Ross Farnsworth YMCA

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Location: Mesa, AZ
Type: New construction on College Campus
Client: Valley of the Sun YMCA
Role: Sophia as project manager and architect in training at Architekton
Copyright: Architekton

Project Features: Amenities serving the campus and community at large, including Pools, Gym, Child watch, Climbing Wall.

Discovery: Good Design can make a big difference. A few days before the opening, a local neighborhood developer toured the new facility, and made a significant capital contribution. In his honor we were happy to replace the old “East Valley” Family YMCA signage with his name!

Program Requirements: Fitting a full service YMCA on a college campus led to a two story rec center, that features a canyon indoor-outdoor space that connects the two sides of the campus right through the lobby.

Special Challenges: The original plans included additional program spaces to serve that campus community. We were able to adopt the plans to a main phase, while providing an adjacent building pad for future expansion.

Special Detail Highlight: The pool fence: A composition that achieves minimum safety heights, allows some transparency, keeps dirt from the surrounding landscaping out, and offers a seat bench, built-in lighting, and spots for signage, storage, and equipment.

Photography Credits:
Architekton and Michael T Masengarb 

Contractor: Reliance Build 

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    • Author

    Sophia Sparklin

    Growing up in a family with generations in medical practice, Sophia discovered her passion for architecture during an internship 1996. Since then Sophia received formal and informal education in Germany and the US. At Arizona State University she was honored by the Henry Adams Certificate for graduating on top of her (Master of Architecture) class in 2005.