45 Blockworker Layout (1968)), and child-care (32 Child Care Position (1968) are arranged with respect to the shortcut path and the main entrance.
This page is part of A Pattern Language Which Generates Multi-Service Centers (1968)