ARCH 1121 An Introduction to Architecture…Spring 2016 Mishara

I come from a neighborhood called Coney Island. Coney Island is located in Brooklyn, New York. Coney Island is physically located in an area near the ocean, and beaches. In my neighborhood I have varieties of buildings. There are buildings with different heights, different color, with different purposes of usage, and different sets of groups that can enter the facilities.

For this assignment I chose to use the 40,000 square foot Coney Island YMCA building located in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York on 29th street, near Surf Avenue. I chose this building for various reasons. I like the Coney Island YMCA building because of its physical appearance. It has many different colors on its exterior walls, such as, red, yellow, and blue. The colors of the building is what makes it stand out from the other neighborhood buildings. All the other buildings are made out of mostly brown bricks.

I like how the exterior is eye catching with the big windows. The big windows allows the neighbor to see in, as well give the YMCA members a view of the outside while working out. It provides a warm welcome with the windows. It gives the idea to people to come in and check it out. Normally when I pass a building without big windows I wouldn’t want to stop to check it out because I wouldn’t want to feel closed in if I go in.

Another reason why I like this building is because of the interior. By the interior I mean, what is inside. This goes from how it is being used and what it looks like. The Coney Island YMCA is a gymnasium. A facility where many age groups, race/ethnicities, and people from different backgrounds gather for similar purposes. This YMCA for a fact has made a difference in the neighborhood. It is the first big gymnasium in Coney Island. It has a weight area, pool, basketball court, and other activities. Many of the rooms are not closed in. As in not closed in, I mean that the rooms are big in size, they have big windows with different views of the inside of the gym and the outside. These are the least of the many reasons why I like the Coney Island YMCA building.