San Francisco (Alexander et al. 1968)

Combination service and recreation center -- Mild climate -- Outdoor arena -- Strong Community Organization -- Corner Site -- Off site parking provided

To make the recreation part of the building highly accessible, the whole ground floor is devoted to recreation activity -- this area will be open late, according to Pattern 12 Locked and Unlocked Zones (1968) ;

also it is highly visible from the street (10 Open to Street (1968)), and provides a thoroughfare (Pattern 9 Arena Thoroughfare (1968)). In this climate, the arena, which can be open to the sky (11 Arena Enclosure (1968)) takes on an unusual character -- it becomes a park. the whole ground floor becomes community territory (4 Community Territory (1968)).

The recreation area, which will become a hang-out for many members of the community, gives the building a natural base for community organization.

It is therefore essential to put information, and community organizers and community projects at ground level. Pattern 17 (Community Projects Two-sided (1968)), 28 (The Intake Process (1968)), 35 (Information-Conversation (1968)), and 16 (Necklace of Community Projects (1968)) put them in the position shown.

If the recreation area is to occupy about one-third of the building and is to be at ground level, there will be two other stories for services. Since the services are not at ground floor, they cannot open directly off the arena.

The next best thing, feasible in a mild climate, is to have them opening off a gallery which surrounds the arena. Self-service is placed in the center of this gallery (21 Self-Service (1968)). The gallery steps back from the arena (Pattern 25 Building Stepped Back from Arena (1968)). There are no corridors.

Since core service adjacencies (19 Core Service Adjacencies (1968)) requires that community organizers be reasonably accessible to the rest of core services, there must be a stair inside the building;

core services naturally go to the third floor, giving the dirctor an overview (37 Director's Overivew (1968)). Since this stair opens from a "late zone" downstairs, it is a natural path to meeting rooms; these rooms, clustered round a kitchen, are near the staff lounge, itself on the path to core services, and in easy reach of other services (Patterns 47 Radio/Tv Station (1968) and 49 Staff Lounge (1968)).

To get windows overlooking life (18 Windows Overlooking Life (1968)) for the interior spaces, there are holes from the second and third story, looking down into the recreation floor.