Pan Mass Challenge 2012

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Weston, MA

 

Conceived as a metaphor for the body, this building provides visibility for a 30+ year old nonprofit organization.  The Pan Mass Challenge is the nation’s largest athletic fundraising event, yielding more than $30 million annually for cancer research.

 

The building is integrated with toll booths on the Massachusetts turnpike, replacing aging infrastructure with a facility that leads one to dream.  The south volume is the brain of the operations with offices, classrooms, event planning spaces, and so on, while the north is a three tiered training facility, the body of the operation, with a velodrome on the first floor, swimming pool on the second, and a running track on the roof – triathlon training is brought directly into the heart of the PMC. Connecting these two volumes are capillaries designed for bicycles to course back and forth as part of training and preparation for the main event in summer months, and these capillaries spiral up each volume allowing light to stream in and access for cyclists from outdoor paths.

 

At the street level toll booths still collect revenue, but in addition to cash and fast lanes, a PMC lane is added allowing people to dictate where their dollars go by making a donation for an essential cause. Political commentary and expression of support all with the gesture of one’s car.  In the end, the building becomes infrastructure that combines our efforts as a society, not only to pay for a road, but to influence societal behavior in the healthiest manner possible, hopefully leading to a cure for one of life’s most dreaded illnesses.