Center for Community Arts
Walnut Creek, California
For more than 50 years, the City of Walnut Creek has offered arts programs through their Center for Community Arts facility located at 111 N. Wiget Road. In addition to the 10,000 students who yearly pass through for classes, the small lobby in this Eichler building is also the access point for preschool programs in the building. Piecing together various funding sources – including an extremely restrictive fund that can only be used for certain post-consumer recycled materials – the staff will be gradually remodeling the lobby finishes, acoustical ceiling, furniture, courtyard, exterior finishes and signage.
In homage to the original building design, FOG Studio has selected colors from the original Dunn-Edwards modernist paint palette, and sourced furniture options that nod to High Modernism, some with tongue firmly in cheek. A custom Information Desk allows staff to more easily handle high-volume program registration days, so the administrative office can be closed off to facilitate concentration and privacy.
Other casework is designed to display artistic creations and CCA swag for sale, while storing quantities of printed material still required for this kind of programming. The introduction of a large farm-style table fosters community; other seating options in the small space include sturdy armchairs and flexible café tables.
