SCS BT Squared

Goodman Community Center Wins Best New Development

 

InBusiness Magazine's Second Commercial Design competition resulted in a Win for the Goodman Community Center in the Best New Development or Renovation - Education Category.

Of all the entries in this year's Commercial Design Awards competition, perhaps none received as much praise for the creative use of a site as the Goodman Community Center.

The Center, which was built on an old industrial site that was home to four manufacturing companies over the past century, opened in September 2008.  Our judges were impressed with how Eppstein Uhen Architects and Vogel Brothers Building Co. combined to take the old industrial frame and create something consequential.

Certainly it was consequential enough to incorporate what one judge called "funky, energetic interior spaces" that are used for everything from art rooms to a food pantry.  In general, our judges appreciated the project's high level of respect for the pre-existing site.  "They honored the building for what it was," said one admiring judge.  "They didn't try to make it something that it wasn't in order to mask that it was an industrial building."

"It's innovative," chimed in another.  "It celebrates the industrial heritage of the site, and allows kids to learn from that through play."

The Center, made possible by a $2 million gift from the philanthropic duo known as the Goodman Brothers (Robert and Irwin), and a $12.4 million capital campaign, also won plaudits for its use of materials and its emphasis on green building, which includes the use of solar collectors for exterior lighting.

Winner: Best new development or renovation - Education

Project Credits:
Owner/Developer: Goodman Community Center, Madison
General Contractor: Vogel Brothers Building Co.
Architects: Eppstein Uhen Architects
Engineers: BT Squared (environmental); KJWW Eng. (structural/electrical)
Completion Date: July 2008