LOCATION:

Manhattan Beach, CA

CLIENT:

Beach Cities Health District

SITE   AREA:

1.0 acres

SIZE:

16,000 sf | 1,486 sm

PROGRAM:

Youth Fitness and Wellness Center including, outdoor ropes course, climbing walls, play areas, gymnasium, group exercise areas.

DESIGN:

2000-2001

CONSTRUCTION:

2001-2002

       (developed as the Design Director of Dewberry)

TYPE:

Civic | Library

An Environmentally Integrated Youth-Focused Wellness Center

Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) is one of the largest preventive health agencies in the nation and has served the communities of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach since 1955. Commensurate with the Beach Cities Health District’s mission of providing services that extend the community’s knowledge of wellness, AdventurePlex embodies this and introduced a way of life to children ages 2 to 17 years of age.

AdventurePlex is an environmentally integrated Wellness Center created especially for youth.  The 16,000 gsf facility occupies one acre of a seven-acre site in Manhattan Beach, California.  The program includes a sport court, an adventure climbing structure, multi-purpose rooms, party-rooms, conditioning areas and support facilities.  In addition, the facility takes advantage of the southern California climate and leverages its exterior space with an outdoor ropes course and two climbing walls.

The massing is a direct interpretation of the planning strategy.  Scale and color are used to represent the disparate parts of the building.  The southern end is of a larger scale with muted tones containing the sport court.  The northern end is of a smaller scale and is brighter in color to indicate the different programming and age group that utilize the adventure climbing structure within.  At the center of the facility, the masses collide and fracture the geometry identifying a point of entry to the facility.  The cantilevered classroom volume is pushed from the envelope giving relief to the façade.

AdventurePlex teaches children to learn about teamwork and leadership skills; tools that will begin to build the foundation for use throughout their lives.  It is also about living a healthy lifestyle.  It is the one of the few youth-focused freestanding facility of its kind by a healthcare provider, providing children with an interactive environment that will prove to be a model for future wellness centers of its kind.