The project submitted is located in Houston, Texas and is part of the construction of a new 60,000 square foot building complex. The Landscape Architects was responsible for all hardscape and softscape for the project from schematic design through construction administration.

Background

The Ripley house has a commitment to Houston's East End that is nearly a century old. After sixty years of dedicated service, their building simply wore out. With the exceptional dedication and tenacity of our volunteer leadership, a successful eighteen-month capital campaign raised more than $9 million from private sources to replace the existing facility.

Originally, Ripley House was built in 1940 to help meet the financial and social needs of the residents of the East End community in Houston. In the past 60 years it has undergone a variety of changes and renovations, and has adapted as best possible to the ever-changing needs of the center's population. Of the 3,000 people that walk through the center's doors for assistance on a daily basis, 86 percent are Hispanic, with approximately 30 percent of the total population living at or below the poverty level.

The center offers: After-school and summer youth programs, recreational activities such as dance, tumbling, soccer, and exercise classes, the Ripley Alternative Program (RAP), an educational alternative for middle school students, gang prevention and youth enrichment programs, English as a Second Language (ESL ), GED, and computer training classes; cultural activities, including a major, Ballet Folclorico, program; meals and social activities for senior citizens, community meetings, and the Pan American Salute (cultural event in honor of Latin American heritage).

The Campus

The new building is configured in a "pin wheel" fashion with arms that reach out to the community that arrives to the site largely on foot from all directions. In doing so, the building creates two major courtyards. The Northern courtyard, known of as "Plaza Amistad" is bounded on the north by a pre-existing building (housing social services ). on the west by the administrative arm of the new building, and on the south by the community rooms. This courtyard is intended for passive use. Families' gather, friends meet, and individuals find quiet here. The Southern of the two courtyards, known as Plaza dellos Ninos, is an active place. It is bounded on the north by the community rooms, on the west by the gymnasium, and on the south by the ball fields. This courtyard is heavily used by children enrolled in after-school programs. Children play and teens participate in organized activities.

The design of the building incorporates colorful stucco walls and is intended to reflect a modern and progressive institution and reflects the Hispanic culture, which the facilities traditions are built on. The landscape architectural solutions for the site design are intended to complement and extend this approach to the architecture.

Plaza Amistad

The design approach to this important space was influence by several factors. The first, being the need for the space to unify the new building with the pre-existing administration building. The second, being the desire to extend the visual statement being made by the new building's architecture. The third, being the need to preserve two existing live oak trees.

The solution is organized around a recessed oval lawn panel. The oval was chosen for its unifying qualities. The oval's axial qualities allow the various building elevations, both new and existing, to relate themselves to the oval and thus to each other. The simplicity of this approach relates to the simple and somewhat unarticulated building elevations.

Colorful vertical elements are introduced through the use of raised circular planters and a continuous garden wall along the north edge of the plaza. The four large planters anchoring the oval lawn panel are planted with 8' caliper Live Oaks. These planters incorporate a colorful tile mosaic in the seat back. A set of planters along the eastern elevation of the new building add a human scale, while the planters along the north side of the oval work in composition continuous garden wall. The continuous garden wall creates, visually, a base for the existing brick building and introduces color to the north side of the plaza. These vertical elements do, indeed, extend the visual statement made architecture in to the site design and creates a great harmony between the building and the site.

The ground plane is articulated with bands of rustic terrazzo and fields of salt-finish colored concrete. The geometry of the bands relates to the column grid of the building and provides an organization for the placement of the raised planters. The subtle blending of color and texture add a profound richness the overall design and calls upon the traditions of Barragan, Burle Marx.

Plaza dellos Ninos

The hardscape design approach and materials are similar to the Plaza Amistad. In this case, the focal element is the play structure, which is set into a concrete curbed circle. The terrazzo paving extends from the gymnasium and is covered by a continuous shade structure. The basketball pavilion is positioned so as to provide an edge to the eastern side of the courtyard.

Conclusion

The success of this project is measured by is ability to visually marry the building to the site, provide a harmony between the new and pre-existing structures, and to provide a campus setting that proudly reflects the culture of the people that Ripley House serves.