West Broward Cultural Center
Davie, FL
In repurposing the Broward County-owned 11.68-acre, 56,620-SF structure built in 2012, previously known as Young at Art, SRS spearheaded a comprehensive research and criteria development effort for the project’s best-and-highest cultural use, which focuses on creative production rather than passive reaction.
Data gathered and analyzed by SRS encompassed a variety of successful cultural arts venues around the nation, as well as others in neighboring South Florida communities that offer opportunities for personal fulfillment and inspiration in cultural and arts exploration.
Research revealed that most South Florida offerings were located at a considerable distance from the project’s West Broward location, and area demographics pointed to a significant need for a multifaceted center where a makerspace, library, creative arts, and STEM learning could flourish and serve a thriving and growing population.
The SRS master plan offers a space for all ages to engage in the creative arts through hands-on learning or performance execution. The structure will feature a makerspace, designated to support skills and equipment for 3d printing, 3d modeling, coding, robotics, and woodworking. Other areas are planned for exhibitions and performances, including a black box theater adaptable for a plethora of happenings; and studios for music, dance, photography and darkroom, ceramics and pottery, textiles and fiber crafts, and jewelry-making.
A culinary lab and food venue, a multipurpose room, meeting rooms, co-working spaces for arts-based organizations, administrative support spaces, and a marketplace for crafted products are all on the drawing board. Generous roofed outdoor spaces with seating welcome social interaction and neighborly get-togethers for guests, visitors, and activity participants. The existing art-based library will transition to an expanded collection customized to support the variety of innovative programming.
