Black Cultural Center

Done in collaboration with another undergraduate student, the objective of this studio was to design a Black Cultural Center on the University of Oregon's Campus that facilitates and encourages black excellence among the campus community, as well as within the extended community of Eugene. The design was intended to be a nucleus for black student life on campus and to offer support to community groups who provide critical programming for the study, preservation, and advancement of black traditions and heritage. The project was defined as a multi-use civic building located on a college campus. This allowed for ample opportunities for the space to not only interact with students but the surrounding community as well. The selected site was on the Eastern corner of campus and served as a transitional point into the surrounding community. The design of our building cohesively engages the existing campus framework while still pronouncing itself as a beacon for Black culture in the state of Oregon. The central focus of the project was how to design a building that offers opportunities for prospect and refuge for students, while still engaging the dynamic community aspects of the region. Since the state of Oregon did not have a repository for Black culture at the moment, our project utilized the monumental opportunity to become the cultural beacon that the state, as a whole, direly needed.