The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) intends to convert the Bedford Atlantic Armory Drill Hall to a multipurpose sports facility and community recreation center. The general objective for this Pre-Preliminary phase is to investigate the existing conditions and develop a program and three conceptual schemes for the new recreation facility.
The major programs of the base program (Entry / Lobby / Commons; Community / Multipurpose Meeting Room; Fieldhouse; Indoor Walking / Jogging Track; and Group Exercise / Dance Studio) are choreographed from “Spatial Cue” diagrams derived from the study of dance movement and terpsichorean space. The intent is to revitalize the existing building with fresh new architectural spaces while simultaneously invoking the agility, nimbleness, and precision of the or 23rd Regiment that was the original building occupant.
The spatial choreography of the program in each of the proposed pre-preliminary design alternatives is a celebration of the historic structure and desire to encounter the building and its interior in ways unexpected or previously unimagined.