Cooper Center for Active Living
Newton, MA
The new Cooper Center for Active Living is a 32,000sf, three story new construction facility designed for the growing senior population in Newton, MA. The project came out of a comprehensive Feasibility Study that provided an impartial assessment of program needs based on trends and demographics, compared potential sites, provided cost estimates for each preferred site, and evaluated operational options for the center. The goal of the new senior center was to meet the unique needs of seniors while offering a welcoming and enriching space for the entire community.
Located in a tight urban site surrounded by smaller residential scaled homes, the Cooper Center is designed with tiered setbacks both in plan and section to reduce the building massing. The exterior utilized an architectural language with sloping roofs, bricks, roof deck, and large windows to better fit the scale and design language of the surrounding neighborhood. The building includes a 6,500sf gym with a suspended walking track, a multiple purpose room, commercial kitchen, library, lounge, cafe, ceramics and art studios, game room, fitness studio, activity rooms, and offices.
