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Architects: Studio Gang
- Year: 2008
Text description provided by the architects. SOS community center combines services for foster care families and neighborhood families in one building. SOS is an international not-for-profit agency committed to training foster parents and reuniting siblings.
Multi-faceted public spaces in the building encourage a range of learning opportunities and social interaction. An extra-wide stair in the lobby doubles as classroom seating and an impromptu stage for performance. A large community room on the second floor serves as classroom, exercise room and meeting space. Daycare classrooms on the ground floor are oriented around and have direct access to a sunlit outdoor play area. Working with budget constraints led to a design that expresses its materiality in a direct way. Concrete is layered in bands with color variation to reveal its liquid nature.