PORTABLE PROTOTYPE
NET.PLAY is based on the idea of maximizing the use of space with minimum intervention and expense. The building is conceived as a prototype that can be easily adapted to different sites and scales. The prototype has very few components, but many possibilities. NET.PLAY is simply composed of two slabs supported by concrete columns and beams. This structure can then be complemented by a series of ADD-ONS that allow for infinite adaptability.
CONNECTED COMMUNITY
At the Santa Cruz site, the building is placed above the block’s DESIRE LINE, which is the most visible testimony of how the community currently uses this space. This location divides the site in two, allowing for two separate playing areas. The leadership center stands in the middle, serving both, and being watched by both, a celebration of stadium. The leadership center is elevated, allowing the use of the ground floor as a plaza, and of the upper floor as an observation deck. A DOUBLE-SIDED BLEACHER that moves through the building connects both sides of the site.
STYLE / INFINITE ADAPTABILITY
The middle, in between the two slabs, is an interior - exterior space, conceived as a permeable, adaptable, open room for multiple uses. Three components (or ADD-ONS) divide and allow for change within the space: the skin, rooms as objects and moveable furniture. The skin is composed of an outer net and a set of curtains. The hand-woven NET FAÇADE turns the entire facility into an ICON OF THE GOAL and also serves as a handrail. The sliding LOGO CURTAINS: create shade (when and where shade is needed) and allow for privacy or connection to the spaces outside. Circular enclosures, or PROGRAMMED COLUMNS, are rooms that provide a second layer of privacy and lockable security. These spaces can be added or removed as the program changes, or from one site to another. MOVEABLE FURNITURE, such as small-scale bleachers, allow classrooms or meeting rooms to be created anywhere within the space.
SPONSORED
The center is designed as a kit of parts. This approach provides the opportunity for sponsorship. The center will carry the image of its sponsors on its parts. The LOGO CURTAIN is the largest exposed surface of the building. A major sponsor can include its logo on the curtain, paying not only for part of the façade, but also strengthening the image of the center within the community. The pavers that line the plaza below the facility are also a source of revenue through sponsorship. Individuals or businesses may have their logo or names embossed on the surface of the circular DONOR PAVERS that line the pathway. The smaller concrete DONOR PAVERS are pre-cast and set into compacted gravel which allows the site to absorb and collect rainwater instead of shedding it all away.
PERFORMANCE / SIMPLY SUSTAINABLE
The ROOF DECK, made of rot-resistant, recycled plastic and wood fibers, floats above the concrete roof on sleepers and directs rainwater toward the center of the building to be collected in a concrete tank buried below the shaded COMMUNITY PLAZA. The rainwater is reused for toilet flushing and building maintenance. A PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAY, composed of 50 high-efficiency, 220-watt solar panels and 6 evacuated-tube solar hot water heaters is installed on the roof. The panels are installed completely flat and are easily accessible for cleaning and maintenance to ensure that they operate at maximum capacity. A PROGRAM COLUMN below serves as the mechanical room with space to store the necessary batteries for the array and the hot water heater. MICRO-BUSINESSES can utilize the COMMUNITY PLAZA as a space to set up tables or pushcarts to sell goods or services, creating economic sustainability for the community. All earth moved during the construction would be utilized to incline the landscape towards the field. These STADIUM LANDSCAPE elements create extra space for watching the game and add to the overall stadium experience.
