8/29/08: What if they say NO?

Ok, so about two week ago Tracy, Kevin and I went to the family home of Board Members of a local family foundation to ask them for a donation for the future Teen Center. As we rode in Kevin’s car many thoughts were going through my mind like “What if they say no”. I mean, I had never done this before so I was a bit nervous. When we got there they greeted us at the door and we introduced ourselves. We had our meeting on their dining table, so it helped me relax and feel more comfortable. The whole family was nice and I could see in them that they were enthusiastic to hear what we had to say. Kevin started off talking about the Capital Campaign and answered questions about the money stuff. I followed to show them what the inside of the building looked as of then. I showed them how the first level will all be used by teens and the second level would house office staff from Metro. Tracy and Kevin were a great support because when I could not recall the names of organizations they reminded me. We then asked them if they had any questions and excitingly they did….for me too. They asked whether or not I thought teens would assist the Center and I confidently answered “YES”. I feel and know that teens at Berkeley High and the community need the educational and self empowering support. They also gave us some great feedback and brought many things to our attention like the possibility of having a gray water system, geothermal and radiant heating, as well as other things. Overall, I think I had nothing to worry about they were great people that helped create a comforting atmosphere that made our presentation a success.

Check back with us again soon – when we find out whether or not the foundation will fund the new Teen Center we’ll post it here!


See parts of the presentation to the family foundation. (click here)

8/14/08: The Least of Our Troubles

Concept Design Charrette: A meeting in which possibilities are discussed in regards to the design and structure of a particular building.

A phase of the design process that the Teen Task Force got to experience first hand in the offices of Noll & Tam. Coming together to brainstorm, we all sat around a rectangular wooden table. The architects soon began to introduce the exercise that we were to complete. We were given guidance as to what our boundaries were, what was acceptable, not acceptable, and certain measures that we were to take into consideration.

Following the excursion of guidance, being put into three groups were the least of our troubles. Our task: create a schematic of the YMCA Teen Task Force.

Schematic: a visual representation of the design and structure of a building.

Members of the Teen Task Force, complete with guidance and excitement were given all the physical supplies that would be needed to complete the task at hand. Included in this were: a poster board, pieces of what looked like scratch paper, but were actually pieces of paper that represented different things that would need to go in the teen center such as bathrooms, offices, elevators etc.

The supplies also included a complex 3D ruler with numbers engraved on each side which turned out to be a architectural ruler, and writing utensils in case we felt an urgent desire to write something on the poster board in which all of the scraps of papers had to be glued on within the timeframe: 45 minutes.

There sat members of the Teen Task Force in utter confusion. But with great hope to complete our first charrette for the YMCA Teen Center, we began our journey. Despite the confusion that hovered over us, we encouraged one another and shared thoughts in our efforts to complete the charrette before the time was up.

With great collaboration and creativity, the first schematics of the YMCA Teen Center were completed by none other than the Teen Task Force. Now, it was time to present each group's schematic to the rest of the groups and attendees of the meeting. The presentations were successful and the charrette expanded our visual ability to understand the possibilities of the design and structure of the YMCA Teen Center Building.

See the concept drawings that resulted from this process.

7/14/08: Remember, Teens Love Food

We held our first teen focus group for the programming phase of the future teen center. Each of the teen task force members were asked to bring a teen to attend the focus group. We gave the teens a tour of the building so they got a sense of what we were planning on talking about when we arrived at Noll and Tam’s office for the focus group.

Once we arrived at Noll and Tam’s office, Anthony Bernier, PhD. reviewed with the group the results from the previous community interviews. We then voted on the aspects we felt were of higher priority and put the ideas into two groups, A and B. For example lighting, ventilation, colors of walls and adding a green view were some of the community’s concerns. After a list of important and not-so-important criteria was compiled, we divided into two groups. Each group took one of the lists of priorities and was given the task of narrowing that list down by further discussing which items were really important or which weren’t. Another important piece to the hard work that we were doing was stuffing our faces with food a majority of the time. Remember; teens love food.

The end result was a list of approximately about ten important aspects to include in the future teen center and ten not-so-important aspects. That was our first teen focus group for the programming phase of creating the new YMCA Teen Center.

What were the top 10 important aspects of the future teen center? Click here to find out!

Kick-Off Meeting

After officially hiring Noll & Tam, the Teen Task Force decided to start things off with a kick-off meeting. After great discussion, we developed a list of people to invite. Included in the meeting were the YMCA Teen Task Force, YMCA Board representatives, YCMA Teen Department staff, and Noll & Tam Architects. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the project overview, establish project parameters, and to begin project visioning. The architectural firm was introduced to the YMCA attendees by a Teen Task Force member who simply stated who Noll & Tam Architectural Firm is and how we came to our decision of hiring them as our architects. Following introductions, each attendee briefly explained one thing that they felt is important about the future Berkeley YMCA Teen Center. We discussed the project schedule and work plan that will take place. During the kick-off meeting, the community process was elaborated. Stakeholders were identified. Noll & Tam presented a PowerPoint presentation that exemplified teen spaces and teen cultures. The presentation represented what the teen culture is like and how the teen culture is important to include during the process of developing the new Berkeley YMCA Teen Center. As a group, the Teen Task Force, Noll & Tam, and the YMCA family identified goals and expectations for the future Teen Center project. These expectations and goals were expressed by every attendee in his or her opinion and were written down and later voted on by everyone to come to a consensus as to what are the top three most important aspects that need to be included in the Teen Center. These top three aspects are natural light and energy, outdoor space, and a welcoming energy.

This meeting was productive in the sense that it gave us all opportunities to open our minds to new ideas, goals, and expectations. Each person who attended expressed his or her ideas freely, and the group accepted them whole-heartedly. This kick-off meeting reminded us all that the Teen Center will not only effect teens but adults and the community as a whole as well. Throughout the process it is important for us to remain open to any suggestions, ideas, or even opposition because it is through these types of things that we will grow strong and create a Teen Center that is successful.

6/13/08: Architect Selection

After weeks of extensive research, discussion, and many meetings, the Berkeley-Albany YMCA Teen Task Force has chosen Noll & Tam Architects as the architect for the highly anticipated teen center, to be housed in the old PG&E building. Noll & Tam is very compatible with this project for numerous reasons.

I feel the Task Force was particularly drawn to them because of their experience with similar projects. Currently, they are working with the City of Pleasanton to develop a master plan and concept design for a new youth center. They also designed a teen study area at the Carmichael Library in Sacramento. These buildings are just two examples of the relevant experience that we feel the team will bring to our project. By the end of interview process, the Task Force had identified a firm whose chemistry matched our group dynamic and the desired outcomes for the project. I was especially impressed by their team’s ability to directly connect to us as teens, the radiant enthusiasm that was consistently demonstrated throughout their presentation, and the genuine commitment that they showed toward the project. As part of their team, the Task Force will be working with Anthony Bernier, an educational consultant who will conduct focus groups with different community members as part of the programming phase. I’m really excited about hearing his insights on this very important stage of the process, and hope that his findings will guide us in the right direction as the Task Force works to balance what Berkeley teens need and want to get out of the Center.

Even though the Task Force is now on summer vacation from school, the hard work will continue, as we begin to work more closely with the firm in the programming phase. I, along with the other Task Force members, attended a kickoff meeting with Noll & Tam and Berkeley community members on Monday June 16th. Hopefully, everyone who participated in the meeting now has a clearer idea of who the firm is and the direction that the project is headed in. All participants were included in a mini brainstorming session, in which they got to name a few things that they would like to see happening in the Teen Center. On June 25th, the Task Force will hold a day long interview session in which we talk with various community stakeholders about what they envision happening in the Teen Center. I think that the primary goal is to reach a cross section of educators, students, city employees, and non-profit organizations, so that we can start to collaboratively brainstorm and discuss different ideas.