The Arlington County government’s new Lubber Run Community Center is one of just 16 projects worldwide honored with the American Institute of Architects’ 2023 Architecture Awards.
The 50,000-square-foot building was designed by VMDO Architects, replacing a 1960s-era community center on the same site.
“Completed on time despite the emergence of the pandemic, Lubber Run Community Center solves a uniquely urban problem: preserving access to open space in the wake of unceasing development,” the seven-member jury noted. “Fully integrated into the environment, the project is both a building and a park, a work of architecture truly rooted in its sense of place.”
“The center’s primary architectural elements also take their cues from the surrounding environment, namely a robust concrete base that bolsters the treehouse-like timber structure above,” the award citation noted. “Inside, multipurpose rooms, a fitness center, gymnasium, meeting rooms, a kitchen and offices for the county’s Parks and Recreation Department synthesize with the overall site strategy.”
The Arlington facility was one of two Virginia buildings selected for accolades in 2023, joining the mixed-use Center of Developing Entrepreneurs building in Charlottesville.
For information on all the recipients, see the Website at https://bit.ly/3J0dF5F.
