The Jane Fonda Center

Atlanta, GA

Funded by actor Jane Fonda, this center focuses on developing and implementing training programs for adolescent service providers who are involved in working with young people as they go through the stages of childhood and development, including reproductive health.

The renovation on the first floor of an existing five story building includes both office and professional training spaces in a challengingly confined area.  As a result, the interior design of the project incorporates the principle of forced perspective in order to make the space feel more open and inviting.  Symmetrical splayed walls radiate out from the entry doors in both directions creating a new welcoming entry and providing an organizing device for the interior.  The design of the splayed walls makes a connection from the elevators directly across from the entry, through the project, and makes gestures toward the outdoor patio and landscape beyond.

The Training Room, which is the main programmatic space in the center, is visually connected to the main lobby space through clerestory windows, but has privacy through translucent glass wall/doors that filter the light when video broadcasting.  The lobby space directly outside the Training Room is the heart of the project defined by an ellipse in the floor and ceiling.  The ellipse defines the center of the project while acknowledging the strong directional quality of the design.  The ellipse is flanked by two built-in benches helping to reinforce the public gathering area that serves as an overflow space from the Training Room.”

The new center is expected to advance scientific knowledge both in the Atlanta area and worldwide about infancy, childhood and adolescence and to circulate new information and strategies for risk reduction and healthy transitions to adulthood.

The Jane Fonda Center works in conjunction with the Grady Teen Clinic, also designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent, to broaden the knowledge base of researchers and to enhance each program through shared clinical experiences.