2009 VA ASLA Awards

General Design Professional - John Paul Jones Arena Landscape

Honor Award 

Project: John Paul Jones Arena Landscape
Landscape architect:  Siteworks & VMDO Landscape
Architect: VMDO Landscape
Client: University of Virginia
Construction Management: Barton Malow Co., Falconer, Ivy Nurseries
Civil Engineer: PHRA
Stream Restoration: Biohabitats of Virginia

Challenged with creating an infrastructural system aimed at meeting the comprehensive stormwater management goals for the next decade of development at The University of Virginia, the site design of the John Paul Jones Arena integrates site and regional hydrology with ecology and cultural programming.  Virtually the entire site is an armature for collecting and cleaning runoff while simultaneously choreographing the movements of people to and from events at the Arena. The coordination of these site flows recognizes movements by water and people as being strongly related and having both functional and poetic qualities.

The program for this project consisted of parking for 1500 cars on surface and structure, a major outdoor plaza and site pedestrian circulation for events and daily use. Beyond this functional program the project was charged with implementing two of three major components of a campus‐wide watershed based stormwater management system that would effectively provide infrastructure for the next decade of development at the university.

The intent and execution of this project is significant as part of a comprehensive planning strategy and as a site-specific design. This project incorporates functional site utility within a sculptural and poetic formal expression. It is intended that the flows of water and people across the surface of the site are completely interwoven by the elements of the design.

Jury comments on john paul jones arena:
- An excellent and inspiring example of using drainage as a design feature, sustainability at its best.