Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard

Set along the centralizing spine of the Potomac Yard District, the new four-story building is highly visible within the neighborhood, and to travelers along Richmond Highway. A transparent two-story lobby connects the Inova Commons to its surrounding context. It serves as a community cornerstone for health and wellness in the burgeoning neighborhood north of Old Town Alexandria, which is growing with new mixed-use developments and an influx of people due to Amazon’s nearby headquarters. The project is an urban presence for the Inova Health network, providing a public anchor to the nearby residential developments while connecting to Mt. Jefferson park from the east. The campus is a gateway to the Inova medical system for residents and will provide a variety of rotating clinics throughout the space to meet diverse healthcare needs. The building represents a new center of social infrastructure that shepherds communal health, stewards sustainable practice, and centers people first.

The 100,000 GSF medical facility, part of a multi-campus initiative of Inova Health System, will include a comprehensive emergency room, imaging services, an Inova Primary Care Center with ambulatory surgery, and medical offices for other Inova and community providers.

The transparent, light-filled design presents an open, inviting face to healthcare and features a bright, active interior that is visible to the street, establishing a new identity for the health system that speaks to its mission of centering people first.

With the lower two floors open to the street, the building’s interior entry is demarcated by a double-height space. The building’s public lobby incorporates the Inova Commons: an initiative to provide patients and their families a holistic approach to health and wellness in a comfortable, relaxed setting. Programmatically, the ground floor promotes both integration of Inova to the neighborhood and occupant wellness through a cafe, lounges, and a multipurpose room that will include community events, such as classes for birthing, yoga, and nutrition.

The exterior features a custom double glass screen made with tension cables and fritted glass shading which helps to control glare from the sun and solar heat gain, as well as a vertical fin shading system. The façade articulation is driven by solar performance and, together with high-efficiency mechanical systems, demonstrates Inova’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

The design prioritizes sustainability by optimizing the building massing and envelope for solar shading while maximizing daylight, incorporating a high-performance rain screen façade, and integrating stormwater control measures with a significant green roof with an outdoor terrace and native plantings.