After acquiring the former corporate campus of Exxon Mobile in Fairfax, Va., Inova Health System partnered with Architecture, Incorporated (Reston, Va.) on a variety of planning and renovation projects. One of those was the conversion of an existing conference center into the new Inova Sports Medicine complex through a complete interior renovation.

The 20,000-square-foot sports medicine facility includes a 13,000-square-foot outpatient clinic with physical therapy and imaging suite, an EXOS performance gym, and a 5,000-square-foot outdoor synthetic turf field designed for patient evaluation and performance enhancement. The facility comprises two of the existing building’s three floors with a new elevator connecting the lower gym to the upper clinic waiting area.

In conceptualizing the new clinic, there was a considerable focus on patients’ perceptions of the space and how it could relate to their experiences in a familiar environment. The building chosen for the new clinic accommodated 20-foot-high ceilings and provided access to the outdoor sports field. High ceilings were painted black to dissolve from view, while 20-foot-high windows were added to the entrance and reception area to open the clinic to the surrounding sports field. Blurring the transition between indoor activity and outdoor training is a 30-foot-wide overhead door, allowing patients and physicians to experience field conditions both inside and out.

The functional space program and design concept called for two clinical “racetracks” with a connecting main street, allowing treatment teams to expand or contract as needed. Wood grain flooring was used throughout to subtly reference traditional sports-court flooring materials. Linear light fixtures extend the length of the building, drawing the patient’s eye to the “finish line” to define distance and direction, while circular rings of light illuminate focal points.

As patients move through the clinic, larger-than-life photographs of athletic moments are strategically placed to inspire and provide identification to treatment rooms.

Project details

Facility name: Inova Sports Medicine

Location: Fairfax, Va.

Completion date: January 2019

Owner: Inova Health Systems

Total building area: 20,000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost: $5.2 million

Cost/sq. ft.: $260

Architecture firm: Architecture, Incorporated

Interior design: Architecture, Incorporated

General contractor: Calloway Contracting Group

Engineering: KTA Group, Inc. (MEP),Cagley & Associates, Inc. (Structural), Christopher Consultants (civil)

Consultant—FF&E/Finishes: DMG Interiors

Builder: Calloway Contracting Group