extension to crotona park - bronx, ny
professor: anne nixon
arch 201 (fall 2020)
SITE PLANS: EXTENSION TO CROTONA PARK
The pre-existing site includes and entrance from the road directly to the park’s own changing rooms and a secondary path through a park to the right. The latter entrance was transformed to a terraced courtyard connected by ramps, which move upward toward the proposed extension. The extension is also accessible from the pre-existing pool itself through the introduction of a staircase, as well as from behind through pre-existing paths. This allows for access to different users - those already in attendance at the park or pre-existing pool, as well as those who would like to directly enter the extension area.
The utilization of the courtyard entryway as well as courtyards throughout as a form of circulation mirrors the importance of nature in the site. As a whole, the extension, in conjunction to the pre-existing site, is a place that fosters wellness and health. Surrounding areas in this neighborhood of the Bronx have low access to health care, so it is imperative to emphasize a source of fitness for the area.
SITE LAYOUT
The extension to the park includes five disparate structures connected through both circulation through courtyards and water. The structures interlock with one another but are spatially disconnected, allowing for a paradoxical relationship between the layout.
Areas include an entryway with two pools, each of which lead into a larger pool, a changing area with gendered locker rooms and a vestibule for lounging, a long breezeway from which a visitor could enter the pool or circulate among, an interior pool area that leads into the larger pool, private sauna treatment rooms, and a greenhouse. There is also a platform set aside specifically for a farmer’s market, at which harvestables are sold from the park to the community.
The extension to the park includes five disparate structures connected through both circulation through courtyards and water. The structures interlock with one another but are spatially disconnected, allowing for a paradoxical relationship between the layout.
Areas include an entryway with two pools, each of which lead into a larger pool, a changing area with gendered locker rooms and a vestibule for lounging, a long breezeway from which a visitor could enter the pool or circulate among, an interior pool area that leads into the larger pool, private sauna treatment rooms, and a greenhouse. There is also a platform set aside specifically for a farmer’s market, at which harvestables are sold from the park to the community.
BUILDING SECTIONS
The first of these sections shows the interior of the entryway and the changing rooms, emphasizing the concept that the two buildings are “fIoating” among water. This is similarly shown in the second second of the interior pool and treatment rooms, as there is water in-between the two.
Another important aspect of these sections is the inclusion of the windows on the structures mimicking the language of the greenhouse to create cohesion in design and material.