Positive Place


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Positive Place The question for the staff was "What will keep the Teens off the street corners?" And the answer seemed pretty obvious. We'll give them a Street Corner to hang out on In the club. And thus "Positive Place" was born. With the amount of space we had to work with it wasn't an easy task. We raised the roof - literally 5' and constructed a skylit vaulted structure painted as a skyscape by local artist Keith Gaffney (complete with a cloud that resembles a VW Beatle)
		The street scape itself is controlled at each end by real traffic signal. Green - we're OPEN. Red - we're CLOSED
We worked in as many authentic street details as practically possible including brick sidewalks and granite curbs - albeit only 1/2" think in order to maintain accessibility. Functioning parking meters and street signs and even a DPW style barricade that serves as a bench. The barricade is split with one half on each side of the tempered glass wall that separates the street from the games room
	Although the main portion of Positive place is separated from the rest of the club by a frameless tempered glass wall, the streetscape continues out into the games area where the younger members can partake in the feel of the space. Thanks to a friend at the DPW and one of the staff's Moms we are able to seat a few kids on genuine upholstered fire hydrants.
The teen center is equipped with 3 independant sound systems that can be operated individually or combined. Often there will be a movie being shown in the Black Box, video games being played in the Cadillac Cafe and some Hip-hop music being listened to on Positive Place. At other times, when there is a dance being held in the Black Box the sound is heard in all 3 spaces and everyone participates.
		At the far end of Positive place are a set of doors that lead to the Teen's patio area. This spring when the area is fenced it will include picnic tables, a garden and a BBQ, all against the new Teen Center Facade

Black Box	Home		Cadillac Cafe

Photos courtesy of Greg Hren Photography