TREC Community Center, Newark Buildings, New Jersey Health and Wellness, Institutional Architecture, Images
TREC Community Center in Newark
Training Recreation Education Center in NJ, USA – design by ikon.5 architects
Apr 12, 2017
Training Recreation Education Center
Design: ikon.5 architects
Location: Newark, NJ, USA
TREC Community Center

The City of Newark has long struggled to come back from the brink since losing its industrial base in the 1950s, which resulted in decreased city revenue, increased unemployment, deplorable housing conditions and ultimately fueled the 1967 riots.
Since that time, the city has attempted several ?comebacks? floating a host of broad-brush proposals for renewal many of which failed. Today cities are trying a different tact, finding seeds of hope and renewal in incremental rather than sweeping-change, embarking on small scaled, targeted projects led by architects capable of bringing to these ?wicked problems? fresh ideas and innovative approaches in the hope of jumpstarting communities in need.  
 

Along these lines, the Newark Housing Authority commissioned ikon.5 architects, a New Jersey-based design practice, known for a body of award-winning cultural and education projects across the US, to design a community center in one the City?s more impoverished and challenging neighborhoods.  
Called the TREC, the Training Recreation and Education Center is a modest facility born of big aspirations. Opened in January 2017, it?s unl...