Arnold Palmer Learning Center

The First Tee-Pittsburgh’s Arnold Palmer Learning Center was designed to support youth development programs that teach life skills and character education through the game of golf. To this end, the design of the new facility was driven by inclusivity, to welcome children of all backgrounds within Pittsburgh and surrounding communities. In order to preserve the cultural importance of this site and to ensure that the new facility would serve the community’s needs, the design team led a series of community engagement workshops to identify mission critical goals. Working with a variety of stakeholders, interactive exercises established an understanding of programmatic goals. Through an iterative design campaign, proof-of-concept studies were reviewed with the community to allow all voices to be heard. The co-creative process was driven by the vision to create a socially and educationally engaging place for the community that transcends generational and socioeconomic boundaries – a place for all.

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Details

Architecture Firm: R3A Architecture

Project Team: Deepak Wadhwani, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP; Patrick Russell, AIA; Barbara Pschirer, NCIDQ, IIDA, WELL AP

Client: The First Tee-Pittsburgh

Contractor: Massaro Corporation, Steven Massaro - General Contractor

Engineers: D'Appolonia Engineering, Adam McCullough - Civil Engineer; CJL Engineering, Jim Vizzini - MEP Engineer; Atlantic Engineering Services, Gilbert Kaufman - Structural Engineer;

Photographer: Ed Rombout

Landscape Architect: Moore Design Associates, Sara Moore - Landscape Architect

Consultants: H.F. Lenz Company, Thomas Deter - Commissioning Agent