|
The
Mothers' Club Family Learning Center recently relocated from its former
residence of 40-plus years – borrowed space in a nearby church facility on
Orange Grove Boulevard – to a new "green" facility that was designed for
LEED Gold certification. It is the first preschool nationwide to register
for certification at the Gold Level. |
|
The
Mothers' Club:
Taking a Chance
by John Dale, FAIA, with Amy Masten
In sustainability efforts at all levels, the pursuit of equity goes hand
in hand with the push to preserve natural resources. The Mothers' Club of
Pasadena – a community center providing services to impoverished parents
with young children – is accomplishing both on a routine basis, with
remarkable simplicity and power.
For Christina Casneros, a 25-year-old mother of two, this sums up to a
sense that the Mothers' Club has changed her life.
"I would see my neighbor get picked up and dropped off every day, and
finally I worked up the nerve to ask her where she would go," Casneros
recalled. "She told me about the Mothers' Club and how it was a learning
program for both children and their parents."
Casneros, who lives in an economically challenged area of northwest
Pasadena, visited the center, got a tour and was put on a waiting list.
"I called every week," she laughingly remembered.
In October 2006, she finally got the call, and she and her 2 ½ year-old
daughter, Eileen, started the program. Her warm, expressive eyes glowed
and she gestured energetically with her hands as she talked about her
experience.
"My daughter used to be very clingy," she said. "After coming to Mothers'
Club for a few months I noticed her becoming more independent. She doesn't
mind when I leave her in the morning. She's made friends." Casneros
beamed as she uttered this last comment.
"And I'm different," she continued. "I feel like I understand how to talk
to my children now. Before I would yell and I've learned through classes
here that you don't have to yell. You just need to talk to the kids on
their own level."
Casneros talks about her first impression of the new Mothers' Club
facility and how "beautiful" it was.
"I appreciate learning about the ‘greenness' of the school," she shared.
"I also like that my children are learning about recycling and different
ways to help our environment. It's important."
Going Green
The Mothers' Club Family Learning Center recently relocated from its
former residence of 40-plus years – borrowed space in a nearby church
facility on Orange Grove Boulevard – to a new "green" facility that was
designed for LEED Gold certification. It is the first preschool nationwide
to register for certification at the Gold Level. Located on a quiet street
in North Pasadena, the facility is a positive "statement" of commitment
and rejuvenation for an area that's often thought of as being run-down and
neglected.
"It was actually the developer and volunteer project manager, Jaylene
Moseley, who suggested a green building," related Sue Kujawa, Mothers'
Club Executive Director. "Green building falls in line with our
organization's philosophy and practices so it made sense. But we didn't
realize how lovely it would actually be until we moved in," she admitted.
"It was a huge bonus."
The Mothers' Club bought the building in March 2005, and in just two years
was able to raise $6.5 million in pledges to cover the entire cost of
property acquisition, facility upgrade and reconfiguration, as well as
furnishings.
"We've been around for a long time and have always had wide-spread
community support," Kujawa shared. "It was recognized that there was a
huge need that couldn't be fulfilled as long as we were in our current
space."
The 10,000 square foot facility was completely gutted and renovated.
Included in the comprehensive redevelopment of the site was the
transformation of half of the asphalt parking lot into a safe and colorful
play area. The architectural firm, Harley Ellis Devereaux, designed and
supervised the renovation. Project Manager Tim Morneau recalls that the
building was designed from the inside out.
"We punctured the south wall, opening the building up to the exterior to
create flow between the indoor/outdoor play areas," he explains. "We
really tried to incorporate as much natural light and natural elements
into the design as possible to keep the space open and welcoming."
The front of the building is a sun-filled entryway office space for
Mothers' Club employees, a small library, a resting room, and a large
adult classroom that has moveable partitions. The design kept the existing
load-bearing exposed brick wall in the front room, which gives the entry a
warm, inviting feeling.
There are two kitchens in the center of the building, one for adult
activities and the other to prepare snacks for the children. The main
kitchen is spacious and comfortable and plays a central role in the adult
programs.
"The main kitchen is really the heart of the building," says Sarah Orth,
Mothers' Club Development Director. "It opens to the hall and is an
expression to the rest of the building. It's a wonderful communal space."
In the back of the building are four classrooms designed for children ages
one to four, as well as an infants' room. Huge sliding glass doors at the
corner of each classroom are designed to blur the boundaries between
dedicated instruction and play space for each group and a large communal,
flexible play area in between. When the doors are opened, the central
space can expand to overlap the surrounding classrooms. When they are
closed, these sliding doors still provide clear visibility from classroom
to classroom and give students and staff alike a connected feeling.
At the same time, visitors can move through the space unobtrusively and be
aware of what is going on without disturbing the activity. Natural light
pours into the central space and surrounding classrooms from clerestory
windows wrapping around three sides of the column. The exposed wood
structure of the ceiling creates the feeling of a loft space, a little
rough and matter-of-fact, but at the same time, warm and inviting.
The building has vertical and horizontal photovoltaics that provide 20
percent of the facility's electricity. They were placed in a highly
visible location so the children could see them.
"We really try and use the building as a learning tool," said Silvana
Casalegno, Mothers' Club Program Director. "We explain everything to the
kids and parents; why we recycle, why green buildings are good and how
they can do these same things at home."
The facility's green features include:
-
Specialty hardscape and roofing materials to reduce heat absorption
-
Pervious concrete paving in the parking area and permeable surfaces in
children's play areas to permit storm water to penetrate the
soil-filtering pollutants and recharging the water table
-
Water efficient landscaping
-
Water efficient fixtures that reduce the use of potable water by 30
percent below the base line established by the Energy Policy Act
-
Low emitting paints, adhesives, sealants and carpet systems
-
Skylights and clerestories to provide daylight to more than 80 percent of
the occupied spaces
-
75 percent of the previous building's structural materials were reused in
the new site
Not only is it a sustainable and healthy facility, but the design allows
inherent flexibility for a variety of activities and programs for
different age groups within the same set of spaces. This was something
that the center desperately needed but couldn't achieve in their previous
space.
Currently, the center has a 1.5-year waiting list of families. The group
hopes that with the new facility they'll be able to significantly expand
their programs to accommodate more people.
"The Mothers' Club has responded to the community's needs in the past and
prepares to do so in the future," says Kujawa. "We have future plans for
evening workshops, programs for grandparents and other activities.
Ultimately, we want to be able to take on more families, while still being
a model program for babies and toddlers. With our new facility, I believe
that those goals will become a reality."
The Power of Two
Since its founding in 1961, the non-profit Mothers' Club Family
Learning Center has evolved in direct response to the needs of low income
families and at-risk children living in northwest Pasadena. Today,
Mothers' Club is a highly regarded, research-based family literacy program
that offers services for up to 100 families a year. At the core of these
programs is the center's innovative two-generation learning approach that
promotes educating a parent and child together to support positive,
long-term change in a family and community.
"We try and provide respite for mothers," explained Casalegno. "Because of
their family situations, going to work isn't an option for these women so
they're left in their homes, isolated with their children. We offer
mother and child a community they can belong to and work on building their
confidence and independence."
One of the Center's unique programs is the leadership program for adults.
The program uses daily events such as birthday parties and baby showers to
help parents build their leadership skills. All parents go through the
program- they form committees, are given budgets, have to delegate tasks
and then execute the event.
"We really try to utilize daily activities to teach important things,"
said Casalegno. "The leadership program helps to build the parents
confidence so that when the PTA at school asks for helpers, the parents
aren't scared to step up and take responsibility."
The new building allows for much more flexibility in daily activities. Its
communal design enables the center to have four or five parties going on
simultaneously.
Casalegno continued, "We see such a big transformation in the parents.
When they educate themselves, they feel good about themselves and that's a
wonderful thing to see. And that's really what the Mothers' Club is about;
helping to empower children and their parents for a better life."
John Dale, FAIA, is a principal and education studio leader at Harley
Ellis Devereaux. Amy Masten is communications manager at Harley Ellis
Devereaux
|
