Project Details

In an area of the city rich with history, the new Montopolis Recreation and Community Center is the centerpiece of the community, serving as a central gathering and activity space and a gateway to the Montopolis neighborhood. The design team led residents through a comprehensive engagement process and worked in concert with the City of Austin Public Works Department, the Parks and Recreation Department, and the Health and Human Services Department.

The recreation side of the facility includes individual and group training areas, a gymnasium for basketball, pickleball and volleyball, an elevated jogging track, group exercise rooms and, most notably, a boxing ring – a sport of great importance to the neighborhood for decades. The community side of the facility provides resources to the neighborhood including an on-site nurse and staff to assist with counseling programs, financial assistance, clothes closet, and food pantry. Six multi-purpose rooms and a computer lab provide a place for the community to gather for meetings, events, and after-school programs. During extreme weather events, the building serves as a cooling/warming center. A designated “Resilience Hub,” the facility has been selected by the community as a trusted site to be activated during times of need.

The site plan makes a great effort to preserve the existing trees with particular emphasis on the protected trees and heritage trees surrounding the new building. To achieve this, the building is set back farther from the street than would be typical, staying out of the trees’ critical root zones. An added benefit is the creation of a shaded public plaza which will provide a venue for community events.

The scale of the new building has been designed to complement and not overwhelm its neighborhood context. The community was surveyed early in the design process to identify the characteristics they would like to see the facility embody. Through its materiality and reserved integration into the site, the design displays the relaxed, unpretentious attitude the community sought, while special elements like the gym, multipurpose rooms, and the boxing center display a more adventurous and energetic form. Working with the city’s Art in Public Places program allowed for five art installations produced by local artists. This integration of art and architecture further enhances the building’s significant connection to the community.