The Gene Friend Recreation Center will be a neighborhood beacon, drawing community members in for a variety of programs and activities during the day, as well as after-school activities for children and teenagers. The project scope includes a gymnasium with two full-size basketball courts, two multi-purpose meeting rooms, an exercise room, and an exterior playground and picnic area. With two tall walls of glass along the sidewalk, the gymnasium will connect the Center’s main interior space to the life on the sidewalk outside. Multi-purpose rooms are connected to both the entry lobby and to exterior play areas, creating safe and protected environment for younger children to play within view of the adults. An exterior solar fin structure protects the gymnasium’s upper glazing from direct sunlight, and simultaneously gives the building its distinctive rhythm and gentle play of light and shadow.