The Cleveland Russian Recreation and Cultural Center

T H E

C L E V E L A N D R U S S I A N C U L T U R A L A N D C O M M U N I T Y C E N T E R

К Л Е В Е Л А Н Д Р У С С К И Й К У Л Ь Т У Р Н О - О Б Щ И Н Н Ы Й Ц Е Н Т Р 2 2 6 3 W 1 0 T H S T , T R E M O N T , C L E V E L A N D , O H I O

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POLEMIC/PROJECT BRIEF MY INTEREST IN THIS PROJECT IS CREATING A UNIFYING COMMUNITY SPACE

BY WAY OF VERTICALLY STACKED DISTINCT NETWORKS. THE CLEVELAND NEIGHBORHOOD OF TREMONT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN AS THE EPICENTER OF TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN AND RUSSIAN-SPEAKING CULTURE IN NORTHEAST OHIO. CLEVELAND’S FIRST UKRAINIAN IMMIGRANTS ARRIVED AND SETTLED IN TREMONT IN THE MID 1870S, AND LATER WAVES OF RUSSIAN-SPEAKING IMMIGRANTS CAME TO TREMONT AND GREATER CLEVELAND IN THE 20TH CENTURY, INCLUDING OVER 15,000 SOVIET JEWS IN THE 1990S. TREMONT’S RICH RUSSIAN HERITAGE IS COMPLIMENTED BY ITS ARCHITECTURE, SUCH AS ST. THEODOSIUS RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL COMPLETED IN 1912. GIVEN TREMONT’S UNIQUE CULTURAL RUSSIAN HERITAGE AND OUR CONTEXTUALLY SIGNIFICANT SITE, I AM PROPOSING A LOCALIZED CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL CENTER FOR CLEVELAND’S RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY. THE VERTICALLY CONSTRUCTED PROJECT IS ORGANIZED INTO THREE “CLUSTERS:” VERTICAL WATER GARDENS, CULTURAL SPACES, AND RECREATIONAL SPACES. AT THE CENTER OF THESE CLUSTERS ARE THE BANYAS, THE RUSSIAN SAUNAS, AS BANYAS ARE THE PINNACLE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN RUSSIAN CULTURE. THE VERTICAL NETWORK OF SPACES ACTS AS A SITE RESPONSE TO TREMONT, TAKING ABSTRACTED FORMAL CUES FROM THE DESIGN OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCHES AND SOVIET ARCHITECTURE ALIKE. THE STACKED VERTICAL STRUCTURE ELIMINATES A HIERARCHY OF SPACES, AND GIVES EACH SPACE ITS OWN FLOOR. SYMBOLIC VERTICAL WATER GARDENS FLANK THE PROGRAMMATIC AREAS, AND NEARLY EVERY PROGRAMMATIC SPACE OCCUPIES ITS OWN FLOOR -CREATING A MORE INTIMATE EXPERIENCE ON EACH ELEVATION, AND SHOWING RHYTHMIC MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT THE SECTIONAL DRAWINGS. AGAIN, THE VERTICAL CONSTRUCT ALLOWS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMMATIC ELEMENT TO HAVE IT’S OWN RESPECTIVE FLOOR. THE

NOTE ON OHIO BUILDING CODE

INDOOR POOL ON THE GROUND FLOOR IS JUXTAPOSED WITH THE PENTHOUSE “SKY” POOL AT THE TOP OF THE CONSTRUCT WITH VERTICAL WATER GARDENS IN BETWEEN THE TWO.

SPACES ARE STACKED TO ENHANCE

THE INTIMACY OF SPATIAL ENCOUNTERS AS ONE ASCENDS OR DESCENDS THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING. THIS STACKING ALLOWS FOR UNIQUE EXPERIENCES THAT WOULD TYPICALLY BE INCONCEIVABLE IN A HORIZONTALLY-DEVELOPED PROJECT.

EXPERIENTIALLY, A VERTICAL STRUCTURE ALLOWS FOR ROOFTOP VIEWS OF THE CLEVELAND SKYLINE THAT ARE TYPICALLY UNATTAINABLE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD LIKE TREMONT. THIS STRUCTURE, TO BE KNOWN AS THE CLEVELAND RUSSIAN COMMUNITY & RECREATION CENTER, PAYS HOMAGE TO THE RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITIES OF CLEVELAND AND THEIR CULTURAL ROOTS IN TREMONT.

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ACCORDING TO THE OHIO BUILDING CODE, THIS PROPOSED COMMUNITY/RECREATIONAL CENTER WOULD BE CLASSIFIED AS AN ASSEMBLY-GROUP BUILDING A-3 (SECTION 303.4). THE OCCUPANCY LOAD FACTOR, ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE, IS 11 GROSS IN A-3 OCCUPANCY SPACES. WITH A PROPOSED NET TOTAL SQ. FOOTAGE OF 17,300, THE BUILDING HAS A TOTAL OCCUPANCY LEVEL OF ABOUT 400 PERSONS IN ANY GIVEN RECREATIONAL SPACE. WITH REGARD TO WATER CLOSETS AND PLUMBING, TABLE 2902.1 WITHIN THE OBC STATES THAT A-3 OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATIONS SHALL HAVE AT LEAST ONE W.C. PER 125 MEN, AND AT LEAST ONE W.C. PER 65 WOMEN.

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