The Exigo team was selected to design a recreational center serving the Chamizal area of El Paso. The original program called for the complete demolition of an existing structure on an old Levy factory store site. After a thorough analysis of the factory conditions and to improve the cost-effectiveness of the project, we proposed to keep most of the existing building, allowing us to increase the overall program by 33% within the same budget. The building provides a variety of exercise spaces and meeting areas: a double Gymnasium, Cardio Weights Room, Auxiliary Gymnasium, Video Game Space, Public Library, and Multi-purpose Community Room. The remaining portions of the old factory became a covered courtyard and parking. The multi-purpose room has a retractable wall with a stage for community/private events with independent entrances from the exterior and interior of the building, and it’s located adjacent to the kitchen and restrooms to function autonomously from the rest of the center.

The Auxiliary Gym also can be divided with a Roll-Up Gym Divider Curtain, which hangs from overhead supporting steel structures. The multi-age ceiling-hung basketball posts are adjustable to different heights and can be removed when not in use. The building perimeter walls have large Fenestration Systems, with size and placement designed to optimize energy-savings daylighting harvesting. They comply with the Thermal Transmittance (U-factor) and with the Solar Heat Gai Coefficient (SHGC) recommended by GBI according to the corresponding Climate Zone (3) for El Paso Area.