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Nathanael Maschke Report

Proposal for Wilder Community Center

Building and connecting the community has been at the heart of the mission of the Wilder Foundation since it's inception over a hundred years ago. This project looks forward to the Wilder's next hundred years of service, emphasizing the need to build and connect with the community. By expanding the services of the Wilder Foundation’s Center for Healthy Aging into a Community Activity Center, facilities can be improved, expanded, and benefits shared among the changing users of the building. People of all ages will inhabit the building simultaneously, promoting interaction and inter-generational learning. This interaction is not only a benefit to the aging population traditionally served by Wilder Foundation, but helps to share customs among an increasingly diverse community; truly enabling ‘successful aging’ from young to old. In recognition of the changing nature of communities, the building itself is designed to adapt, responding to its inhabitants and to visitors as the demands placed on it change.

The proposed building is located near the intersection of University Avenue and Lexington Parkway in St. Paul, Minnesota. This intersection will soon be home to a stop on the new Central Corridor Light Rail Transit (LRT). This location has easy access, both from Minneapolis and St. Paul with the new rail line, as well as being well served from the surrounding region by I-94 just a few blocks to the south.

The now vacant lot is within a quarter mile radius from the LRT stop, which is designated by the city as intensive transit-oriented development. The surrounding area is a wide mix of institutional, commercial, and industrial, all the way down to single family neighborhoods to the north of University Avenue and to the east of Lexington Parkway. There are many vacant lots, and it is clear that the area is undergoing a change in demographics.

As the city of St. Paul prepares for development and gentrification in the area of the Central Corridor, station area plans have been created to help integrate development into the community. Multi-use buildings comprised of 3-4 stories are suggested to help tame the large streets of Lexington Parkway and University Avenue. Larger building help to define the edge of the street creating a more inhabitable space for pedestrians, thereby encouraging the use of public transport and other non-automobile transportation alternatives. The site is designed to integrate with the existing Wilder campus as well as reach out to and provide services for the existing and future community. This building will become the newest of the many layers of buildings in the community.

The shape of the building grew from the response to several factors. The city of St. Paul requires that all parking be shielded from Lexington Parkway. Only greenspace and buildings shall front the road. Lexington Parkway has a generous setback that defines the front of the building leaving space for a boulevard of trees in front. The building is set to the north of the lot to allow for maximum sun exposure and adapted to prevent excessive shading of surrounding buildings. A generously sized courtyard shields clients coping with dementia from noise and activity of the outside and also provides additional light.

The program of the building is a response between elevation and client needs. Because of the need for frequent wheelchair use, the Wilder Foundation’s Adult Day Health (ADH) needed its entrance to be on grade. By allowing access from the higher west of the site, the ADH level was permitted to be on grade, while the street level was opened up for public functions, allowing for a rich synergy between the two.

The facade expresses the difference in program through the type of glazing. The public space is a completely glazed curtain wall, creating a visual connection between the public realm of the street, and the public functions of the building. Even in the auditorium, activities take place in front of the backdrop of the community and the street. The semi-private spaces are clad with colorful ribbons of panels. The panels can be swapped out and replaced with different materials or colors. They can be glazed either transparent or translucent, or solid and insulated. This allows the facade to change and adapt with different lighting needs, new occupant color schemes, or wall configurations. By reducing the glazing area on the long east and west facades, solar exposure is minimized to only that required by the occupant for daylighting needs. Even though the window area can be quite small, the facade still appears to be active and playful, not a giant blank wall. The multi-colored facade is meant to be a symbol for the multi-cultural heritage of the community which Wilder Foundation serves. As the community is constantly changing, so will the facade of the building. An added feature is that the facade can be used as a billboard for events in the building. Specifically the facade over the auditorium can be used as the marquee calling out the shows playing and current events.

The main entrance of the building holds a lobby area next to a cafe and espresso bar. The lobby has plenty of seating and pool tables to encourage people to hang out and spend time with each other. At the end of the space is the auditorium seating over three hundred people and extending up to the third story. The auditorium is able to be broken into two at the landing that connects to the second level where the ADH program is.

The library space is a new multifunctional space. It is less about reading and learning from the books on hand, although there are plenty. It is a library for people and of people. The best resources in the library will be the people there to share your story with. It could be a caregiver in distress, or an immigrant grandmother. Each person has their own story, one that is far different from anything found in a book.

The ADH level is designed to be a home-like place. It has plenty of natural light. All activity areas face south. The two activity spaces for dementia clients have activity areas that face the quiet courtyard. A varied walking loop takes clients around the courtyard through the dining rooms, and overlooks the auditorium and library spaces.