Project Description
Fairhaven Community Center is a public facility sited at the heart of Fairhaven neighborhood, above an open public space in between two existing historic buildings - Fairhaven School and Fairhaven Library. The building engages the site through the core concept of “Independence / Dependence” in three key areas. First, urbanistically it becomes a new landmark and visual spectacle providing access to essential services previously lacking in the neighborhood. Second, it programmatically joins both the school and library program allowing both to benefit from the other through shared spaces of learning. Third, the design explores novel tectonic systems that mix two types of engineered timber, (cross-laminated timber and glulam), and express their individual structural/material qualities into a unified whole.