BALBOA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY CENTER
The School of Architecture worked with the Balboa Heights Neighborhood Council to design and build a community center in the heart of the economically depressed neighborhood. The very active neighborhood council engaged the City of Tucson in the project as well, gaining needed property through a land swapping program and winning a commitment for staff and maintenance support once the park and community center are completed.
Architecture students attended neighborhood meetings, designed the project, drew the first draft of the construction documents, staked it out on the site, attended document review meetings with the City of Tucson, and built the stem wall for the building as well as some of the framing. Meetings and drawings occurred during an independent study class in Fall, 1998, and the construction took place during a Spring 1999 Design/Build studio offered by Professor Hardin and continued with a Fall 1999 independent study class. Students involved in the entire project took leadership roles during the construction. A neighborhood youth group, the Pima Youth Partnership, also participate in the project by organizing its members to glaze ceramic tiles for the colorful mural on the west face of the community center.
The main force behind the entire effort, however, was Marty Birdman, a retired contractor and patron for the Balboa Heights neighborhood. Mr. Birdman renewed his contracting license to oversee the project. He personally organized every step of the project, from initiating meetings to collecting donations of materials and labor, supervising and doing the construction work himself, and pushing the work to completion by the dedication date of May 12, 2001. The Community Center was renamed as the Marty Birdman Center in honor of its patron. It has been filled to capacity since its opening date and is now in design for an addition, to accommodate the crowds of children who seek its use after school every day.
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