PATH Center
Intimate community spaces supporting play and wellness.
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Client: PATH (People Acting to Help), Inc.
Size: 16,000 square feet
Project status: Construction complete 2021..
Project team: Ground Reconsidered, Bloomfield & Associates (Prime)
Press: “A pioneering Northeast Philly building is once again the flagship for a changing neighborhood”, inquirer.com
PATH is a comprehensive community behavioral health and intellectual disability center, providing services to both adults and children in Northeast Philadelphia. Ground Reconsidered was the Landscape Architect for their new campus. An existing building was renovated to house offices and provide services to adults, and a new building was built to provide services to children and caregivers.
The parking lot includes a rain garden with native plants to collect, clean, and manage stormwater. From the parking lot, visitors enter into the garden space which knits together the two buildings, while providing separate places for each group to use. The center focus is a sculptural feature wall by artist Kate Kaman. Ground Reconsidered worked with the artist to use the wall as a visible separation of the two building spaces, while still providing a sense of connection. The adult side of the garden includes a table that can be used by groups. The children’s side includes fun, colorful seating that can be used for play or for breakout family discussions.
