Lubber Run Community Center

This project was selected as a winner in AIA's 2023 Architecture Awards.

Traveling a couple of hours north of the firm’s hometown of Charleston, S.C., VMDO Architects arrived in Arlington, Va., with a project aimed at reinvigorating the area’s civic life and preserving its natural beauty. The Lubber Run Community Center is the centerpiece of a small public park in the heart of the highly developed Washington, D.C., suburb; with space at a premium, and few comparable amenities in the vicinity, the designers had to cram as much recreational programming into as few square feet as possible, minimizing the building’s ecological footprint while harmonizing with its leafy surrounds.

Their solution turns this constraint into an advantage: Embedded into the landscape, with multiple sports facilities and auxiliary functions half-buried in the ground, the design achieves maximum interior area with minimal visible structure, leaving only a low-profiled ensemble of graceful, wood-clad volumes to announce the center’s presence. Along with its aesthetic appeal, the scheme also ensures that the building’s eco-sensitivity is more than skin deep—the artificial hill serves to direct and recycle stormwater, helping the project meet an ambitious, zero-energy consumption target.

PROJECT CREDITS
Project: Lubber Run Community Center, Arlington, Va.
Architects: VMDO Architects
General Contractor: MCN Build
MEP Engineer: CMTA
Structural Engineer: Fox + Associates
Civil Engineer: Bowman Consulting
Traffic Engineer: Toole Design Group
Landscape Architect: Oculus
Environmental Graphic Design/Wayfinding: Iconograph
Urban Forestry: Wetland Studies & Solutions
Playground Safety: Cheryl Corson Design
Irrigation Design: Irrigation Research & Design
Parking Consultant: Rich & Associates

This article first appeared in the May/June 2023 issue of ARCHITECT.