Ripley Center for Health and Wellness (2nd Year)

Project Purpose: design a building for the public of Ripley, Tennessee.  Our assignment was to use our best judgement based on interviews with the people of Ripley to determine the design and function of a building to fill the space.

The site is in downtown Ripley, Tennessee in the square.  Getting people to the square and specifically the building we design was a challenge we all faced.  I used form and function as the basis of the attraction.

Ripley, Tennessee is a small city and with some research, I discovered that over half of its population lives below the poverty level.  And based on national statistics, the poorer people are, the more unhealthy lives they live.  I developed the Center for Health and Wellness to give the citizens a place to learn how to live healthier lives on a low budget while supplying them with exercise equipment.  Using the Clinton Library as a precedent, the design of the building is cantilevered and includes exterior structure.  The reason for this being that I wanted the building to be viewed as a solid “foundation” for Ripley with this building serving as the foundation for its people living healthier lives.