Our team was hired by the District of Columbia’s Department of General Services and Department of Parks and Recreation to replace an outdated 1970s-era building with a recreation center for people of all abilities. The new design opens to the surrounding natural landscape, offering views to the outdoors and symbolically conjoining interior and exterior with natural materials. The building’s massing uses recesses to create a rhythm along the façade while scaling down the size and length of the building. The curved ceilings in the corridor and lobby funnel sunlight from the clerestory, bringing natural light into the spaces and minimizing the use of artificial lights. Sloping roofs with deep overhangs provide solar protection and reduce the visual height of the building to better integrate it within the Ward 7 neighborhood.

The 37,000 SF recreation center includes an indoor natatorium with a warm water therapy pool and spa, gymnasium, a wellness studio, sensory and play therapy rooms, fully accessible playgrounds, and sensory and community garden connected by a network of trails throughout the site.