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a cold appearance, but the reclaimed wood used
throughout the interior significantly warms the space.
VMDO capitalized on the need for below-grade
parking by adding green space on top of the roof.
“Even with as much program space as we added, we
still ended up with a greater amount of park space in
the end,” said Celentano. Keeping most of the program
space on one level maximizes interactions, not just
among people but between people and nature.
“It was important to find pathways integrating
not just the program spaces among each other but with
the park space as well,” explained Celentano. Some
sightlines are sweeping and broad, for example, in the
north side of the gym, where one can look through
almost the entire building, across the lobby and
circulation spaces and out to the park beyond. Other
spaces are designed to be more intimate, like the lower
courtyard, which offers a quiet creek-side retreat.
Celentano knew the project had achieved its goal
on its rain-heavy opening day, when he witnessed a
father and son following the path of water falling down Lower-level corridor. Photo © Tom Holdsworth
from the roof, through a stormwater filter of stones, and
into a cistern. “The building is a teaching tool,” said
Celentano, “and an interaction between building, man,
and nature.”