Building Community

Building Community

COMMUNITY A community center can be defined as “a place where people from a particular community can meet for social, educational, or recreational activities.” However, the role of community centers continues to evolve in order to meet increasing public demands and create resources for 21st-century communities.

At VMDO, we are expanding the notion of what a community center can provide through the promotion of public health and wellness, sustainable design, and a commitment to social equity. We work with clients to deliver architecture that defines meaningful placemaking for the communities we serve.

Lubber Run Community Center, Arlington, Virginia

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Building Community The 21st century community center is redefining its role as a place of human connection. Building stronger communities begins with the spaces in which they come together to meet, to play, and to learn about one another.

Architecture adds value to communities through its ability to endure, to transcend, and to uplift.

VMDO’s body of work exemplifies that each of our community and recreation spaces is a studied response to a specific design challenge, which can change based on time, place, and specific community needs. And while recreation and meeting spaces remain key components of many community center programs, the evolving building type is introducing additional resources that respond to contemporary challenges.

A key responsibility is the support of public health and wellness. Designing through this lens means not only focusing on reducing negative outcomes, such as social isolation and stress, but it also means promoting positive outcomes like improved performance and healthy lifestyles.

Strategies to meet these outcomes can occur at every scale of the building from providing clean air, selecting healthy materials, and organizing restorative spaces with vital access to nature.

The true betterment of public health and wellness is also bolstered by the pursuit of social equity. Access to community space is directly linked to the social and economic stability of local neighborhoods. Community projects are essential pieces of infrastructure in providing municipal services and expanding equitable access to resources. Equity in community space also means recognizing its role in delivering climate benefits and environmental stewardship for disadvantaged groups.

From four decades of experience designing community and recreational facilities, we know that design can be a positive force for good in shaping a community’s sense of belonging. These are not just community buildings in the literal sense – they also contribute directly to building stronger, interconnected, and more resilient communities at large.

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The Role of Urban Parks A sweeping 2019 nationwide study of approximately one million people in Denmark found that childhood exposure to green space reduces the risk for developing an array of psychiatric disorders during adolescence and adulthood.

As the largest epidemiological study to date documenting a positive connection between green space and mental health, new research reaffirms what we’ve known all along – that access and views to nature, coupled with immersive learning and sustained exposure to natural settings, serve as effective strategies for enhancing health and wellness. Layered onto this knowledge is now specific evidence that green space-focused planning and design are effective early intervention tools for reducing mental health problems later in life.

Therefore, urban parks play a critical role in promoting individual health and wellness and the overall well being of a community. For instance, urban parks have provided invaluable community resources to help address historical shocks and stresses, especially those induced by systemic racial inequities in urban planning. The benefits of urban parks are well documented by the City Parks Alliance from encouraging active lifestyles and creating job opportunities to increasing community engagement and helping to improve public well-being.

Additionally, one of the most effective ways to help meet community needs is to provide indoor, year-round program space. Buildings can greatly enhance many of the benefits of urban parks by expanding programmatic offerings and extending the “season” for parks in cities with harsher climates. However, the tension between preserving open space and providing additional community resources requires a delicate approach to complementing unique urban contexts.

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Stead Park Recreation Center, Washington, DC

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Community Engagement for Lubber Run Community Center

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Engaging with Communities Every community-focused project begins with engaging the local community through robust strategies that inform critical design thinking and direct project outcomes.

The design approach of community centers should consider the full breadth of the community’s needs in order to support a healthy and thriving civic space. During initial planning and engagement phases, VMDO works alongside the end users and key stakeholders to set goals for the full spectrum of project forces – cultural, physical, ecological, social, and aesthetic – that ultimately shape the public realm. Above all, the team is there to listen and learn.

Engagement is also a design process itself. Calibrating engagement techniques to the scale and structure of the community ensures that the process yields valuable results. This includes creating an inclusive engagement process rooted in equitable access, where everyone is able to join the conversation. Through a series of tailored engagement activities and events, a community’s needs, priorities, and challenges become genuine drivers for the design. In addition, a consensus of the goals of the project creates common ground for diverse communities with varied, and often opposing, interests.

The design of Lubber Run Community Center in Arlington, Virginia is a prime example of effective engagement. Together, Arlington Parks and Recreation and VMDO developed a context-specific process involving a series of active public workshops that facilitated community feedback in an effort to promote equity, access, public health, and sustainable design. The team applied an empathetic approach to gathering cross-generational and inter-disciplinary voices that informed the design of numerous blended spaces connected to nature – spaces inside, outside, and thresholds in between, interweaving building and landscape. At subsequent meetings, multiple schemes were presented, evaluated, and refined, resulting in a hybrid solution that is integrated into the park and truly reflects the needs and values of the local community.

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A Toolkit for Engagement Synchronous Strategies A.

Community-Led Walkthroughs: identifying a variety of users to lead site and neighborhood tours early on, whether it be through shadowing, journey-mapping exercises, or formal tours for the design team.

B.

Community Advisory Committees: a curated group of stakeholders — ideally non-decision-makers — who are established early on in the design process to co-develop goals and hold the design team accountable to the broader

C

Visioning Workshop

D

Town Hall + Forum

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Design Workshop

community.

C.

Visioning Workshop: a kick-off workshop designed to identify the project vision, goals, and metrics for success and to ensure alignment of the development objectives with the design approach and strategic input from stakeholders.

D.

Town Hall & Forum: formal or informal discussions that engage potential and current user groups to share their perspectives, acquire feedback, and validate areas of opportunity.

E.

Stakeholder Interviews: one-on-one discussions to understand users’ needs, values, and aspirations in relation to their environment; this process can often reveal other key stakeholders to loop in early-on.

F.

Design Workshops: a collaborative, facilitated workshop for stakeholders and user groups to build upon the research, directions, or concepts identified by the design team. These could take place in a variety of settings from small group collaborations to large public meetings.

G.

Paid Co-Creators: community interns who are compensated for the knowledge, time, and value they bring to the project.

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Asynchronous Strategies A.

Pop-Ups & On-Site Events: in-situ site activations are a valuable way to test early design ideas, garner interest in future development, and provide more kinetic/engaging opportunities for users who might not otherwise participate in a formal engagement, such as a town hall.

B.

MOUs, CBAs: Memorandum of Understanding and Community Benefit Agreements are examples of formal contracts that can be established early on in the process to

A

On-Site Events

C

Update Videos

D

Family Activities

ensure fidelity of information, obligations, and trust. We have used MOUs in contexts with histories of distrust and abuse to establish expectations around data sharing, narrative ownership, and legal obligations. Similarly, with a Community Benefit Agreement, a developer must define the ways in which their project will add value to the immediate community.

C.

Update Videos: allow for short, regular updates of project information and ways to get involved in an easily accessible format.

D.

Family Activities: provide a way for local families to learn about and engage in the design process together on their own schedule. These could include neighborhood scavenger hunts, brainstorming activities, or family oral history documenting.

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Individual Sites, Big Impact Despite operating on individual sites at relatively small scales, community centers also function as part of a larger urban ecosystem. In this way, they play a critical role in the overall fabric of public space - and its socio-economic patterns.

In 2021, VMDO and partner Brailsford & Dunlavey were engaged by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to assist in the development of a high-level strategic plan for the District of Columbia’s parks and recreation system. The resulting Ready2Play Master Plan is based on months of DPR’s robust community engagement work, which sought to obtain grassroots data on the most pressing needs and gaps in public park space across DC’s eight Wards. One statistic was particularly enlightening – a life expectancy difference of over 15 years between Ward 3 and Ward 8, which directly correlated to access to park space between the two Wards.

DPR’s engagement process guided the development of the Master Plan by identifying four key goals for park space across the District, and helped to “chart a bold path forward for planning, design, programming, and operations over the next twenty years.” A Strategic Action Plan provided dozens of on-the-ground strategies that could be implemented on individual sites.

These actions could then be monitored to measure how they were contributing to positive outcomes at a much larger scale, from sustainability goals to promoting social equity. A corresponding Equity Framework is intended to serve as a guiding document to help DPR identify and prioritize initiatives, capital projects, and programs to pursue in response to present and future District needs.

Community projects are not created in a vacuum – they exist at the intersection of many overlapping urban conditions. The Ready2Play Plan demonstrates how actionable design strategies at a small scale can have a big impact for neighborhoods and a city at a larger scale.

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This is a VMDO project.

Parkland in Washington, DC DC Department of Parks and Recreation National Park Service

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Case Studies 1

Lubber Run Community Center Arlington, Virginia

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Original Mt. Vernon High School Human Development Center Alexandria, Virginia

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Stead Park Recreation Center Washington, D.C.

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Brooks Family YMCA Charlottesville, Virginia

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Marlow Heights Community Center Marlow Heights, Maryland

Lubber Run Community Center Arlington, Virginia

3. Relevant Experience

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Renewing a Community Treasure In December 2016, VMDO was selected to begin work on the replacement of the 1950s-era Lubber Run Community Center in Arlington, Virginia. In addition to a new community center building, the project includes new outdoor recreation spaces and amenities as well as underground parking on a 4.5 acre site.

The center is located in Lubber Run Park, a precious natural resource in urban Arlington County. Connection to nature and preservation of open space were essential to designing the new building, and as a result, parking and some programs are located underground to allow for increased outdoor amenities at ground level.

The process of designing the center highlights the importance of authentic community engagement. Robust local partnerships supported solutions for a sustainable, place-based design that integrates interior and exterior public and programmed spaces.

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Integrating Building and Landscape

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The 50,000 SF facility features multipurpose rooms for recreation programs for all ages, a fitness center with locker rooms, a gymnasium, a preschool program, community meeting rooms, a kitchen, and reception and office space for county wide Parks and Recreation staff. Outdoor recreation spaces include a playground, pickleball and basketball courts, covered gathering spaces, and improvements to site circulation and streetscapes needed to facilitate access to the facility by all modes of transportation.

The project seeks to blur the distinction between indoors and outdoors and promote the health and wellness of building occupants. Care was taken to maximize views to the

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outdoors from within, to provide dynamic daylighting to all of the occupied spaces, and encourage occupants to feel connected to the park landscape around them.

Featuring net-zero energy design and a landscape-focused approach to the surrounding park, Lubber Run Community Center offers a holistic response to an urban challenge – ultimately creating public space that is greater and greener for residents.

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1

Entry Courtyard

2

Entry and DPR Resource Desk

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DPR Offices

4

Gym

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Central Gathering

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Locker Rooms

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Art Multi-Purpose Room

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Kitchen

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Multi-Purpose Rooms

10 Senior’s Room 11 Active Multi-Purpose 21

12 Preschool 13 Parking Garage

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14 Courtyard 15 Nature Deck

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16 Bio-Filter Garden 17 Slides 18 Nature Berm 19 Fitness 3

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20 Gym Track 21 DPR Offices

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22 Nature Overlook 23 Community Garden 13

24 Playground 18

25 Active Lawn 26 Sports Courts 27 Rain Water Collector 28 Photovoltaic Roof (future)

“There was lots of community involvement and excitement surrounding the new design and plan. Attention was paid to functionality, energy efficiency, sustainability - and great design.

This is truly a community project.”

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Mr. Jay Fisette Former County Board Chair Arlington, Virginia

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SUSTAINABLE SITE STRATEGIES 1 Stream

7 Raised bosque

13 South-facing porch

19 Buffer berms

2 Path to stream

8 Accessible ramp

14 Rainwater harvesting

20 Garage daylight and trees

3 Bio-retention garden

9 Playground

15 Park arrival

21 Intensive green roof

4 Courtyard

10 Senior’s raised garden

16 Building arrival

22 Solar path

5 Nature lookout

11 Geothermal wells

17 Park lookout

23 Nature deck

18 Sport courts

24 Resource Protection Area

6 Protected mature trees 12 Solar array (via PPA)

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Promoting Equity, Sustainability, and Health As a LEED For Communities Platinum winner, Arlington County is a sustainability trailblazer – combining forward-thinking environmental goals into its energy-use standards while also balancing issues around livability, diversity, and increasing development. Building on this commitment to sustainability, Lubber Run Community Center was conceived as a zero-energy facility. Site layout, building massing, envelope design, and systems design were driven by the zero-energy goal of minimizing the on-site solar array requirements by optimizing the building’s energy performance.

Through thoughtful MEP systems, careful attention to acoustics, and the incorporation of biophilic elements, the building provides a comfortable interior environment with fresh air and abundant, glare-free daylight.

In terms of material use, an insulated cast-in-place concrete wall system provides excellent thermal and envelope performance while also serving as the interior and exterior finish material in one move. The project also uses a glue-laminated wood structure above grade, which reduces the project’s embodied energy and provides biophilic benefits to building occupants. Trees that were felled during construction were milled and used to clad the primary circulation pathways inside.

Lubber Run also embodies principles of Universal Design that create accessible spaces for the broadest audience possible through flexible, intuitive uses and minimal effort.

The result is a community center that is both adaptable and equitable in its experience by a range of user groups. In addition, the interior reception and resource desks are strategically located to provide supervision and control from a single point in the building, supporting strategic operations and an added layer of universal connectivity.

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Original Mt. Vernon High School Human Development Center Alexandria, Virginia

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A Nod to the Past, An Eye for the Future The Original Mount Vernon Welcome Center honors its past while looking to the future with an environmentally responsible design that shifts the concept of a community center to a human development center.

Built in 1939 the Original Mount Vernon High School stands as a classic example of Colonial Revival architecture on a 22-acre site that was once part of George Washington’s estate. With a renewed sense of purpose, robust public engagement, comprehensive renovation, and historic preservation and adaptive reuse strategies, the former high school will now offer the South Fairfax County community a place to gather, learn, innovate, and be inspired: The Original Mount Vernon Welcome Center (OMVWC).

The culture of the OMVWC is to provide pathways of opportunity for all patrons at every stage of life. To bring this vibrant energy into existence, the OMVWC had to be radically shifted from its previously vacant state and redesigned. The entire facility now has a refined sense of flow through three distinctive anchor spaces: Education, Performance, and Health.

The design of the revitalized space creates a circular flow pattern through the building where many community programs, once housed in neighboring buildings, are now centrally located, and new programs and opportunities are unified.

Each program equips patrons with skills, information, and opportunities to connect more deeply to their community and create career and economic pathways. The building will house classes, training sessions, performances, cultural events, non-profit operations, and more.

Existing exterior with historic brick detailing.

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Community & Social Center The new Original Mount Vernon Lifetime Center will be a vibrant hub built to create opportunity, create career pathways, connect different generations, and better integrate residents into the local Virginia economy. Achieved through the innovative transformation of a historic high school, this new hub will serve as a lasting thread through the fiber of Fairfax County’s civic landscape.

BUILDING BUILDING MASSING MASSING TIMELAPSE TIMELAPSE

EXISTING BUILDING EXISTING BUILDING

1939

1939

1944 saw construction two co st The above diagram,The provided above by diagram, the Virginia provided by the Virginia The originally constructed The originally Academic constructed Building Academic Building 1944ofsaw Department of Historic Department Resources of Historic (DHR), shows Resources (DHR), featured shows an iconic brick featured facade an iconic and historic brick facade cupola.and historic the Oldcupola.

Shop building the(south) Old Shop an the Home ( additions to the OMVHS additions facility to the by year.

OMVHS Thefacility by year.

ThisThe portion primarily This housed portion classrooms primarily housed and classrooms and Economics theCottage Home Ec following study charts following building study massing chartsover building time. massing administrative over time. offices. administrative offices.

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1951

*1953

*1953

Additional classrooms were added to the east Additional classrooms were added toBy the1953, east several additions New Shop neighbored By 1953,completed several additions construction, completedThe construction, The NewitsShp arm of the Academic Building in 1951. This was toin 1951.including arm of the Academic Building This wasthe to theater, including gym, cafeteria, the theater, andgym, library. cafeteria, the andsouth library. side of the the property south sid in support a growing student supportpopulation. a growing student population.Additional classroom Additional space was classroom also constructed space was alsoEconomics constructedCottageEconomics also receive C south of the main Academic south of the Building. main Academic Building.to the west. to the west.

ORIGINAL MOUNT ORIGINAL VERNON MOUNT HIGH VERNON SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL RENOVATION AND RENOVATION ADAPTIVEAND REUSE ADAPTIVE REUSE

ADDITIONS OVER ADDITIONS TIME OVER TIME OMVHS STORYTELLING OMVHS STORYTELLING DEBRIEF DE

V M D O B u i ld i n g Commu n i ty

Preservation and revitalization of historic buildings for the purpose of expanding community access to resources, opportunities, and cultural experiences can be challenging. The Original Mount Vernon Welcome Center, located on the historic Mount Vernon grounds (aka George Washington’s estate), embodies this challenge and addressed it by illuminating pathways of opportunity for the community and embracing environmental responsibility at the same time.

This community-centered campus will capture the historic stories of the building and the historic community’s past, while helping to write new stories filled with purpose for Fairfax’s residents. Within those stories, and within the walls of the reimagined campus, community members can learn more about who they are and who they have yet to be.

ELAPSE G TIMELAPSE

1939

1939

1944

1944

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1947

construction of two stand-alone additions: uilding nstructed Academic 1944 Building saw construction 1944 of twosaw stand-alone additions: Extensions to both the Extensions original Academic to both Building the original Academic Building oric c brick cupola. facade and thehistoric Old Shop cupola. building (south) the Oldand Shop thebuilding rst portion (south) of andand the the rstHome portion of Economics and Cottage the Home were Economics added inCottage were added in the Home Economics Cottage (west). ms arily and housed classrooms the Home and Economics Cottage (west).

1947 to expand the western 1947 to edge expand of thethe property. western edge of the property. ffices.

*1953

*1953

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1954

1963

1963

The New Shop neighbored its predecessor onstruction, additions completed The New construction, Shop neighbored its predecessor on OMVHS’s on most recent OMVHS’s additions featured most recent a kitchen additions featured a kitchen ater, d library. gym, cafeteria, the and south library. side of the property the south in 1954. side ofThe theHome property in 1954.

ThetoHome addition the cafeteriaaddition (west), to a third the cafeteria annex (west), a third annex onstructed oom space was also Economics constructed Cottage also Economics received its Cottage nal addition also receivedbuilding its nal to addition connect thebuilding Old andto New connect Shops the (south), Old and New Shops (south), n Academic Building. to the west. to the west. and a T-shaped end toand the Gym a T-shaped Building end (east). to the Gym Building (east).

ADDITIONS OVERADDITIONS TIME OVER TIME SHEET: 5 HS STORYTELLING OMVHSDEBRIEF STORYTELLING DEBRIEF JAN.17.2022

SHEET: 5 JAN.17.2022

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A Lifetime of Community Support Key to the philosophy behind the creation of this project is to provide support and opportunity to each member of the community at every stage of their lives.

In collaboration with the Fairfax County client team, we identified four guiding principles to usher in the new era of this important community destination: 1.

Build communities of opportunities by placing emphasis on flexible incubator spaces that encourage people to gather and collaborate.

2.

Create career pathways through partnership with private, public, and non-profit firms to offer career counseling and training.

3.

Connect different generations with vibrant intergenerational contact zones where different generations can come together in a number of ways and for a variety of reasons.

4.

Better integrate residents into the economy by enhancing their lives and skill-sets.

Prior to undertaking the building design, a programming and planning phase sought to explore how space can best promote these principles. With the principle of creating pathways toward a lifetime of learning and support, the building itself also needed a high degree of pathway clarity. So, due to the complexity of programming, careful attention was given to the design of the Center’s navigation and movement between spaces.

There are three large anchor programs – the theater, the library, and the gym – that define the overall organization of the Center. The smaller spaces were first organized around these three anchors and then adjusted based on their acoustic and lighting needs. Based on this strategic orientation, we designed a truly multi-functional building operation that can deliver concurrent functions at multiple times of day and be navigated with clarity and ease.

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V M D O B u i ld i n g Commu n i ty

A Human Development Center That Speaks to the Future of Communities The project is organized around learning, performance, health-centric, and entertainment spaces. By providing members of the community with access to resources and services that they would otherwise not have access to in their own homes or places of work, the new “third space” facility will open the door for Fairfax County residents to be lifted up into a better and brighter future. A collective of sophisticated non-profit partners will deliver varied services within the site, bringing to the community focused support in various aspects of their livelihood.

LEARN

GROW

Library

Teen + Senior Center

Incubator Spaces

Workforce Training

Private Classrooms

Multi-use Theatre

Shared Classrooms

Community Health Training

Early Childhood Center Childhood Education

ACTIVATE

Programs

Gym

Financial Development

Pool

Consulting

Gardens

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First Floor + Site Plan

NON-PROFIT LEGEND New construction.

Canopy overhead Potential Canopies Fairfax County

KITCHEN LOADING

INT. CTYD.

THEATER

ORIGINAL MOUNT VERNON HIGH SC

int. ctyd.

COMMERCIAL KITCHEN

12000 Government Center Parkway Fairfax, VA 22035

active patio

PARKING

Client Project Number VMDO Project Number

FOOD INCUBATION

Checked By Drawn By

play area 1

WELCOME CENTER play area 2 BUIILDINGS SHOWN HATCHED TO BE DEMOLISHED

MAIN COURTYARD

CHILDCARE DROP-OFF

PARKING

GRAPHIC SCALE 20' - 0"

0

HEADSTART/ PRE-SCHOOL

BUSINESS INCUBATION

SERVICE yARD

40'

DRAWING NO CONSTRUC ISSUES AND REVISIONS NO. SUBMITTAL

PARKING

PUBLIC DROP-OFF LANE ORIGINAL MOUNT VERNON HIGH SCHOOL RENOVATION AND ADAPTIVE REUSE 1

LEVEL 1 KEYPLAN DIAGRAMS

SHEET: 669 APR.15.2021

KEY PLAN - LEVE

EXISTING KEY PLAN - LEVEL 1

EC201 EC101 1" = 20'-0"

EC10

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Second Floor Plan

UNIVERSITy SATELLITE COURSES LEGEND New construction.

Canopy overhead Potential Canopies Fairfax County

ORIGINAL MOUNT VERNON HIGH SC 12000 Government Center Parkway Fairfax, VA 22035

THEATER

GyM

Client Project Number VMDO Project Number

WARMING KITCHEN

WORKFORCE READINESS Checked By Drawn By

COMMUNITy SPACE

TEEN & SENIOR CENTER

GRAPHIC SCALE 20' - 0"

0

40'

DRAWING NO CONSTRUC ISSUES AND REVISIONS NO. SUBMITTAL

1

EXISTING KEY PLAN - LEVEL 2

ORIGINAL MOUNT VERNON HIGH SCHOOL RENOVATION AND ADAPTIVE REUSE

LEVEL 2 KEYPLAN DIAGRAMS

SHEET: 670 APR.15.2021

KEY PLAN - LEVE

EC201 EC102 1" = 20'-0"

EC10

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Reinvention of the Community Center Model at a Historic Place Through the reutilization of a former high school campus, the creation of this facility is first and foremost taking a strong stance on the importance of carbon emission reduction. In addition, the new facility incorporates sophisticated new technology and modern design research and thinking, pointing toward this same ambition.

At the central crux of this development’s undertaking is a programmatic reinvention that drove a significant portion of the project’s decision making. This project expands the notion of what a community center can provide by stitching together a diverse set of programs that support overall human development. Services span from childcare to elderly services, as well as career services and spaces to promote health and wellness.

The team sought to showcase the historic nature of the building, even amidst the many eras of architecture and construction technology that have been utilized through building renovations and additions over time. Thus the grand, columnar facade structure remains in place, with a new, modern glazed face and arrival experience flipped toward the opposite side of the building.

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Stead Park Recreation Center Washington, D.C.

V M D O B u i ld i n g Commu n i ty

The First Net-Zero Recreation Center in Washington, D.C. Located in the historic Dupont Circle neighborhood in Washington, DC, Stead Park Community Center is a modernization and significant addition to the existing community center–a carriage house originally constructed in 1888–to foster and engage movement, play, interaction, access and programming for all community members in this vibrant and diverse urban neighborhood. Sensitive to the layered history of Stead Park and the importance of the park’s open space in the dense Dupont Circle Historic district, the design emphasizes the open qualities of the park and visibility to the historic structure, while providing accessible, integrated spaces for exercise, play, interaction, and belonging for all neighbors and visitors. As the first net-zero community center in Washington, DC, this facility highlights the District’s commitment to sustainable practices, serving as a visible, educational tool for residents and visitors.

The new facility features the modernized existing historic carriage house as the primary building entry, welcoming visitors to engage the new facility through direct access to the historic structure. The new addition consists of a variety of flexible multipurpose spaces serving both formal and informal programming for all ages, abilities, and interests.

The addition and expansion includes large gathering spaces for public use, community events, group classes, arts education, and dedicated physical fitness. Additionally, indoor and outdoor spaces for multi-age groups, such as young children, teens, and seniors connect and expand the possibilities for the how community members can utilize their public spaces, parks, and recreation facilities. A large solar canopy provides on-site energy as well as shade for children’s spaces. Site upgrades include a revitalized splash pad, entry plaza and ramp, and play equipment.

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Brooks Family YMCA Charlottesville, Virginia

V M D O B u i ld i n g Commu n i ty

The Added Value of Architecture The story of the Brooks Family YMCA is a story of Architecture as an added value to the community, rather than an extra cost. Constructed for a modest cost of $216/sf (including site work), and overcoming a five year delay prior to opening one year ago, the YMCA has seen 250,000 scan-ins, taught 600 children to swim, and has engaged 12,000 people in life-changing programs. Aided substantially by the design, memberships have surpassed projected goals by double to serve over 10,000 members. “The building sells itself. It is our job to retain members through programs,” explains the CEO. Currently, retainment is 25% higher than the national average. The architecture of the Brooks Family YMCA embodies the Y’s mission of sustaining the physical and social wellbeing of the community, as a place for the shared experiences of play, camaraderie, and sport.

Located in McIntire Park, the Brooks Family YMCA fosters shared experiences of play, friendship, camaraderie, and competition to enhance health and wellness for the Charlottesville community. Prioritizing the community-based principles of the YMCA, the design provides natural overlaps where members may share experiences, make new friends, and develop a sense of belonging. The building consists of a variety of multi-generational spaces serving a diversity of ages, abilities, programming, and fitness levels. It includes a family aquatics center, a multipurpose double gymnasium with an elevated running track, a central fitness room with cardiovascular equipment, free weights, and circuit training equipment, a variety of group exercise rooms with spaces dedicated to mind/body and cycling classes, a lobby doubling as a community / multipurpose room, play areas for children, and a Teen Center – which supports collaboration with Charlottesville High School’s AVID program and youth development programs. Carefully sited to preserve existing Park fields and recreation areas, the YMCA is built into a slope, lowering the perceived massing of the entry and nestling the building next to mature woods for expansive views to nature.

Generous windows, expansive daylighting, and transparent details contribute to a sense of openness and communion with the surrounding natural beauty.

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Site Plan + Floor Plans

Floor Plan

extents of McIntire Park diagram

mcintire park extents of McIntire Park diagram

hydrology and watershed diagram

hydrology and watershed diagram

hydrology

habitats and ecological diagram

habitats habitats and ecological diagram

topography and critical slopes diagram

topography and critical slopes diagram

topography

circulation and views/events diagram

circulation circulation and views/events diagram

orientation and sun/wind diagram

orientation and sun/wind diagram

orientation

SITE DIAGRAMS: A NATURAL FIT FOR EFFECTIVENESS + PERFORMANCE

1 Competition Pool

10 Kid Zone

2 Recreation Pool

11 Teen Center

3 Pool Terrace

12 Open-to-Gym Below

4 Fitness + Exercise Rooms

13 Elevated Running Track

5 Locker Rooms

14 Fitness Center

6 Gymnasium

15 Administration

7 Facility Storage

16 Lobby

8 Mechanical Room

17 Pool Observation Mezzanine

9 Entrance + Reception

18 Open-to-Pool Below

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Reflecting Ceiling

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Upper Level / Entrance Level

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Lower Level / Gym + Pool Level

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Overcoming Adversity In 2007, the YMCA entered into partnership with the City of Charlottesville and the County of Albemarle to design a new fitness center for all its citizens, and by design, offer subsidized membership for all families in the community who weren’t served by private fitness clubs. Before construction began, two local private fitness clubs sued the City and the County, alleging violation of Virginia’s Public Procurement Act and challenging their contributions toward the project. Sadly, these same private fitness clubs don’t offer subsidized membership.

Although both lawsuits were properly dismissed, construction was delayed 5 years while construction costs rose annually totaling $2.5 million more. During that time, the YMCA and design team worked to reduce construction costs while retaining value for the community. With collective creativity and ingenuity, program areas were not only maintained, but were increased overall by more than 7,000sf to better serve membership. The Brooks Family YMCA opened in June 2017.

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A Model of Community Not just a place to be, the Brooks Family YMCA offers a way to be. Institutions that build community have special significance in today’s increasingly digital and divided world.

On August 11th 2017, the Unite the Right Rally caused tension and upheaval in the Charlottesville community. The Y opened its doors to be a central hub for all community members, regardless of political leaning or background, and continues to play an ongoing role in providing inviting spaces that connect community members across racial and socioeconomic lines. The Brooks Family YMCA furthers values of openness, compassion, and diversity.

People are drawn to places full of visible life that are transparent and welcoming and where they can understand themselves as part of a community. The Y’s generous windows provide opportunities for interaction, showcase programs inside the facility, and provide dramatic views to the park beyond. While working out in the fitness room, members can see pick-up basketball games in the gym, while also observing their child’s swim lesson in the recreation pool. More than just a gym-and-swim, the Brooks Family YMCA is a place where exercise, in proper measure, conditions diligent and virtuous citizenship.

In addition to Fitness Rooms for Mind and Body, Group Exercise, Functional Training, and Spin, innovative programming includes a Kid Zone with interior play equipment, a Multi-generation and Teen Center with a teaching Kitchen, and a generous Community Lobby that is open to the public.

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Doing More with Less Poetry captivates us by using simple words, carefully selected, that are creatively arranged into a compilation greater than the sum of its parts. Likewise, a scarcity of means requires of the architect an abundance of meaning. The design approach for the Brooks Family YMCA utilizes common materials and strives to elevate them poetically as highly effective and distinctive assemblies. Structure is integrated and proudly exposed. Fiber cement cladding and brick exterior walls are articulated with wooden and copper accents that offer a sense of home to members, and allow the building to weather naturally as part of its place. Standard exterior corrugated metal wall panels are perforated to perform exterior sun shading while inviting daylight deep into the building. This diaphanous skin changes in appearance – nearly opaque at daytime depending on your point of view, then dissolving in the evening and offering to the Y’s programs a lantern-like glow.

Plan diagram - layers + transparency

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Site and Building Section at Lobby + Fitness Room

STAIR COMMONS

FITNESS ROOM

SHADING DEVICE

Layers + Overlaps McINTIRE WOODS

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PARK PLAZA

SHADING DEVICE

COMMUNITY LOBBY

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A Seamless Fit in the Park Building in McIntire Park was an incredible opportunity for the YMCA. In addition to the Park’s central location, new indoor recreational and community programs partner easily with the Park’s outdoor amenities. The opportunity to build in the Park set in motion an instant commitment and understanding from all team members to build well and in a way that represented and best supported the community.

The project team saw the YMCA as an act of adoration for Charlottesville and McIntire Park. The facility was constructed within a previously developed sloping terrain in order to preserve relatively level park areas for recreational use. Partially engaged into the hillside, the facility conceals its mass to appropriately scale to its surroundings. Saving mature trees helps the building seem comfortable in its place, providing shade and useable park space. From within the Y, the park acts as another room of the building, and the natural environment outside is on hand to restore and inspire members.

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site section at POOL

POOL

A Daylit Park Pavilion-Like Room McINTIRE WOODS

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PARK PAVILION

ENTRANCE DRIVE

PARKING

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Marlow Heights Community Center Marlow Heights, Maryland

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Community-Driven Design The new Marlow Heights Community Center reimagines a key community asset through a dynamic engagement process, creating a vibrant destination for flexible year-round programming and a facility that maximizes local resources and improves park amenities.

Located just outside of Washington DC in bustling Prince George’s county, the new community center will replace an existing 11,500 square foot community center, resituating the new building on an existing parking area of the site in order to maximize open park space and improve the views and connection to the outdoors from the new building.

Envisioned as a beacon and hub for community gatherings, fitness, and programming for all ages, the proposed 22,000 square foot facility will include a gymnasium, fitness areas, and several multipurpose spaces of different sizes, with the intention that the building can adapt to differing program needs as the staff and community develop new opportunities.

The siting of the building allows for the existing community center to remain open during its construction and allows for various outdoor park amenities such as sports courts, a playground, splashpad, and walking trail. The compact design of the center is both economic and efficient. The strategically placed translucent and transparent glazing provides ample daylighting for the main interior spaces and diverse visual connections between interior and exterior. Overall, the new Marlow Heights Community Center reimagines how to build a dynamic new facility alongside an existing building, and the new center will serve as a welcoming beacon to neighbors and visitors alike, becoming a key asset for both the local community and the broader park ecosystem in the county.

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CHARLOTTESVILLE OFFICE 200 East Market Street Charlottesville, VA 22902 WASHINGTON DC OFFICE 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Suite 7000 Washington, DC 20006 vmdo.com | 434.296.5684

For more information on Athletic + Community work please contact: Joe Celentano, AIA, LEED AP celentano@vmdo.com Randy Livermon, AIA, LEED AP BD+C livermon@vmdo.com