The Station at Potomac Yard, Alexandria, Va., is the first known building in the United States that combines a fire station, affordable housing and retail.
“It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things super-human, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function. This is the law.”
So said renowned architect Louis Sullivan. From his mind, a new age of architecture was born - one that still exists today, in which a building’s function must dictate its form.
The Station at Potomac Yard, Alexandria, Va., tested Sullivan’s theory because of its unique functions. The project is the first known building in the United States that combines a fire station, affordable housing and retail.
“Accommodating such different functions engendered many challenges, starting with schematic design and continuing up to the point of occupancy,” said John Rust, AIA, of Rust Orling Architecture, Alexandria.
Rust Orling Architecture, which served as associate architect of the project, focused on the exterior design and was joined by a team of experts to create this innovative mixed-use structure. Others involved included: developer, Alexandria-based Potomac Yard Development LLC (PYD), a joint venture of national home builders Pulte and Centex; the city of Alexandria; architect of record, LeMay Erickson Wilcox Architects, Reston, Va.; general contractor, Whiting Turner Contracting Co., Baltimore; roofing contractor, Prospect Waterproofing Co., Sterling, Va.; and roofing distributor, Bradco Supply Corp., Lorton, Va.