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Branchpoint Youth Center

Spring 2025

02

BRANCHPOINT
YOUTH CENTER

A youth-focused community center blending learning, nature, and skate culture

The BranchPoint Youth Center is a community space designed to support youth through nature, recreation, and education. Located across from North Beach Oceanside Park in Miami, the project is organized into two distinct volumes: The Canopy, which includes a gym, daycare, and juice bar, and The Branch, which houses classrooms, a market, and a skateshop. The design prioritizes flexibility, transparency, and fluid connections between indoor and outdoor space. Passive strategies such as cross-ventilation, shaded walkways, and open-air circulation are paired with active systems including HVAC, solar energy collection, and rainwater management. Developed during ARC306 Integrated Studio at the University of Miami, the project integrates structure, sustainability, accessibility, and building systems into a comprehensive design for youth-centered community engagement.


In Collaboration with Taylor Ferrarone
Advised by Professor Juan Calvo, AIA

This project received the Undergraduate Student Design Award for displaying excellence and exmplifying the goals and objectives of the semester.

Architectural rendering of a curved building facade with vertical wooden slats and a glass ground-floor entrance, featuring a sunlit courtyard with lush fern planters and a cyclist on a paved path.

The BranchPoint Youth Center is positioned across from North Beach Oceanside Park, taking advantage of coastal views and direct access to outdoor recreation. The site lies within a flood-prone zone, which informs elevated floor plates, open-air circulation, and careful grading strategies. Program placement balances recreation, education, and community spaces, while landscaping and shaded pathways reinforce fluid connections between indoor and outdoor areas. Proximity to the ocean also guides passive strategies such as cross-ventilation and natural daylighting, supporting both comfort and sustainability throughout the design.

Architectural site plan rendering of a ground floor layout featuring multiple buildings arranged around a central landscaped courtyard, adjacent to a dense park with winding pathways.
Architectural plan rendering of the second level featuring an indoor basketball court and mixed-use spaces arranged around a central courtyard with a dense tree canopy, situated next to a wooded park.
Architectural roof plan rendering displaying two buildings with rooftop solar arrays, centered around a landscaped courtyard and situated next to a park with winding walking paths.
Exploded axonometric diagram illustrating the building program analysis, featuring color-coded functional volumes separated vertically above the main structures and landscaped site.

Daycare

Vertical Circulation

Restrooms

Nurse

Gymnasium

Management

Locker Rooms

Mercantile - Juice Bar

Mercantile - Skateshop

Mercantile - Market

Classroom

Mercantile - Storage

Utilities

aArchitectural rendering of a covered courtyard space featuring clustered angled concrete columns, a curved wood ceiling, and a central tropical garden with ferns, occupied by a pedestrian and a dog.

Cross-ventilation was a key strategy, taking advantage of prevailing winds from the coastline. Awning windows were placed as transoms to maximize airflow and maintain a strong visual and physical connection to the outdoors. The detailed section highlights the screened gallery with wooden louvers, which allows fresh air to penetrate the interior while reducing solar glare and minimizing heat gain. Together, these design strategies integrate the building with its natural context, enhancing comfort and sustainability throughout the space.

Architectural section drawing on an olive green background showing two building volumes separated by a central courtyard with a large tree, revealing interior spaces and a sub-grade water feature.
Technical architectural wall section drawing on an olive green background, detailing the construction assembly of a two-story building featuring a ground-floor skateshop and an upper-level screened gallery with a terrace planter.
Architectural rendering of a sunlit indoor basketball court featuring a wooden floor, a feature wall with curved wood paneling, and tiered concrete seating occupied by a spectator watching a player.
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