A Community Center Focused on Athletics and Social Equity Grows Out of Louisville’s Westside
Read how a non-profit fighting for justice and economic equality built an athletics and educational center the whole community could rally around.
Starting with a vision and guided by a mission, the Louisville Urban League created a hub for community engagement, recreation, and education to lift the Westside of Louisville.
MKSK, worked alongside local architects Moody Nolan, Browne Engineering and Construction Services Inc., and The RCF Group, to design and build a state-of-the-art track and field facility that would become a valuable community resource upon opening in early 2021.
While just one part of the multi-stage development that includes a retail expansion and large hotel, this project was nothing short of transformative for the surrounding West Louisville neighborhoods. Built in an oft-neglected area alongside an industrial railyard, the campus also brings a market to the neighborhood that was previously deemed a food desert.
The project was led by the Louisville Urban League’s President and CEO, Sadiqa Reynolds, who raised more than $43 million and borrowed an additional $10 million to make the center a reality. With a lot of funding being raised through corporate sponsorship, the naming rights for the indoor track and field facility became “Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center”, and a need to maintain the site ownership and purpose was created. Working alongside the Louisville Urban League, MKSK’s Environmental Graphic Design Studio developed and designed a multi-layered, branded environmental approach, capturing Sadiqa’s vision and conveying the Urban League’s mission, all while honoring various donors and sponsorship agreements. The environmental installations focus on the organization’s Five Pillars for equality: Jobs, Justice, Education, Healthcare and Housing. The brand voice is amplified through storytelling moments and striking imagery. Each pillar is highlighted individually throughout the facility.
With a focus on the Urban League’s history and the fight for civil rights, MKSK developed a monumental 365-foot mural on the eastern building façade that celebrates activism, historic leaders, and athletic achievements. The design focused on the ongoing fight for equality, through the use of impactful images and inspirational quotes. The importance of the messages and content was heightened through a collaborative design process, taking place throughout 2020 in the shadow of the Black Lives Matter protests, and following the local police shooting of Breonna Taylor.
MKSK’s Environmental Graphic Design Studio also developed a comprehensive wayfinding and signage system for both the exterior campus and interior of the complex, creating a design system to recognize project partners and sponsors while maintaining a consistent Urban League branded environment. These design elements enhance the facility space by creating memorable moments, abstracting images at large scales, and emphasizing messaging through tone-on-tone type treatments.
“On what was once an uninhabitable brownfield, now sits the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, filling a void in the local, regional, national, and international track and field community. The facility is spurring economic and community growth for black businesses and families, igniting a culture of change that passes asset and wealth building down to future generations.” - nortonslc.com
