Environmentally Sensitive Campus Development
During the early planning of the replacement hospital at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, RLF designers faced unique environmental site constraints and discovered that difficult challenges can sometimes present surprising opportunities. Spanning forty acres of densely wooded uplands, rolling hills and surrounding wetlands, the site, although beautiful to look at, was greatly impacted by its surroundings.
The initially slated site (highlighted in blue) not only impacted a low-lying wetland (outlined in green), but pre-existing wildlife corridors (outlined in red) that allow safe passage for animals under the roadway.
Not only was the landscape lush, it sat in the path of a pre-engineered wildlife corridor that extended across thousands of acres. Building placement was also affected in that the most obvious location for ease of access and visibility could not be built upon because of a sink hole. Instead, the design team placed the facility on the eastern portion of the site, digging into the slope to create a multi-storied facility, significantly reducing its impact to the site while allowing flexibility for future growth.
Taking cues from nature, the design team used the natural grade to create surface parking that stepped up the hill and followed alongside the curved entry road. In place of the typical parking arrangement, the design integrated twenty-foot bio-swales consisting of native plants and trees to provide context to its surroundings and give the illusion of parking in a garden or forest. “The bio-swales serve as a natural scrub buffer, minimizing runoff contaminants, such as oils, from entering the watershed,” says Steve Langston, lead designer for the project. “The use of bio-swales has become standard on all RLF projects. It is a responsible way of dealing with storm water and also gives a nice effect of a garden environment within a large expansive parking lot.”
Pictured above are the various project elevations and proposed site plan.
The existing topography ultimately proved to be more of an asset than a challenge. By using the natural contours and dramatic gradient changes of the site, the RLF design team embraced the project’s surroundings, ultimately creating a solution that preserved and celebrated its environment.
