This 100 year-old brick structure was at one time a market that served Akron, AL, and surrounding communities. The intent of the project was to serve as a meeting place for youth groups in the town of Akron, which has a population of 528. The Club is located on a corner in the most civic or urban area of Akron, with the fire station and city hall directly across the street. By Akron standards, this is a very busy street with pedestrian and vehicular traffic fluctuating from moderate to heavy depending on the time of day. It is adjacent to many residential zones of Akron. The elementary school has 256 K-6 students and is just blocks away.
The Akron Boys & Girls Club was an ideal centralized location for the community and youth to meet. In the beginning, the town utilized the facility and the Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization (H.E.R.O.) held a children’s art workshop there. Accommodation consisted of a large recreation space, office, restroom, and library/computer laboratory with a large garden/play space behind.
The project served a hard lesson for the community and Rural Studio. Owned by a private citizen who had initially promised but ultimately refused to hand over the building to the town, a situation that made funding from the National Boys & Girls Organization impossible: the building has fallen unused and unloved into disrepair.
